Pentecost XX

By The Rev.  Martha Frances+
Year C,  Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 23
14 October  2007 

Texts:  Luke 17: 11-19 ;  Other Readings: 2 Timothy 2: 8-15; Psalm 66: 1-11; Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7

      Jesus & his disciples are back on the road again, & this gospel story moves like an order of worship.  We begin with stories of our faith just as Jesus relates & lives out the Story as he walks along with the disciples on his way to his eventual ultimate sacrifice at the cross in Jerusalem.  We, too, move through our deepening story of faith to our commitment through a sacrifice of praise & thanksgiving at the Eucharist.  Jesus is engaged in a missionary campaign designed to cover many towns while also instructing those traveling with him on how to grow into faithful disciples & evangelists. 

      Where better than the border between Galilee & Samaria for Jesus to encounter those in his society who were the most marginalized:  lepers. The irony is that these 10 lepers wouldn't even be allowed into the house of worship—because of their disease, they were deemed unworthy. Leprosy was a horrible social disease without a cure, so lepers were required to keep their distance from the rest of society yet still had to position themselves close enough to receive the charity of others, begging from afar.  They often lived in colonies as they do even today, thrown together by their common plight just like homeless & marginalized people who find the usual social & racial barriers broken down when they share hardships as well as their experience, strength & hope. 

      The outsiders, insiders only within their own group, cry out in a prayer used through the ages as a breath prayer by many who strive to pray without ceasing:  "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  The lepers are the only people besides Jesus' own disciples who call him Master, but when they plead for mercy, Jesus commands them to act healed by showing themselves to the priests.  When he calls them to act, they gain dignity by partnering with him in their own healing.  Somewhere down the road as they obey his command, they find they are wearing new skin.

      Lepers could not reenter mainstream society until the priests declared them clean, performing proper rituals on them.  Jesus, always sensitive to the marginalized, makes it possible for them to be reconciled with the rest of their community by healing that which separates them.  Healed of their physical infirmities, the 10 lepers are off to show themselves to the priests so they can rejoin their families & friends.  Nine of the lepers follow Jesus' orders like the literalists they are—doing their duty by going to the priests.  They fulfill the law; that's it.  How many of us spend valuable time & energy trying to figure out what the minimum daily (or weekly) requirement we can get away with of our time, talent or treasure & still belong to God's house?

      And who returns?  Who comes back to show gratitude, to praise God & to thank Jesus?  Only one of the 10 former lepers, now cleansed of one stigma but still wearing another, for he is a Samaritan.  Jesus acknowledges & praises this Samaritan's return, giving thanks to God by offering him more than physical healing.  The word for healing is also translated "salvation," & Jesus tells the Samaritan that his faith has saved him.  The man who recognizes the source of his healing & thanks God for it is offered salvation.  The outsider is the only one who gets it.  The outcast receives the fullness of Jesus' grace, not because he deserves it any more but simply because he's open to it.

      I'm reminded of a phrase in Eucharistic Prayer C which states, "Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this Table for solace only, & not for strength; for pardon only, & not for renewal."  The Samaritan who returns to give thanks receives much more than simply physical healing.  That's what Eucharist, our Lord's Supper, really means: giving thanks, praising God for what God has done for us.  [Much of our music this morning reminds us that our first basic responsibility as Christians is to give thanks—returning to God that which is most precious.]  The Samaritan receives so much more than what he's asked for; he's blessed with salvation.

      Our relationship with Jesus is certainly not one of equality.  The ancient hymn tune from our reading from 2^nd Timothy today is balanced up to a point:

      "If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

      if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself."

You see, death in Christ Jesus through our baptism brings abundant life.  In baptism, we die to ourselves, & rise, & live with Christ. If we endure hardships which we encounter in life, we are promised that we will reign with Christ.  But even if we fail in our faith journey, Christ remains faithful because it is in his very nature.  What a gift:  to be promised Christ's faithfulness even when we are not faithful!  We see, however, with the Samaritan, that those who are faithful receive so many more of the benefits of Christ's faithfulness.  What an encouragement to remain faithful to Christ, even in the midst of hardship! 

      And, returning to the structure of our worship service, each time we come to Christ's altar for renewal, we have the privilege to make confession & ask pardon, share the peace of Christ with our brothers and sisters with whom we travel this journey, & then stand around the table to receive a foretaste of the messianic banquet as forgiven & redeemed children of God.  For many of you, worshiping here in the parish hall may feel peculiar because we stand for the Eucharistic Prayer, but this is the posture of the early church as a gathered community celebrating Eucharist—which means giving thanks—together.  You may miss the kneelers, but for the next few Sundays while we're worshiping here, enjoy the sense of community supporting each other that standing gives us.  Of course, it's always appropriate for those who cannot stand to sit or kneel. 

            I cannot tell you today what faithfulness God is calling you to show.  However, I believe that, in our hearts, we know what areas of our lives we must turn over completely to God in order to show the depth of faith which the Samaritan leper showed when he returned to offer thanksgiving.   As we celebrate with praise & thanksgiving the total gift Christ offered when he set his path to Jerusalem & his crucifixion, let us meditate on what gifts of our own time & talent as well as treasure Christ is calling us to share with our worshipping community this next year.  And in everything, let us give thanks!