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There’s Enough at the Table – Between Sundays for the Week of October 13, 2025

In Luke 17:11-19, Jesus heals ten men. Once declared clean by the priest, all ten would be considered acceptable once again to the community. But only one – only the one who returned to thank Jesus – was not just made clean, he was “made well.”

Why did only one return to Jesus? I wonder if the nine who kept on their way were looking for belonging; they wanted to be “clean” and accepted once again by their community.

Maybe the one who turned back – the Samaritan – knew just how fickle the world can be, how quick to draw lines between those who are in and those who are out; those who are acceptable and those who are not; those who belong and those who don’t. Maybe the one who turned back recognized that finding his belonging and mattering within human institutions would always disappoint.

Maybe the one who turned back was not only made clean, but was made well when he returned to God. He found wholeness when he returned to the One to whom we ultimately belong, and to whom we matter so much that He sent His Son to save us.

What would it look like if we followed the example of that Samaritan, returning to give thanks and praise to God? Recognizing God’s hand in creation might just lead us to treat creation as the handiwork of God rather than a resource to exploit. Recognizing God’s image in every person who crosses our path might just lead us to care for the most vulnerable among us. Recognizing God’s generosity to us might lead us to share more than we hoard. Recognizing God’s presence among us might just help us feel more grounded in the present instead of always searching, relentlessly striving for more. Recognizing that we matter to God might lead us to show others they matter to us.

What would it look like if we spent more of our time noticing and giving thanks for all God has done?  I suspect that more than simply our perspectives would change.  By the grace of God, through the healing touch of Jesus, maybe – just maybe – our world would be made well.

May it be so!

P.S. View Sunday worship through our YouTube channel and listen to the Gospel and Pastor Amy’s full sermon (beginning around 16:25). Links to previous worship videos on Facebook and YouTube are always available on our website.

Faith Connection at Home

Recently in our youth groups, we talked about prayer. Here is a praying protocol designed by Sybil MacBeth called Praying in Color. This may be something you can do as a family to approach praying in a new way.
To read more about this protocol, follow this link: Praying in Color.
Here are some starting steps, according to Sybil:
1) Write your name for God on a piece of paper. Draw a shape around it or just start to doodle. Let your pen take you for a walk. The drawing becomes a prayer space, a small prayer closet.
2) Add marks and shapes. Focus on the name you chose. Ask God to be part of your prayer time. If words come to you, pray them; if not, rest in the silence. Think of each stroke as a nonverbal prayer.
3) To pray for a person, write their name somewhere else on the page. Draw around the name. Add color. Keep drawing as you release the person into God’s care.
4) Add other people to your drawing. Think of each stroke of your pen as a prayer for them. Take a breath or say “Amen” between each person.
Here’s a picture of a finished prayer:

Between Sundays… Stay connected in the middle space of each week on our podcast. Find past episodes on the BLC website or wherever you like to listen to podcasts!
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Ponderings

Emerson Schaeber, a BLC member, shared a message of how she gives and what she receive when sharing God’s abundance with others.

If you missed any of Emerson’s video message on Sunday, you can view it here.

Emerson provides another example of what God can do when we trust there is enough!