(from saidanotherway.blogspot.com) Mom: "What do you say?"
From Luke 17: 11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14 When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."
As a campus minister I was called on by area preachers to fill in when they were sick or going to be away. One Thanksgiving, I was invited to preach the 11 a.m. Thanksgiving Day sermon at the church where I had interned. The pastor had had a car accident and was not in any condition to preach. I was honored to be asked and prayed that the Lectionary text for that day would be appropriate, and it was this passage. I sat in the preacher's chair as worship began and I get a note. "Momma does not like for the word leper to be used in any sermon, as this causes her to lose her appetite." Uh...
This story is not a story focusing on the sickness as it is on the healing and the response after healing. It is a great Thanksgiving sermon for it has in it an element of our attitude towards God and towards giving God thanks. Ten lepers, living dead as it were, a life sentence to live away from other living humans, decided to take a chance on Jesus. "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" In other words, bring us back to life; help us return to the living, to our families, to our loved ones! In this story, Jesus sees them and calls to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." Here is where the faith kicks in. Some might have thought, is that it? Aren't you going to make some mud and rub it on us, or go dip ourselves in the Jordan seven times? The faith came in those first steps towards the priests. It is awesome to see that as they made their way towards the priests, they were healed; "made clean." Every step took them closer to wholeness, and it was only one that saw that he had been healed that turned back and praised God with a loud voice. He returned to Jesus, threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him. And get this, he was a foreigner! A Samaritan! Eww! Jesus asks the question, Weren't there ten of these lepers? What Happened to the other nine? Only one, and a foreigner at that, happened to thank God? Then, turning to the grateful one, said, "Get up and go on your way; your faith had made you well."
The other nine received healing. This one received wholeness. The other nine had clean skin. This one received a clean heart and spirit, a connection to the living God. The others lived out their lives with loved ones and among the living; this one lived out his life in fullness of life. He knew what it was to suffer and from that vantage point of having been there, having done that, knew the fullness and richness of life seen now from a better vantage point. His life was blessed way beyond the others, simply because he knew how to give thanks.
What leprosies have we been healed of, and what have we done about it? Have we simply been healed, or have we been made whole?
PRAYER: Loving God, for all You have done, I give You thanks. Make me whole in every aspect of my life. I desire to know You more and to thank You more. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
