2Kings 5:1-3, 7-15
Luke 17: 11-19
Last week we talked about how faith is not something we
create on our own, but is given to us by God. Faith is affected by our belief
in the kind of God we have and who we consider ourselves to be as disciples of
Christ. If we believe that God does not care about what happens to us in our
lives, then we will not see the blessings we have as gifts from God. If we
believe that everything we have is given to us according to God's love and
grace for us then we begin to see the world with different eyes. We see that
life is not hopeless and that there are things we can do to help others to know
there is mercy and love waiting for them too.
Many things in our life are affected by our faith and
beliefs. In this passage we read today, ten men's lives are changed because of
their beliefs, and one man's soul is changed because of his faith. Let's
explore what is different about the one compared to the other nine.
Jesus is walking through an area not many Jews would travel
because it puts them close to the Samarian border and therefore close to
Samarians. Jews and Samarians were not each other's favorite people. Considering
our government's state the last few weeks it would be like a democrat walking
down the republicans' hallway in the Senate - barely will a civil word be
spoken and they will try to avoid each other like they have the plague!
But there goes Jesus, skirting convention and deciding to do
what no one else would consider doing. As he comes to a village, there are ten
men afflicted with various skin diseases and they approach him timidly, making
sure to keep their distance because they know no one wants to be around them
and possibly contract what they have. It doesn't stop them from making
themselves known to him, however. They keep their distance, but call out to
him, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!".
These people were lepers, outcasts from society because of
their diseases and considered unclean and unfit for society. They are being
incredibly daring to even come that close to the man called Jesus that has
become known as a great prophet in the area. But then, they do not call him teacher
like so many do - they call him Master. These outcasts, these men that are
unfit for society see something in Jesus that those that have been following
him and studying his every move have not noticed. Jesus is more than a prophet.
He's more than a teacher. They believe in Jesus and his power to heal and they
call him their Master. They also appeal to Jesus' kind nature and beg him to
have mercy on them.
It seems like the one sure way to get God's attention is to
ask for mercy. They receive Jesus' attention and immediately he calls to them,
"go and show yourselves to the priests." Now, this is an odd remark
to make because they are not healed yet. The only ones that can pronounce a
person fit for society are the priests, but how can they proclaim these ten men
clean when they have not been healed of their diseases yet? But again, the ten
men understand Jesus' power and command, and they obey him.
They begin to walk to the priests and as they walked, their
skin conditions were healed. Remember how last week I mentioned that faith is
belief plus action and confidence? As these ten men walked toward the priests
without any assurance of being called fit for society, their belief and bold
actions proclaim their faith in Jesus' power to heal, and they are cleansed of
their diseases.
This by itself is a remarkable story of Jesus' kindness and
generosity, and of the kind of faith that acts upon its belief. Then something
else happens! As the ten men walk along, one of them notices he has been
healed, and immediately turns around! He stops walking to the priest and toward
societal acceptance, and instead he walks back to Jesus looking for Godly
acceptance instead.
This one man, he turns back to Jesus and he begins to thank
him profusely while shouting praise God with a loud voice so everyone can hear.
And who was the lone man that came back to say thank you? He was a Samaritan.
He was a foreigner. He was one of those people that Jews considered beneath
them. Jesus looks at this man praising God loudly, who has not sought out the
priests so that he can go back to his family, but instead he has found Jesus to
give him thanks and he remarks, "Were not ten made clean? Where are the
other nine? Is no one else going to praise God except this foreigner?"
What was Jesus' tone as he spoke this to the man at his
feet? Was he sad? Was he angry? Was he disheartened or surprised? Surely he had
to be disappointed that only one person saw the need to thank God for what had
been given to him. Only one person saw the need to turn back, the one that was
a double outcast in society was the one that saw how right it is to give God
thanks and praise.
And therefore, Jesus turns to the man and tells him,
"Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well." Now, what
could Jesus mean by that since the man had already been healed of his leprosy?
Could Jesus possibly be talking about being healed in a way far more important
than a physical ailment? Yes.
In understanding that faith is also about giving thanks, the
Samaritan man is given something he had never asked for or expected - Jesus
gave him salvation. Jesus made this man whole and complete in body, soul, and
spirit. He now belongs to God and will forever. All because he saw the
importance of giving praise to God for the blessings he'd been given. He turned
away from what society expected and demanded (that he go to the priests to
immediately rejoin the community) and he turned back to Jesus who is the only
one that can rejoin us to God who will give us eternal life and acceptance. Do
you see how powerful and amazing this story is?!
Jesus is once again telling us not to worry about the
quantity of our faith to make our prayers and lives work out the way we want
them to. Faith is not a matter of cause and effect. Jesus is telling us the
nature of faith is in how we live it - living a faithful life is about giving
thanks. Faithful living is a life of gratitude and the Samarian man's grateful
faith in Jesus made him well in ways the other nine did not experience that
day.
How many of us when we receive something good remember to
give thanks for it? Did you say thank you to your mother for waking you up on
time this week or for making sure your clothes were cleaned? Did you say thank
you to your spouse for picking up the trash or for cooking dinner this week or
for taking the car to the garage to get fixed? Did you say thank you to your
boss for making sure that there is work for you to do which means a steady
paycheck in your mailbox every two weeks? Do we say thank you to those that
serve us when we go out to eat or stop to get coffee? Have we remembered to be
grateful for those that provide us with electricity, and those that pick up our
trash every week? It's very easy to take for granted all the things we have in
our lives and what we have been given. It's very easy to never acknowledge the
time and detail that goes into so much of our lives.
Like in church, the time it takes the Sunday School teachers
to prepare their lessons and to gather the materials and to make sure each
lesson is informative, fun, and a full hour long. Or how many hours Carole
spends playing the hymns and picking out anthems and practicing with the choir.
How many hours Beverly works to create the bulletin, the newsletters, and the
annual reports every week. How much time our Consistory gives to this church
and the worries they deal with every month that they take home with them. How
the same core group of people are the ones that volunteer to help with
functions and committees. These are all things we must give thanks to God for
and thanks to the people that perform the tasks. We are lucky to have such
dedicated, hard-working people and without them we would not have a church to
call home.
Prayers of thanks are part of the soul's healing and
deliverance. No matter what we face in our own lives, being consistently grateful;
giving active, faithful praise for God is what saves us from whatever we are
struggling with. Practicing gratitude intentionally changes our lives. It will
change our congregation. When we practice gratitude, we come to worship not
just to get something, but to give thanks and praise to God.
That means things like stewardship are transformed from
fundraising to the glad gratitude of joyful givers; the mission of our church
changes from ethical duty to the work of grateful hands and hearts. Prayer
includes not only our intercessions and supplications, but also our
thanksgiving.
"Go on your way; your faith has made you well" is
what we wait to hear from Jesus each week. It is a reminder that we have
blessed lives, that our church is blessed and as we go on our way, we rejoice
and give thanks; for in giving thanks in all things, we find that God is indeed
in all things!
Praise be to God: Father, Son, and Spirit!
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