Proper 23
Luke 17:11-19
At the beginning
of today’s Gospel reading, Luke explicitly reminds us Jesus is on the road to
Jerusalem. The cross is on the
horizon. These are things you need
to know.
Luke also tells
us that the setting for this particular story is the region between Galilee and
Samaria. In the border region
between Jews and Samaritans.
Neither here nor there.
Neither homeland or foreign soil.
A place of uncertainty and danger.
As one
commentator writes (HERE): “The
relationship between Samaritans and Jews at the time of Jesus was conflicted
and sometimes violent. Centuries before this they had been one people, but
changes and tensions wrought by exile and return put them at odds regarding
beliefs about scripture, worship, what it means to be holy…” There was a long history of hostility.
The story itself
is straightforward. Jesus heals
ten lepers. Only one, who happens
to be a Samaritan, returns to give thanks.
Right there on
the surface, the story offers us several messages: Put aside prejudice, preconceived ideas about others. For many Jews, it would have been
inconceivable that a Samaritan could do anything commendable, much less
faithful. It also reminds us,
simply, of the importance and value of giving thanks. Thank God for God’s gifts and blessings!
But I think
there is at least one more very important message in this story. As I was reading and preparing this
week, one passage positively jumped off the page at me.
“In any case,
despite potential danger, and without asking anything about their loyalties,
heritage, or intentions (will they perpetuate the hostility?), Jesus works
healing for all ten -- including the Samaritan.” Even in the midst of danger and uncertainty, without asking
any questions in advance, Jesus heals all ten lepers.
He must have suspected
that any number of them may be the hated Samaritans, but he doesn’t ask where
they’re from. He just heals all
ten.
He undoubtedly
knows that they won’t all show sufficient gratitude. Still, he heals them all.
He doesn’t make
them sign a cease-fire pledge before they can qualify for healing. In fact, he doesn’t put any demands
upon how they live their lives after they are healed.
He doesn’t ask
how they got sick… Maybe they aren’t
all of them really that sick. May
one or two are trying to play the system.
Jesus simply
heals all ten.
That’s
noteworthy enough, but it’s especially remarkable given the unsafe and
uncertain setting in which Jesus finds himself.
Surely that’s a
lesson for us today. What
conditions or questions or qualifications do we require as individuals, or as
citizen participants in our government, before we help?
The lepers, all
of them, certainly have something to teach us in this story. The Samaritan leper, in particular,
offers us a model of faithfulness.
But maybe even more importantly, this story is about Jesus! This story shows us something very
important about Jesus. About how
Jesus’ love is offered unconditionally to us and how we, as the Body of Christ,
are to offer the love and grace of Jesus to others.
I’m reminded of
a collect (Proper 15) that we prayed back in mid-August. It seems particularly appropriate for
this Gospel passage… addressing
both the leper’s model of thankfulness and Jesus’ model of holy living.
Almighty God you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.
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As a lighter commentary on this Gospel reading, I love this video about a Newfoundland dog. "If someone looks stranded or drowning, I simply try to rescue them."
