Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

 

 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.

 

 

Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

 

 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 taught 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 things 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.  It's important to note that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, toward the Cross, and His "exodus" from this world.  He passes through Galilee (a place of mixed populations) and Samaria, so the presence of strangers or outsiders figures strongly here, and particularly in connection to principles of faith rather than ethnicity.  My study Bible explains that leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of the time.  In addition to tremendous physical suffering, leprosy meant total banishment and isolation from society.  It is also a symbol of our sin.

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.   Now the priests, in Jewish practice, were the ones in charge of the oversight and treatment of lepers and leprous houses; one needed a certificate from a priest to be allowed back into community.   My study Bible cites St. Cyril of Alexandria, who comments that Jesus wants to show the priests by a tangible miracle that He is superior to Moses.  The priests hold Moses to be greater than Christ, but Christ heals a leper immediately and with His own divine authority.  When Miriam was struck with leprosy, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and yet she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15).  

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."  Jesus asks, "But where are the nine?"  My study Bible comments that Christ came to heal all of fallen humanity, yet only a small portion receive Him in faith and thanksgiving to give glory to God.  Therefore, "many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).  My study Bible adds that, for Orthodox Christians, the lesson is that worship is the number one priority.  

It's an interesting commentary that my study Bible suggests that the lesson from today's reading is that worship is the number one priority.  At first glance, one might consider that the message here is all about gratitude and its cultivation.  But when one stops to think about it, one might wonder how gratitude is possible without the foundation of worship, laying down the Source of all things for which we're grateful.  Additionally, we could consider -- in the context of a lesson about gratitude -- that the nine didn't return to thank Jesus for their healing.  But it's possible that they might have done so without the proper idea of who Jesus is.  Jesus does not ask about the nine in the context of their lack of gratitude to Him personally, but for their failure to give glory to God for their healing.  Actually, the word here is cleansing, not healing.  In the tradition of the Bible, leprosy was seen as a sign of sin, and so "cleansing" here is more than healing a physical disease.  It is eliminating a contagion that debilitated not just the body, but rendered one separate from community, and that community is defined especially in the context of worship.  Therefore, once again, there is a tie to the failure to give glory to God.  These ten would have been excluded from community, a community defined by worship.  Once they are cleansed, and thus able to return to community, part of their joy must be a return to worship in community.  But the nine have failed to take joy in this, as God is not part of their focus here.  So this cleansing is quite similar to an understanding about our own possibilities for repentance, and thus "cleansing" from things which ail us in many ways, and keep us far from God.  Repentance is a kind of medicine for healing our minds, giving us a way to see life more clearly, and outside of the places in which we're stuck or in exile from community.  A habitual problem such as an addiction, or a kind of narcissism or selfishness that feeds the ego in some way, or possibly taking a secret joy in cruelty such as gossip, are all examples of sin which mires us in a place of isolation and exclusion and the breaking of community.  Ultimately repentance must be seen in its true meaning, as a change of mind, and one that comes with consequences to our lives.  In the light of today's reading, repentance must mean the restoration to community, in right relation to both God and neighbor.  This , of course, has worship as a foundation.  For without this focus on God as the center of our lives, how does the rest fall into place?  Let us consider these words and teachings today, and how important they are for our lives.  That "higher power" that helps one conquer addiction, that would destroy the pretext of narcissism and self-centeredness as our be-all and end-all, that denies the cruel gossip a secret joy at the diminishing and breaking of community, all of these things falter and fail upon the wheel of worship, the rock that either breaks or crushes.  That is, the one thing upon which we stumble and might return to true self, or which eventually may crush us together with the false notions of self we nurse or cling to (Luke 20:18).  It is worship that provide the foundation for our understanding of what ails us, as well as the cure, the place where we find ourselves.  For without gratitude to God, we are missing the point, and we haven't really returned "home."  In this understanding, we must also take note that it is just the foreigner who returns glory to God, making it even more clear what true community rests upon.  This is assuredly so, as Jesus tells him, "Your faith has made you well."

 

 

 

 

Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

 

 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 things 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.  Leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of the time of Christ.  My study Bible explains that it brought both great physical suffering in addition to total banishment and isolation from society. It is also a symbol of our sin.  That these lepers stood afar off from Christ tells us about their isolation.

 

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.  Priests were in charge of issuing certificates for lepers to be allowed to rejoin the society.  In Luke 5:12-16, we read of another occasion upon which a leper was healed and sent to show himself to the priest in accordance with the Mosaic Law regarding leprosy.  Once again, this will have the effect of showing to the priests the power of Christ to heal (compare to the story of Miriam's leprosy and Moses' intercession in Numbers 12:10-15).  

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."  Of Christ's question, "Where are the nine?" my study Bible comments that Christ came to heal all of fallen humanity, yet only a small portion receive Him in faith and thanksgiving to give glory to God.  Hence, "many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).  The lesson for faithful Christians, it says, is that worship is the number one priority. 

There are a couple of things to note that come to mind with this story.  First of all, if we look at the earlier case in Luke's chapter 5, Jesus tells the healed leper to "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."  Jesus asks, "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  To "give glory to God" was, in fact, a form of an oath statement indicating true testimony (see John 9:24).  So, we know that intercession and an offering for cleansing were always a part of the understanding of the healing and treatment of leprosy, particularly after healing.  When the nine show no gratitude to Christ, it is in a kind of parallel with a failure to make an offering to God as commanded by Moses.  There is no acknowledgement on the part of the nine as to where their healing came from, that God has indeed healed them.  They additionally fail to acknowledge the divinity in Christ through whom they were healed.  We have to ask why they were blind to this fact -- and also why they show no gratitude to Christ at all.  So not only have they failed to recognize the divinity in Christ, but they have failed in terms of the law of Moses to give the glory to God in the spiritual fullness of the story.  It tells us something about our own blindness to that which sustains us and heals us, our own lack of gratitude when we consider our blessings and how we are sustained by God.  For if there is pride involved here on all of their parts -- except for this Samaritan who was healed, a foreigner -- then it speaks to us about how pride blinds us to the reality of spiritual truth in our own lives.  These nine perhaps entrust their healing only to their religious heritage and not to the reality of God working and present in Jesus.  It teaches us that pride may blind us to the presence of the Spirit of God when the Spirit is at work in our lives, and also about the importance of wakefulness, spiritual alertness.  What just happened?  How did they become healed?  Only the Samaritan, the foreigner, seems to truly understand what has happened in his life and how he was healed; why did the rest of them fail?  This gives us a picture of a fine line between pride in even a beautiful and good heritage and the humility that remains always a deep requirement for spiritual truth and understanding.  It teaches us that humility remains a key for truly being able to see reality, and in order to truly see God's presence in our lives, to grasp the living communion that is present to us.  Let us consider, also, the implications in this story for ourselves and our own lives even on a smaller scale.  Do we look around and recognize those to whom we should be grateful?  Do we acknowledge their efforts on our behalf?  So often it seems simply to be human nature to attribute all good things that happen in our lives to our own good qualities or something about ourselves, but we overlook so much that comes, in fact, from others.  A lack of gratitude seems to be a sort of psychological plague in a society beset by anxiety and depression.  These go hand in hand, and the practice of gratitude is often recommended as part of a healing practice for these ailments.  Let us consider that those who act out of faith and love of Christ -- even as they extend any generosity, kindness, or charity to another -- are also those worthy of a blessing by God (see Mark 9:41, Matthew 10:41-43).  Let us be alert to our spiritual reality and to our benefactors that come in many forms and may be acting in the name of God.  Ultimately, every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17).  Let us remember the power and meaning of gratitude, and what its absence can mean for us.

 

Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well

Jesus Healing Ten Lepers, Byzantine mosaic, 12th cent.  Monreale Cathedral, Sicily

 

 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 things 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.   My study Bible explains that leprosy was one of the most dreaded diseases of the time.  It brought great physical suffering as well as total banishment and isolation from society.  It is also symbolic of our sin.  Christ tells the healed lepers to show yourselves to the priests.  Priests were in charge of the law and its regulation of leprosy and leprous houses (see Leviticus 13).  They had to give a certificate so that a leper could rejoin the community, and there were also proper sacrifices involved.   St. Cyril of Alexandria comments that Jesus commanded them to go as being already healed so that they'd bear witness to the priests, testifying that wonderfully and beyond their hope, they'd been delivered from their misfortune.  He didn't heal them first but sent them to the priests, as the priests knew the marks of leprosy and its healing.   

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."   My study Bible comments that Christ came to heal all of fallen humanity, yet only a small portion receive Him in faith and thanksgiving to give glory to God.  Therefore we understand that "many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).  The lesson for the Christian faithful is that worship is the number one priority.

Jesus tells the Samaritan who glorified God, and returned to Him to give thanks, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well."  He also gives this saying to others who in some way testified for their faith.  Among them, notably, was the woman with the years-long blood flow (in this reading).  As He ventures toward Jerusalem, He will say the same to the blind man outside of Jericho (Luke 18:35-43).  It's interesting that Jesus tells the Samaritan that his faith has made him well, when there were nine others, who were Jews, who were also healed.  What made them well?  Why do they not return to give thanks to Christ, or glorify God?  Perhaps they take their healing for granted, or they feel that simply going to the priest, as required in the Law, was enough.  But if we look closely at the Gospels, we find other hints about faith and healing.  In John's Gospel, after a paralytic has been made well by Jesus, He says to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you" (see John 5:1-15).  Leprosy was seen, in Jewish spiritual history, as a symbol of sin.  The lack of gratitude to Christ and lack of praise to God in thanks can be seen as a remaining sin, a blindness to the reality of redemption in a deeper sense than the physical healing of the leprosy itself.  The implication, in the context of the Gospels, is possibly that although they've been healed, their sin remains.   One does not know what remains to them in their future.  But this Samaritan is healed indeed, and at a depth of the soul that puts him in right relationship to God, and to the person of Jesus Christ.  He is aware of his circumstances and his change, and in this deep sense it is also true that "your faith has made you well."  He is, in effect, more truly well than the others, and in a spiritual sense, stands a better chance of remaining so than the others.   Faith enables us to realize relationship and community in a deeper and grander sense than we otherwise understand; we make a connection to God that deepens our sense of who we are and why we are in the world, linking us to all of creation.  It is also a very personal and intimate relationship, that helps to guide us to well-being in our core sense of self.  To have faith, to understand gratitude to God, sets us in a place where we are connected in the heart to something that transcends our circumstances, working through all things to heal, and on all levels.  The ten lepers apparently had enough faith in Christ to ask Him to have mercy on them and heal them.  But this single Samaritan out of the ten lepers is the only one who will fully embrace its healing power going forward.  He is the only one who seems to be truly aware of how he was healed.

 

 

 

Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

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 taught His 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 things 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!"  Jesus is leaving His home territory of Galilee for Jerusalem, and He must pass through Samaria on the way (see map).  It's not clear where exactly this village is, but clearly it is of mixed population.  The ten lepers stand afar off because leprosy, as one of the most dreaded diseases of Jesus' time, not only brought great physical suffering.  It was also associated with total banishment and isolation from the society, and regulated by strict rabbinical law.  For the Scriptures, it is also spiritually symbolic of our sin, something that disfigures, causes pain, and diminishes our souls.

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.  Jesus' command, Go, show yourself to the priests, is one that is necessary so that a cleansed leper may get a certificate that they are able again to join the community.  In chapter 5, Jesus gives a similar command (5:12-14), and thus giving the priests a tangible miracle showing his power to be greater than that of Moses, who prayed for mercy when his sister Miriam was struck with leprosy.  She was healed only after seven days, but Jesus acts by immediate command and divine authority.  (See Numbers 12:10-15).

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."  My study bible responds to Christ's question, Where are the nine?  It notes 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.  Therefore, it remains true that "many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).  For those who have made such a commitment to follow Christ, the lesson here is that worship is the number one priority.

To give glory to God is to give thanks.   Indeed one of the main purposes of worship is giving thanks.  This theme has been present throughout most of our recent readings, as Jesus has been addressing Pharisees, and also their criticism of the tax collectors and other sinners who come to hear Him speak.  The theme of gratitude is particularly strong in His teaching to the Pharisees on the conflict between serving God and serving mammon, even in the ways in which we think of whatever it is that constitutes our wealth in life.  To remember that everything that we have comes from God to begin with is to support this understanding of proper gratitude and, indeed, even our place in life, in all of creation.  In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich man is heedless of what he has, and pointedly understands ownership with the self-centered sense that he owes nothing to anyone, in particular the Lord who is also the God of Lazarus.  He therefore has no sense of relatedness to the wretched Lazarus outside of his gates.  In yesterday's reading (see above) Jesus has turned to His disciples to instruct them in the powerful necessity not only of humility but of the attitude of service to God.  As disciples, their proper orientation is as those servants who are working off a debt, who owe their service to their master.  This may seem even strange and possibly harsh to us, but we need to understand that Christ is only speaking of our proper orientation toward God, our Lord.  All that we have, all that we are, all that we may become or develop into is not only by the grace of God, but is a gift of God.  Whatever we think we possess, it is through the gracious love of God for us.  When we live, work, and dwell within this understanding of ourselves and our places in all of the Creation, then we come to know who we are more thoroughly.  Moreover, we become oriented to that disposition which will bring us, in fact, the greatest satisfaction.  A person cannot live within improper boundaries, a lack of understanding of their own origin and purpose, and fulfill their own greatest happiness.  Without this deepest sense of our true center, whatever we have becomes a dangerously risky pillar on which to base our sense of ourselves and our lives, as material circumstances are so easily changed.  But if our true heart is staked on our true Center, we base our sense of ourselves on something that cannot leave or disappear, and which remains true.  Many modern trends in self-help and in popular psychology emphasize the practice of gratitude as a weapon against depression, and a way to keep a positive focus.  But there are deeper and more important reasons why the practice of gratitude puts us in a "right place" as human beings.  Let us consider, as we head into the season of Thanksgiving, and preparation for Christmas, how important it is for us to remember to give the glory to God.

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?

 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 things 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!"  Leprosy was one of the most dreaded disease of Christ's time; it meant total isolation from the community (we note that these ten leprous men stood afar off).   It's clear they recognize something about Christ; their prayer, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" makes that clear.

So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." As in an earlier healing of leprosy in Luke's Gospel (Luke 5:12-15), Jesus sends these men to the priests.  It was required by Mosaic Law to receive a certificate from a priest in order to re-enter into the society and religious community.  But this also would have the effect of making the priests aware of Christ's healing power and authority, which was greater than that of Moses himself.  (See Numbers 12:10-15.)

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."  My study bible says that Christ came to heal all of fallen humanity, yet only a small portion receive Him in faith and thanksgiving to give glory to God.  Thus, many are called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16).  For the faithful, worship is the number one priority; it is the recognition of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).  Jesus repeats here what He has said to others, "Your faith has made you well."

Studies on gratitude show its positive effect in our lives.  This thoughtful article published by Harvard Medical School interprets data from such studies to include the interpersonal meanings and connections that form as part of a state of gratitude, including exercises in which someone is specifically thanked, and the effects of doing so on one's own sense of well-being.  We often hear that to have "an attitude of gratitude" is a good thing, but it's also true that we can choose to be generally grateful for possessions such as material things we have, as well as, for example, good health, or for coming through a difficult situation relatively well, without necessarily thinking about the source of those good things.  But the Harvard article explains that having a thankful attitude toward the source of those things for which we're grateful is at least as important as the gratitude itself in determining our own sense of well-being.  To quote the article regarding one such exercise, "When their week's assignment was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness, participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores. This impact was greater than that from any other intervention, with benefits lasting for a month."  In our reading for today, Jesus teaches the one leper who came back to Him with gratitude for his healing that "your faith has made you well."  In this context, we may connect faith with the state of gratitude.  It is one thing to cultivate a personal list of things we're grateful for, but it's another to focus on the object of gratitude, the one to whom we're grateful.  As the Harvard Medical School article indicates, to do the latter is to truly reap the possible benefits of gratitude, and those include a better sense of interpersonal relationships.  I would suggest that through faith, the leper's relationship to God was bolstered exponentially through one act of gratitude, thus, as Christ indicated, impacting the quality of his entire life.  To view Jesus' words, "Go your way, your faith has made you well," in this light is to come to terms with the great gifts possible through a life of faith.  Of course, "gratitude" is rooted in the word  for "grace," a recognition of blessings from God.  To really understand gratitude, we have to know true righteousness, or right-relatedness.  Gratitude, when we practice it properly in recognizing the source of grace -- God as well as other human beings (and, one supposes, other beloved creatures!) -- becomes an exercise in cultivating "right relationships."  Our own place in the universe, in our own world, our community, becomes enhanced and set down in a proper place.  Our understanding of our own basic reality becomes more full.  Let us remember that it's not simply the having that gives us real happiness and benefits, but rather the recognition of those from whom our good things come.  In this way we enhance our own lives by recognizing the sources of the good we have.  One may even find quite often in this perspective that even nominally "bad" experiences can become sources for gratitude, and that gifts flow in an abundance not usually recognized.  May our faith truly make us well, as Christ said.

Your faith has made you well

 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

In yesterday's reading, 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 on 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 things 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.   It's important to remember that in all the recent readings, Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem, and to His "exodus."  (See the commentary on the Transfiguration, where Jesus discussed His "exodus" with Moses and Elijah.) 

Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  My study bible says that "the lepers stood afar off because they were not permitted to approach people or enter into the villages."  They are, by virtue of their affliction, a group of "outsiders."

And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"   On the way to Jerusalem, we get stories throughout the Gospels of those who shout to Jesus, "Have mercy on me!"  His reputation precedes Him.  They call Him "Master"  - He is known as a holy teacher, and obviously a healer.  We recall how He will be welcomed into Jerusalem as Messiah on the day we celebrate as  Palm Sunday.

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 tells us, "Only a Samaritan, despised by Jews, sets the example of gratitude for his healing.  God's blessings are all too easily taken for granted or forgotten."

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."  It's interesting to take a look at this word in the Greek for "made you well."  Really, literally, it reads "your faith has saved you."  "Saved" of course is the same word from which we derive the name for Jesus, Savior, and also the word "salvation."  Literally, it comes from the action of being rescued from danger, and taken into safety.  All of these meanings are bound up with healing.

We could think of all these men as "foreigners," really.  That is, they are ostracized, outside of the society, because of their affliction.  In understanding disease -- especially leprosy -- as affliction, we also get a picture (seen throughout especially Luke's Gospel) of what Jesus is about:  He rescues from affliction, from the one who oppresses, the prince of this world, the evil one.  All throughout the Gospels, and especially in Luke, we get this image of Jesus as healer:  He's the one who lifts our burdens and afflictions, breaks the bonds of the "strong man" with which we are bound, rescues us -- even as we are "ransomed" by Him.  Here, He assures the one who is the foreigner among foreigners, if you will, "Go your way, your faith has saved you."  All of them have been healed, but there's one who is really saved, and that is this foreigner of the foreigners, who's not just been returned to society but also to Christ, to God, in a direct way.  To save -- to heal, in this case -- is also to be returned to safety, to the place in which we are loved.  There we get to the real root of healing and salvation, and that's to know we are home among those who will truly love and care for us.  This is the true profound message of this Gospel.  God's work is love, and to bring us into that love through release of anything that afflicts us or binds us or keeps us from it is His job, His mission in the world.  Thereby we understand ourselves, as disciples, even as we follow in the shoes of the apostles.  Our mission is love.  There are those who will not accept it, even when they benefit from it; those who will not appreciate it, nor understand it.  They will not be addressed this way; saved and yet not saved because not accepting of this love.  To show gratitude is to understand, to acknowledge, and to develop a kinship in the truest sense.  A relationship is just that, a dialogue.  Jesus has recently given us the parable of the Prodigal Son; nothing mattered so much as return and communion, dialogue.  This is what love is all about -- even Jacob wrestling with an angel for a blessing was a form of dialogue and communion.  The others, taking this healing from leprosy for granted, as their "due" in some sense, did not bother to come back to thank Jesus, to acknowledge and speak with Him.  Let us remember His teachings from yesterday's reading as well, about how we are to dialogue with one another in the Church, openness and honesty and responsible understanding as the core.  Let us remember this Samaritan leper who is truly "saved."  Let us talk with God, be grateful for God's gifts, and remember what communion really means.  In this way we are saved -- in all the ways we may learn what that really means as we continue in this road of faith.