Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well."- Luke 17:11–19
Yesterday we read that Jesus said to the disciples, "It is
impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom
they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung
around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should
offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your
brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a
day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." And
the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith." So the Lord said,
"If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry
tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it
would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending
sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once
and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare
something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have
eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank
that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think
not. So likewise you, when you have done all those thing which you are
commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was
our duty to do.'"
Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst
of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there
met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up
their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" So when He
saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so
it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he
saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,
and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a
Samaritan. My study Bible comments that leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of the time. This illness brought tremendous physical suffering, as well as complete banishment and isolation from society. It is also considered to be a symbol of our sin. Jesus tells these lepers, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." This is because, in accordance with the Law, a certificate was necessary to rejoice community. But, according to St. Cyril of Alexandria, another reason that Jesus gives this command is so that the priests will be convinced by a tangible miracle that He is superior to Moses. The priests hold Moses to be greater than Christ, but these lepers are healed immediately and with Christ's own divine authority. When Miriam, the sister of Moses, was struck with leprosy, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and even so she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15).
So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are
the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God
except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your
faith has made you well." Jesus asks, "But where are the nine?" My study Bible comments that Christ came to heal all of fallen humanity, but only a small portion receive Him in faith and thanksgiving to give glory to God. Thus, it says, "many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16). The lesson for our faith is that worship is the number one priority.
In a recent reading, Jesus gave two parables in response to the Pharisees and scribes, after they complained because He received and ate with tax collectors and sinners (see this reading from a week ago). At that time, He began His response to them with two parables, both of which had a theme of seeking out that which was lost. These are the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. In the parable of the Lost Sheep, a shepherd leave his flock of ninety-nine to seek the one that is still missing. In the parable of the Lost Coin, a woman has a bridal necklace of ten coins, and she works tirelessly and diligently until she finds the one coin that was lost. He ended that parable by saying that the woman called her friends and neighbors together, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!" He finished the parable by teaching, "Likewise, I
say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner who repents." Here in today's story, Jesus must travel through Samaria (a Gentile region) and Galilee, His home region which consists of mixed populations, both Gentile and Jew. We're told that He entered a certain village, but it's not made clear where. We just know that there were ten lepers, standing afar off (as they were required to be separate from community), who -- knowing who Jesus was -- called to Him from afar, referring to Him by name and calling Him Master, pleaded with Him to have mercy on them. We note that the ten lepers are distanced from the community, in accordance with Jewish Law, and that Jesus also tells them to show themselves to the priests. But only one of them, we're told, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice
glorified God, and fell down on his face at [Jesus'] feet, giving Him
thanks. And he was a Samaritan. This is now, in a strange sense, the inverse of the parables Jesus taught to the Pharisees and scribes. Whereas those parables of the Lost Coin and the Lost Sheep were given to express God's tremendous love in seeking out that which was lost, and so seeking a fullness or completion in God's creation, this story of the ten lepers is a very human one, and it describes the very human or worldly response to God and the good things of God for which we're meant to be grateful. This story follows upon Jesus' teaching to the disciples that, when a disciple has done what is asked, in fulfilling the commands of Christ, we're to say, "We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was
our duty to do." This notion of "unprofitable," as we discussed in yesterday's commentary, is meant to express the idea that as faithful human beings, we cannot possibly repay the grace of God. We simply do not have any resources equal in substance or quality to what we've been given. This story in today's reading illustrates that reality. How can any human being possibly repay God for the gift of healing -- and from a disease symbolic of sin, thereby akin to being forgiven and released from sin, so to speak? We don't have any kind of substance or capacity that is like that, with which to repay God. So it is simply our gratitude that is appropriate to the gift of God's mercy, to grace, and to give glory to God. To be healed of leprosy is an incredible reprieve from terrible suffering, but where are those others who failed to give any sign of gratitude to God? This lack of gratitude gives us a sense of what is today called entitlement. One thing is clear from this story: it is the outsider, the stranger, the foreigner here who has come back to give glory to God and to give thanks to Christ for his healing. Moreover, Christ tells him, "Arise, go your way. Your
faith has made you well." Let's consider those words, "Your faith has made you well." This seems to indicate the others are without faith, and given Christ's repeated teaching to others to "sin no more," their ailments possibly will return. At any rate, given Jesus' response, we can perceive that the fullness of healing, or of any gracious action of God, is not complete without our gratitude and giving of thanks and glory to God. This is what we should take with us from today's reading, and grasp that as Jesus directly says that it is this man's faith that has made him well, we need to live the fullness of our faith in turn. The fullness of our faith, in accordance with Christ's remarks today, isn't complete without giving thanks, without giving glory to God. As we are approaching a holiday season (at least in the West where I live) of official occasion to give thanks, let us take this very seriously. For perhaps it is true that we cannot live good lives of faith without it. Modern medicine often tells us that gratitude is a key antidote to depression and other ailments, both mental and physical. Perhaps this tie with our faith provides the true key to that outcome, as this foreigner becomes the icon of faith.