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)
The Prayer of Collect reminds us of the biblical principle that faith and love
come from God. He is the author of both faith and love, and neither can be
self-generated by man.
In national diplomacy, we often refer to the “Full Faith and Credit of the U.S.
Government.” The implication is that all that the American government has and
believes is behind, and supports, a certain policy. Today’s Gospel theme is
like unto that phrase, but with an added dimension – gratitude. We may have
full faith, but that faith must be backed up with gratitude for blessings
received.
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified for us – for the people at
Jerusalem, for the very Romans who nailed Him to the cross, for the Galileans,
for the Samaritans, and for all nations, tribes and tongues who believe on Him.
It simply “came to pass” that he went through the midst of
Samaria and Galilee. It was not otherwise essential for Jesus to pass through
Samaria, but He did for a purpose – the same purpose decreed from eternity
past; and that purpose involved ten lepers whom He knew He would meet on His
way. Jesus is always going through the midst of nations for a specific purpose.
Somewhere along the extended route He always took, perhaps He met YOU along the
weary road, seemingly by happenstance! But it was not happenstance, for nothing
of God happens by happenstance. You were dying of a filthy and odorous,
blood-borne disease called sin, but He healed you and restored you, if you
called out to Him as did these poor lepers. How like sin is the disease of
leprosy. It was deadly, it was insidious, it rotted away the very being of a
person, it could not be covered or escaped, and it relentlessly ate away at the
limbs and vital organs of the body just as sin does the soul. THERE WAS NO
KNOWN CURE! What was needed for a person with leprosy was simply a miracle!
Perhaps we do not understand that our salvation – our healing from our deadly
disease of sin – came by the same miraculous Word that healed the lepers on the
way to Jerusalem. The kind of love that Jesus offers is not a sentimental or
tentative love – it is an all-consuming, miraculous kind of love. All true love
descends from God. And all that God touches is a miracle! How could One of
perfect righteousness – sinless in every respect, Holy and unable to even look
upon sin - take all of our filthy sins, and the sins of the world, upon Himself
in the shame, humiliation, and torture of the cross? Was it not a miracle? If a
bitter enemy comes near and you were to insult him with your greatest offense,
or even strike him or his only son, would it not be a miracle is he gave his
life in preserving your own?
When you were first aware of your disease of sin, did you try to conceal the
rotting tissue – the ominous and repulsive odor with perfumes? Did you cover,
as long as possible, the signs of leprosy (sin) with your best apparel as did
Naaman, the Assyrian Captain? But after a bit, it becomes impossible to cover
such a disease that slowly advances toward certain and eternal death. Sin
separates the sinner from God, and from his loved ones, just as leprosy
separates the leper from his family and friends. You will soon find that, like
Naaman, you need a miracle, and that miracle can only be had in Christ.
Jesus wittingly went to Jacob’s Well that noonday hour for a specific purpose –
to meet a woman of ill repute there who sought physical water, but left with
the Water of Life. He then used that woman to draw many more Samaritans to
Himself. It was no accident of chance, but an event of purpose and known
action. So our narrative from the Gospel text opens with Jesus passing through
Samaria and Galilee on His final earthly visit to Jerusalem. 11 “And
it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of
Samaria and Galilee.” The Samaritans were cast-offs from the Judean
religion, but Christ NEVER forgets the cast-offs. In fact, He makes special
provision for them in meeting them WHERE THEY ARE TO BE FOUND, just as He came
to you where you could be found. It may have been in a busy office, a train, a
lonely midnight street, or even a barroom, but He always comes to where you are
with His gentle prodding’s of the Holy Ghost. You looked from the place where
you stood and saw Him coming to you!
You will well know, if you are a person of faith, that sin separates us from
God. Adam and Eve hid themselves in the Garden after sinning against their
loving Creator. Cain also hid from the presence of God, or tried to do. Sin
makes a great abyss between us and God just as broad and impassable as that
which existed between the Rich Man and Lazarus. Only God can breech that abyss,
and He must come to us in doing so. 12 “And as he entered into a
certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.”
Jesus never separated Himself from lepers. In fact, He is the only One I read
about who actually dared touch a filthy leper in Scripture. And,
behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou
canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy
was cleansed. (Matt 8:2-3) God does not make a separation between us
and Himself – WE are the ones who make the separation through our sins or
leprosy. The lepers were not allowed to approach near people. If they met on
the road, they were required to shout “Unclean, unclean!” as a warning for
others to stay clear of them. So we see these lepers were afar off from Christ
when they saw Him coming.
These ten lepers were obviously of mixed tribes for the Gospel specifically
points out that one of them was a Samaritan. It may be logically assumed that
some, at least, were Jews or Phoenicians. But sin unites across racial and
national boundaries. Being outcast from God, the sinners are united in their
darkness. The sinners travel together while their disease separates them from
God and His Church. Have you known the time in your past when you slithered
beneath the rocks at the rising of the Sun to shield your eyes from the great
Light? Did you not find fellow creatures there who loved the darkness more than
the Light?
When we have wronged our best friend, how we avoid looking that friend squarely
in the eyes! Sin separates!
13 “And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master,
have mercy on us.” When sin has choked out your last breath and
paralyzed your heart, you then know that your condition is hopeless. But then
you look up and see the Giver of Life and the Healer of the nations on the road
coming your way. What will you do? Will you avail yourself of the Healing Balm,
or will you say, “I don’t need it! I shall die in my sin?” There are three
circumstances common to these ten lepers: 1) they ALL have leprosy and are
dying of the disease; 2) they are together in their demise; and 3) they all
have faith to call upon Jesus for healing. Their faith was not all equal, for
nine only sought healing from the deadly physical disease that afflicted them,
but one had faith sufficient to plead for the spiritual healing of Christ as
well. Do you pray for healing of the body to the neglect of the soul? We are in
a constant war against sin and evil. Our full faculties must be mobilized to
watch out for the intrigues of the enemy, but also for the arrival of the
Captain of our souls along the weary road to Jerusalem!
These ten lepers pled for mercy! If they could receive mercy from the Lord of
Life, that would certainly suffice for their healing of leprosy. It is
interesting to note Jesus’ response: “14 And when he saw them, he
said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests.”
They sought healing, and they believed that they would have it if they followed
the surprising Word of Jesus. Jesus does not always respond in the same way. He
could have simply healed these lepers on the spot as He had done others, but He
had a point to make to His disciples, so He told the lepers to show themselves
to the priests so that they might be declared clean and able to return to their
families and friends. Have you, too, received a counsel of God that simply does
not seem to fit your prayer? Has Christ told you to obey some counsel that did
not, at the time, make sense? If so, what did you do? Did you follow His Word,
or disobey?
Sometimes, in order to answer our prayers, Christ sends us on an errand that
may not make sense to us. These poor lepers all OBEYED though they were not
immediately healed. Is this not an amazing miracle in itself, I mean, that they
did obey without question? What was the result? “And it came to pass,
that, as they went, they were cleansed.” The faith they
demonstrated in both calling out to Christ, and promptly obeying His command,
was an elemental faith that would result in the healing of one deadly disease,
but not another more serious affliction (sin) for nine of them. As they went to
see the priest, they realized that they had been healed. By now, they have made
some distance from the One who healed them – it is probable that they were not ‘out
of sight’ of Jesus. How do they respond? Perhaps they reckoned, “Well, we have
that for which we came. Let us not trouble the Master by returning and giving
thanks. He will know that we were healed?” Their immediate joy perhaps
overwhelmed their sense of gratitude so that their gratitude was diminished by
their senseless joy. Now they could return to their families. Now life would
again be normal for these suffering men. But what about the One who gave them
such a wonderful gift? Not worth their time to return to express their humble
gratitude? Do not children often grow up to resent the very parents who made
their lives possible?
When we pray to God, we must accept whatever answer is forthcoming even if we
do not understand it at the moment. We must be thankful enough to express that
gratitude on bended knee. But do we? Do you remember the great national appeal
to God through prayer that happened all across America on the Eve of the Desert
Storm Operation in January 0f 1991? Churches and communities turned out for
prayer vigil unlike anything sense the Second World War. Our troops were
heralded by well-wishers from the bridge overpasses as their convoys wheeled
toward the points of disembarkation. It was a most encouraging and inspiring
moment. There seemed to be hope for the moral decline of America at last. It
was expected that the allied Forces might sustain a casualty rate as high as
60,000 in the first four hours of battle. God moved in the Heavens and His
Angels of War soared above the heads of our battle elements in a manner not
unlike that wonderful Pillar of fire that followed the Children of Israel out
of Egypt. The causalities were quite minimal – sixteen fatalities and only a
few injured. What was the result? Did the nation’s churches again turn out in
droves to return thanks and gratitude to the God of Battles who sustained our
forces in the field? No, not appreciably. Instead, we were treated to
debriefings and continual news flashes of our good General, “Stormin’ Norman”
Schwartzkoff, outlining how our brilliant technology and strategic planning had
“won the day.” God was, sadly, not mentioned.
God always has His one faithful soul in every mixture of ingrates. He had Abel
who stood against the growing evil of the first generation of men. He had His
Samuel who stood against all of Israel in their desire for a king to rule over
them – other than the King of Heaven. He has had his Ruth’s and Naomi’s, His
Paul’s and His Stephen’s – and He now has one out of ten healed lepers whose
heart, more than his body, has been touched and healed, all the way through, by
Christ. “15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned
back, and with a loud voice glorified God.” All quickly went on their
way to the priest at Christ commands. All were healed on the way; however, one,
just as promptly as recognizing his healing, immediately turned back to the
Source of his healing to glorify God. This is wise for two reasons: 1) it is
always wise to be grateful for gifts received. A heart of gratitude is reward
unto itself for health and joy; and, 2) when we fail to express gratitude for
blessings granted either by God, or by friends, we shut off the flowing
Fountain of Living Waters for future blessings. This one leper was not timid to
glorify God with a “loud voice.” He cared not who heard his glorifying. He, in
fact, wanted every living creature in earshot to hear his praises of the One
who had healed his leprosy, and his heart.
How uncharacteristic, in the eyes of the disciples, for this particular leper
to be the only one to return thanks for he was a disgusting Samaritan! What
were you before you came to Christ, friend? Were you better than this leper?
Were you better than the other nine? How the modern church disdains a poor and
itinerant sinner who wonders into their marbled palaces in disarray!
“16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving
him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.” He did better than all the
other nine who were comprised of at least some of the better race – Jews. Do
you not yet see that God cares not for color of skin, or national origins? He
looks upon the heart only! This humble Samaritan knew how Jewish society
regarded lepers, but he also knew how it perceived Samaritans as well. He was
BOTH, yet this loving Savior took pity upon him despite his shortcomings and
condition. He was not ashamed to fall at the feet of such a beneficent Savior.
Are you ashamed after all He has done for you?
Jesus’ following question was rhetorical: “17 And Jesus
answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but
where are the nine?” Of course, He knew where the others were –
they were still hurrying to the priest to settle pressing personal
consideration, not having time to return and thank their Benefactor. Even when
we depart from Him to cherish our sins, He yet knows where we are. Jesus is
asking this question to draw a vivid impression in the minds of His disciples.
When we read the Word of God, and hear it preached from the pulpit, we may not
at first understand fully, but the Holy Ghost will, in time, bring all such
things to our recollection and understanding. These same disciples, though they
could not grasp the full gravity of Jesus’ inquiry at the moment, later proved
their apostolic understanding in the lives that they lived, and died, for
Christ!
This stranger? This stranger was once Jerry Ogles! We were
all strangers to God before we came to Him in faith and gratitude. “18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God,
save this stranger.” When we seek the favors of God, we do not
go half way, but ALL the way. We must not simply “eat the fish and leave the
bone.” We feed on every Word that comes from the mouth of God whether every
Word is personally pleasing or not. Our modern society has decided that it can
edit out certain egregious sins from the Holy Bible – sins such as the murder
of innocent babies in their mother’s womb, or abominable sins such as
homosexuality giving, it rather, a place of dignity among society and even the
church. How apostate can we become! But only ‘this stranger’ returned out of
ten to give thanks. They were all in the same congregation. All sought the same
Lord. All heard His healing Words. All obeyed His command (to a certain point).
But after that point of healing, nine failed of gratitude and grace expected of
a Christian. Is not the same thing happening in congregations all across
America today? Have we not labeled that which is good, ‘bad;’ and that which is
bad, ‘good?’ Have we not sat and listened to the sermon with closed minds and
ears – or, else, has the minister himself not compromised away the Word and will
of our Holy Father to the detriment of millions of souls? Are we so much in a
hurry to get back to the things of the world after our prayers, that we neglect
gratitude for the mercies of God?
It was faith
in Jesus that brought the leper to the point afar off to call upon Him to have
mercy. It was a stronger faith that compelled him to return to the Source of
his blessing of answered prayer. And it was faith that drew him to Christ.
Though it was Christ who healed and forgave, it was faith that was the agency
whereby he was drawn in the first place. His faith was a surpassing faith that
went beyond simple belief, but went on to a loving gratitude that welded his
soul to that of Christ. “19 And he
said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Only when we come to Christ on bended knee can
we ‘arise’ from our paltry predicaments and face a new life of salvation and
righteousness. Christ does not heal halfway, but All the way if our faith
enforces gratitude. Have you thanked God today for your next breath, your next
heartbeat, and all of the more obvious ways He has blessed and healed you? If
not, what are your intentions?
