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Hurrying to catch a
plane, Don had a few seconds to spare so he stopped to
buy a newspaper and a box of mints. The cashier
silently mouthed the amount, punched keys on her
computer, and handed him his change—all the while
carrying on a telephone conversation. Don claims that
he was a little irritated at her rudeness, and normally
would not have thought too much about it except that she
gave him the wrong amount of change—she owed him a
couple of dollars.
The scene is all too
familiar in our world, the distressing loss of courtesy
in American life. When informed of her mistake she
said, “I’m sorry” continuing to talk on the phone. This
pushed Don over the edge as he began lecturing her that
she would not have shorted changed him had she not been
distracted by talking on the phone. “Look,” she said,
“I told you I’m sorry.” Don had a few more things to
say to her before he left.
Later on the plane Don
realized that he had been rude as well as the clerk.
“My own lack of courtesy was showing,” he reflected.
Several years ago there
was a feature article in USA Today entitled, “Excuse me,
But…Whatever Happened to Manners.” The article noted
how impossible it is to “ignore the growing rudeness,
even harshness of American life.” Nearly 90 percent of
those polled claim it is a serious problem. (1)
Whatever happened to
saying please and thank you? Turning to our gospel
lesson, Luke continues to remind us that Jesus is on his
way to Jerusalem. From the beginning Jesus was clear
about his mission and knew exactly what would happen
once he arrived in Jerusalem. Along the way he
encounters all sorts of people, some asking questions,
others with problems, and some seeking healing from
various diseases. One day as Jesus is walking along the
border of Samaria and Galilee he encounters a group of
lepers.
Their
illness forced them to live away from their family and
friends. Their skin would be blemished, and as the
disease progressed would disfigure face and hands. This
group of lepers banded together, perhaps living in a
cave on the outskirts of town away from other people.
As people approached they could cry out for food.
Amazingly even though they lived away from family and
friends, they had heard about Jesus. As Jesus
approached they called out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy
on us!”
Jesus
heard their cry. As we have discovered, Jesus always
had time for those in need. “When he saw them” he
instructed them, “Go and show yourselves to the
priests.” It the religious officials’ responsibility to
determine whether or not those suffering from leprosy
could return to their family and friends and resume a
normal life. The ten lepers followed Jesus’
instruction. In that act of obedience, on their way to
the priest, they were healed, made clean. It was the
power of God working through Jesus that healed them.
Jesus did not touch them, or rub ointment on them. His
word healed them. Their response was to do as Jesus
instructed them.
Our faith
is measured by our obedience, are we able to follow
Jesus’ direction. Many of us struggle over the issue of
obedience; we want to do things our way, when we feel
like it, when we get around to it, and no one is going
to tell us any differently. Sound familiar? However,
it is a simple test of faith, are we able to follow
Jesus’ instruction and do what he says. When we act in
obedience we are blessed.
The lepers
did not ask for further clarification or demand that
Jesus do more for them. He told them to go and they did
exactly that. Before they arrived in town they realized
that they were healed of their dreadful disease. All
ten were made clean. It was a miracle. Now these ten
persons who had suffered were free to return to their
family and friends, as well as their livelihood. They
were set free from what had been a painful burden to
them. They must have been filled with gratitude and
profound joy.
That is
not the end of the story. One of the ten now cured
lepers returned to Jesus, “praising God with a loud
voice.” He was filled with joy—his nightmare was over.
He was free to return to his family and friends, and go
back to being a productive member of society and he had
Jesus to thank! “He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet
and thanked him.”
It almost
seems as though Jesus was caught off guard when only one
leper returned giving thanks. “Were not ten made
clean?” Jesus asked, “But the other nine, where are
they?” You might have thought that all of them would
have come back to personally thank Jesus. Besides
suffering from bad manners the other nine apparently did
not feel it was necessary to say “thank you” to Jesus.
If that
would have been you--what would you have done? Would
you have gone back to Jesus full of joy giving thanks?
Maybe we feel that as loyal members of the church that
somehow we are entitled to make demands on Jesus and
that he will fill each of them. If we felt that way we
probably would not go back to thank Jesus.
Only one
came back, one out of ten. We learn that the one who
came back to give thanks was not like the rest of
them—he was a Samaritan. It is interesting that the
only person who returned to give thanks was a
foreigner. We recall the tension and hostility between
the Jews and Samaritans. They held strong feelings of
intense dislike toward each other. They probably
thought the worst of each other, blaming each other for
everything that is wrong with the world.
Only one
came back. All ten were healed of their dreadful
disease but the one who came back received more than the
other nine, Jesus told him, “Get up and go on your way;
your faith has made you well.” The other nine were
healed but only the Samaritan was saved. Only one had
faith to believe in Jesus.
It is a
scary thought, but why does it always seem that someone
outside of the faith seems to grasp what people of faith
sometimes struggle with? In the Parable of the Good
Samaritan you will recall that it was the Samaritan who
stopped to help the wounded man along the road while the
religious folk walked past not offering any assistance.
An Ohio
pastor tells of his first church he served. It was a
small country church with several families who had long
histories with that congregation. There were many fine
Christians in that church, but one of the most
enthusiastic and devout members was a young woman who
had come into the congregation as an adult when she
married a man who had grown up there. She had limited
church background, but when she started coming to
worship with her new husband, she took the preaching
seriously.
For her,
the miracle of Easter was a fresh event. When that time
of year rolled around, with her, there was no sense of
“Well, its Easter again, so let’s rehash it once more
with feeling.” She was excited about her new found
faith. And when there was midweek Bible study she was
often the only young adult to attend. She was open to
following Jesus, taking his teachings to heart. (2)
When we
follow Jesus teaching, being obedient to his word, we
too are blessed in new ways. Ten lepers were healed of
their disease. One came back praising God giving thanks
to Jesus. He received much more than the others that
day. As Jesus said to the one healed leper, as he says
to us, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made
you well.”
Amen.
1. Say Please, Say Thank You,
Donald McCullough, New York: Putnam’s Sons, 1998
2. Homiletics, Oct.07
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