10-12-25                               Luke 17:11-19

11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten men with a skin disease 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’s feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? So where are the other nine? 18 Did none of them return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

       Jesus made a practice of showing mercy and providing new hope. He is not about to change now!

Today’s readings have two events of amazing healings and restoration. We will concentrate on the stories, of Elisha and Naaman, and of Jesus and the ten lepers. In both accounts the men were afflicted with a skin disease. Because leprosy was so contagious and visible those who had any rash and similar symptoms were assumed to have leprosy. Other symptoms include stiff, dry skin, ulcers on the soles of your feet, swelling on the face and ears, and a numbness and weakness in hands and feet. O dear, some of you have discovered you have those very symptoms, but don’t head to the outskirts of town just yet. It was true, those with such conditions would be isolated from their families and neighbors and not allowed to return until their skin had cleared up. Those so afflicted would live together outside the village limits, stuck with each other for company. Unfortunately, those who had some other skin problem, like chicken pox or eczema, may also have been forced out of their home, and would probably soon also contract leprosy for real. If they did get better, they had to be examined by the priests and declared fit to return to their community and homes.

So, is the lesson then about healing? Certainly, the stories are about the healing power of Jesus and the active role of faith. That lesson had already been communicated to the lepers, who knew enough to call out from their prescribed distance, to gain Jesus’ attention and make their request. In the O.T. story, Naaman did not know about Elisha’s connection to the God who healed but a young captive slave from Israel knew and she shared that information with the very one who had put her into the oppressed position she was in. It is very interesting to note that this enslaved girl was better informed and faithful than the king of Israel, who assumed he was being set up for trouble and had no way to grant Naaman’s request for healing. Elisha steps up reminding the king there was indeed a prophet in Israel. 

At that point in Naaman’s situation comes the second point in our readings. There is a call for obedience. A message from Elisha to Naaman was delivered. “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” Naaman had brought donkey loads of money and gifts to secure his cleansing but he found it beneath him to go and bathe in the river. Again, it is servants who come to his rescue, they encourage him to simply do as he had been told and all would be well. He was usually the one in charge, giving orders but this time he gave obedience a try. It worked wonders! The lepers had been told to “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” They were very willing to obey and they were indeed healed. 

There is woven into both accounts another concern to be addressed. There was a strong indication of prejudice that lead to distrust that was coloring the scenes. Naaman and Elisha were on opposite sides of an ongoing military situation. Naaman had learned and prospered under the world’s way of operating, with war horses, chariots, generals, kings, wealth, and powerful influence to rule the day. Elisha taught those ways of the world do not impact God and would not overcome him.

In Jesus’ encounter there was a different twist on prejudice. The unacceptable foreigner, the Samaritan, is the one giving glory to God, not the obedient Hebrew men. Jesus meant to illustrate that judging by worldly standards, of who is acceptable and who is not, does not carry weight with God. This leads into the most vital lesson being taught. It was that Samaritan whose faith lead not only to his healing but then to gratitude. It is the gratitude that is the highlight. As Luke has it “One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. And he was a Samaritan.” Naaman had a similar revelation as he humbled himself before his company and proclaimed: “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.”

This is what Jesus wants us to understand.  Before our Lord and God, the only response we can offer is our thanks. We will never come to a circumstance in this life that we deserve God’s mercy and forgiveness or all those gifts which God provides for our lives.

In his book The Lord is My Shepherd, Rabbi Harold Kushner reflects on gratitude, not just as a polite sentiment but as an attitude:

“Each night as I prepare for bed, I put drops in my eyes to fend off the threat of glaucoma that would rob me of  sight and take from me the pleasure of reading. Each morning at breakfast, I take a pill to control my blood pressure, and each evening at dinner I take another to lower my cholesterol level. But instead of lamenting the ailments that come with growing older, instead of wishing I were as young and fit as I once was, I take my medicine with a prayer of thanks that modern science has found ways to help me cope with these ailments. I think of all my ancestors who didn’t live long enough to develop the complications of old age,and did not have pills to take when they did.”   (Connections 10-25)

Gratitude isn’t just a polite response to an act of kindness. Gratitude is a perspective we adopt, realizing we have much for which to be grateful. God has breathed into us and provided this remarkable life. The people who surround us contribute to making us who we are. We also are a blessing to others in small, maybe hidden ways. Like the leper who gave thanks, we also can be transformed by joyful gratitude as we recognize God’s loving presence in others. That gratitude, felt, comprehended, and shown is part and parcel of the healing. It demonstrates the renewed life we have received. The lesson:  GIVE THANKS