The
Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and
charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love
that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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ND it came to pass, as Jesus went to Jerusalem,
that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into
a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar
off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on
us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the
priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And
one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with
a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him
thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There
are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise,
go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. (Luke
17:11-19)
Among very many other blessed truths in today’s text is one stark truth
that stands out like the Sun at noontide on a clear day: that truth is the
importance of GRATITUDE!
What is gratitude then? Gratitude is the direct and natural result of
Grace! The composition of the Universe that God has made is a splendid and
perfect example of a closed system (Space-Time Continuum) in which every object
of its composition conforms to the perfect laws of nature and of nature’s God.
The Sun, Moon, and Stars, obey the natural laws of inter-gravitational pull and
balance which forces them to remain in their respective orbits or trajectories.
We see the same laws respected in the plant kingdom. An apple seed will always
produce an apple tree and never a peach. The animal kingdom as well adheres
strictly to the laws laid down by God in their propagation. Sheep will always,
as God commanded, reproduce after their own kind. This signals a great
reciprocity in the natural creation; however, man is an exception to the
general laws of behavior among men and his interaction with all other aspects
of Creation. Man, unlike other creatures of the animal or vegetable world, has
will and reason. God has deemed this essential if man can possess the gift of
love for love must be a result of will. So, we will observe in today’s sermon
text that gratitude is a function of will and, ultimately, of love itself.
AND
it came to pass, as Jesus went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst
of Samaria and Galilee. I love the casual manner in which God
introduces a great event as if it is simply a thing that happens by chance
along the way; but it is not! The usual route of Jewish travelers was to avoid
passing through Galilee and, especially, Samaria (due to the ill-winded
assumption that these people were ¡®less clean’ than the Jews). Jesus did
nothing by accidental incident. He
was well aware that ten men awaited His coming at a certain village. It is unlikely that the men themselves knew of a
surety of the arranged meeting, but
Christ knew that He would perform a great act of healing at this place.
And
as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers,
which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master,
have mercy on us. Now, we will all
understand, I am sure, that leprosy was no disease lightly to be taken. It was
a slow and cruel killer. The flesh of its victims literally rotted on the body
causing limbs, ears, and even noses to be eaten away. Theodor was putrid and
unbearable. Slowly, by increasing miseries, it brought its victims to the long
home (grave). There was no cure for the disease in the arsenal of man’s medical
knowledge and resources. The disease could not be hidden from others due to the
emitted odor and the marred features of its victims. They were shunned from the
public and cast out into colonies apart. If a non-leper approached, they must
shout “Unclean, Unclean!” And the
leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and
he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is
unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be. (Lev
13:45-46)
What a horrible existence was
this! It is, in a great many points, exactly like sin. It is putrid, disfigures
our persons, alienates us from the family of God, and, in the end, it murders
its owner.
There are volumes of books written
about effective prayer, but if you
would like to know a good and simple prayer that brings results, observe the
prayer of the lepers: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” How did these men
know that Jesus was among the approaching throng? We are not told, but
they must not have ever seen His face before, and even now they stand afar off.
I believe that they may have heard a rumor of His coming and that rumor,
combined with an insight from on high, gave them a conviction of Him. To them,
He was Jesus, Master! You will observe that they asked for no specific healing
or grant of favor only MERCY! This, too, is the perfect prayer of the sinner.
Nothing else will profit the sinner ere MERCY is granted him. Of what is MERCY
made? The answer, of course, is all of GRACE. Mercy comes not as an
entitlement, but as a free grant of goodness (Grace).
And
when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves
unto the priests.
Immediately upon sighting the need, Jesus provides the cure. Of course,
the Kingdom of Heaven requires reciprocity of faith in its provisions of Grace.
I am amazed at the simple faith of these ten lepers in responding to the
counsel of Christ to Go and shew yourselves unto the
priests. To what end? They knew, as surely as all in the party of
Christ, that the leper must be pronounced clean by the priest in order of
re-admittance to society. These men, not yet being noticeably healed,
immediately began their journey to the priest in OBEDIENCE to Christ. Our faith
requires us to be obedient to God, not to our own desires and reason. Once
these lepers embarked, the healing began. Just as Naaman was wholly healed on
the seventh dip into Jordan waters, so were these lepers when they responded to
the Lord in FAITH. And it came to pass,
that, as they went, they were cleansed. and
it came to pass How common in
tone, but exceptional in result! It was not their walking that resulted in
healing, but their faith and response in Christ.
And
one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice
glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he
was a Samaritan. The actions of this
poor leper could cause a mighty warrior to weep with humility. This leper
believed God. This leper obeyed God. This leper was healed by God, and he KNEW
it! No longer was his first priority to go to the Priest and be pronounced
clean! His very first priority was to run to that One who had made him clean.
He turned back from his own purposes and objectives to those of God. With a
louder voice than that used in begging for mercy, he glorified God. He fell on
his face at the feet of the Beloved Son of God and gave thanks. Have you ever
felt so miserably dirty from sin and pleaded the mercy of God, and then been
granted cleansing and forgiveness? There are certainly sins in everyman’s life
at some point which should compel him to the pleading.
The other nine lepers got what
they desired healing of body, but only one came back to return praise and
thanks to the Healer. The Author, noticeably and with purpose, informs us that
this one leper who returned to give thanks was one of those hated Samaritans.
Why are we so frankly told this? What does it add to our understanding? It
informs us that none are beneath the merciful favor of God to heal and forgive.
It is often the one who stands in the lowest esteem of man that may rise to the
greatest regard of heaven. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
Where are the other 90% who have received the grace and mercy of God besides
this 10% who have returned to give thanks? Does this not speak to the great
body of ingrates who occupy the pews of America’s churches every Sunday? One is
kneeling at the feet of Christ, the other nine have separated themselves from
Christ once their desire is granted. What a shame and a testimony to
ingratitude! There
are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
Quite often it is the stranger that becomes a more worthy child of God than
those who have been received into the family of God from their youth.
There is grave counsel in the
final words of our Lord to the Samaritan stranger, but also to us: And he said unto
him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. Do you grasp
the significance of this last clause? Thy faith hath made thee whole. The faith and
gratitude of this one leper has made him not only well of leprosy, but whole in
every other way! To be wholly well is to be cured of the greatest disease, and
that disease is not even the deadly sin of leprosy it is the deadliest of
diseases from which no man can recover except by the grace of God! That disease
is SIN!
Please observe the difference
between the one leper who was made whole in every whit, and the nine who were
only cured of the immediate and most apparent malady. The difference was the
GRATITUDE expressed by the one who returned to praise God and return thanks.
How often do we pray for a cherished blessing and, when it is granted by God,
we go our way into the world without returning on bended knee to give thanks
for the grant? All that God gives is a result of GRACE. All that He expects in
return is GRATITUDE!
In the natural Creation, we
observe that all material bodies conform to the physical laws put into place by
God at the instant of Creation. Gravity is in effect twenty four hours per day.
Darkness will always immediately flee from the presence of light. Sound will
always travel through the medium of space via wave lengths. Electrical current
will always require are turn in order for electrons to move from a positive to
a negative pole. If the ground return is interdicted, the current ceases to
flow. This is just like Grace. God freely grants grace to those of us who can
never merit it, but God will not blindly grant grace to those who are unwilling
to express gratitude for it. Gratitude is a function of Grace. If the return
line (Gratitude) is interdicted, the current (Grace) will cease to flow.
I will relate here an
explanation of Grace I found in my father’s papers whom he credits to an E.
Williams:
Gratitude is a temper of mind
which denotes a desire of acknowledging the receipt of a benefit. The mind
which does not so feel is not as it ought to be. When the apostle Paul says of
the heathen, "Neither were they thankful," he seems to stamp the sin
of ingratitude as peculiarly odious. But, like every other grace which is
required of us, virtuous gratitude depends, in part, on right views. A right
view of benefits received, of the source from whence they flow, and of our own
demerit, has a direct tendency to excite gratitude; and while the mind is
influenced by sovereign grace, this will be the pleasing effect. The devout
Christian surveys the sovereign benevolence of the Creator in every person, in
every object, in every quality, and in every event. Sovereign benevolence
forces itself on every sense, and pervades his grateful heart. And then, when
he extends his views to a future state, and contemplates the operations of
grace sovereign, distinguishing, efficacious grace he is melted into
reverential awe and grateful praise, and exclaims, "Why me,
Lord!"Glory, everlasting glory to Him that sitteth on the throne, and to
the Lamb of God that was slain, who hath redeemed us to God by His blood, and
hath given us the earnest of His own inheritance.
We have this from the good John
Flavel concerning the opposite side of the coin - Grace: There is many a
learned head in hell. Gifts are the gold that beautifies the Temple; but grace
is as the Temple which sanctifies the gold. One tear, one groan, one breathing
of an upright heart is more than the tongues of angels.
If we would pray for grace, we must express gratitude after its
giving. Do we?
