GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD

By

Russell L. Parker, MA

October 14, 2007

Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

In this mornings reading from the Old Testament we see Naaman, a mighty warrior and commander of the King’s army whose affliction with leprosy created a need so great, that he was willing to submit himself to the King of Israel in hopes of a cure. But his pride got in the way and he was angry and arrogant, that he, a mighty warrior and a commander of a great army, would be required to do a menial task, such as washing in a foreign river. He deserved more; in fact he deserved to be cured instantly in the name of the Lord God. It took his servants appeal for him to do that small task, by which he was washed and was made clean.

Sometimes our greatest rewards come from doing that which we would rather not do.

Naaman became a believer that day, and he said - I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant. In that moment, Naaman a great and mighty warrior, a commander of the Kings army, was humbled before the God of Israel and gave thanks.

In our gospel for today, we have ten men who are suffering from leprosy who like Naaman, desperately needed healing. Nine of them were Jews and one a Samaritan.

In both the reading and the gospel for today, much reference is given to the disease of leprosy as well as the contrast between Jew and Samaritan. For just a moment, I want to give some background on each so that we might better understand today’s gospel.

Leprosy was the most terrible disease in the day of Jesus; it was greatly feared. The Jews always connected Leprosy with sin. It was disfiguring and sometimes fatal. The leper himself was considered utterly unclean both physically and spiritually. He could not approach within six feet of any person including family members. He was judged to be dead – a living dead and he had to wear a black garment so he could be recognized from among the dead. He was banished as an outcast, totally ostracized from society, earthly and heavenly. He could not live within the walls of any city and his dwelling had to be outside the city gates. He was thought to be polluted, incurable by any human means whatsoever. Leprosy could be only be cured by God. This paints a very bleak picture of what it meant to be a leper in the day of Jesus. Likewise, although not a disease, being a Samaritan was someone to be despised during this period.

Samaria was the central part of Palestine. Palestine was a small country, reaching only one hundred twenty miles north to south. The country was divided into three sections: Judea, the southern section; Galilee, the northern section; And Samaria, the central section, lying right between the two.

There was bitter hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. Two things in particular caused this hatred.

1. The Samaritans were mongrel or half-Jews, a mixed breed by birth. What had happened was this. Centuries before about 720 B.C., the King of Assyria had captured the ten tribes of Israel and deported a large number of the people. He then took people from all over the Assyrian empire and transplanted them into Samaria to repopulate the land. The result was only natural. Intermarriage took place and the people became a mixed breed, a breed including. The fact of a mixed breed, of course, infuriated the strict Jews who held to a pure race.

2. The Samaritans were mongrel or half-Jews, a mixed breed by religion as well as by birth. The transplanted heathen, of course, brought their gods with them.

In our gospel, we find Jesus traveling to Jerusalem between Galilee and Samaria and was met by a ten lepers. We know that the Jews preferred to have no dealings with Samaritans; yet in this group there was one Samaritan. In the common tragedy of their leprosy they had forgotten they were Jews and Samaritans and remembered only they were men in need. The stood far off in observance of the law concerning keeping their distance from others, for they were unclean.

At first reading, this story seems simple and would require little if any explanation. Yet this simple story speaks volumes to who we are and how we are to behave as Christians. Luther puts it this way “In the leper it teaches us faith, in Christ it teaches us love”. Faith gives and love receives. Doesn’t faith and love constitute the whole character of what it means to be a Christian?

These ten men, with common suffering, stepped out in faith, and called for Jesus to have mercy on them. The men had never met Jesus before. Their request for mercy was based their desperate need to be healed along with their faith in Christ to have the power to heal. In the process they showed humility by observing the law to stay at least six feet away from a person. The literally had to stay outside of the crowd the followed Jesus. Imagine how hard this would have been, to have such a disease that was debilitating as well as humiliating, to stand there and ask for mercy all the while observing the law. I ask myself, would I have been able to do that? On many other occasions those seeking healing just ran up to Jesus – just touch him. Not only did they have to keep their distance, but the law required them to announce to all that they were unclean. How could one just keep one’s distance when the suffering is so great?

It is very clear, that everyone must recognize their uncleanness in approaching Jesus and approach with humility. James says it this way.

James 4:10 (NRSV)
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

In one voice they called out “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! Then Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests.

Now the lepers were under no obligation to do what Christ told them to do, but because they believed, they obeyed without question - they went. This was an act of obedient faith, for there was no promise of being healed, just instruction to go to the priests. Along the way they were healed, they were made clean, a free gift from God, not merited, totally underserved, but freely given by God’s mercy. Mercy which is pure grace.

I don’t know how you would have responded, but I would have been skeptical, maybe somewhat like Naaman, “you want me to do what?” “I though you had the power” “Why must I go to the priests? “I though you could just pronounce me healed and that would be that.”

The lesson that we can learn from their response is that we are to go forth in boldness with assurance that our needs will be met by faith, not doubting but with a firm conviction that what we have asked for will be received.

One of my favorite versus is:

Hebrews 11:1 (NRSV) 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Faith is so powerful, the God tells us to consider it done before the asking. Faith is assurance of things hoped for.

Isaiah 65:24 (NRSV) 24 Before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.

It is only by God’s goodness and willing grace that we know Christ knew of their need before they called and before they cried out, he was prepared to do all their hearts desire. It is by faith in Christ that we are saved and not of our own doing.

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.” The text does not tell us whether all ten lepers made it to the priest and were declared clean. Whether it was after the priest declare the Samaritan clean, that he decided to return to Jesus, or was he in route to the priest, when the he saw that he was made clean, and then turned back to Jesus. All that we know for sure is that it was the Samaritan who returned praising God in a loud voice and prostrating himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.

We are not told what happened to the other nine, the Jews, who did not return. They may have credited the priest for their cure rather than admit it was Christ. But by not returning to give thanks to the one who healed them, they did not honor Christ. Only one returned to praise and give thanks to Jesus, and by Luke’s account, the Samaritan was the least likely one, but this foreigner shows us how we are to behave by honoring Christ with his gratitude.

Thanklessness is all too common among humans in today’s world. Rather than being grateful for the good gifts we have received from God, we often act as if we have a right to far more. Sometimes we even complain about the privileges and blessings God has given us, and we go to great lengths to obtain more. As Christians we are called to a higher standard. We are to exalt our Lord and show appreciation.

Matthew 5:6 (NRSV)
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Hebrews 13:5 (NRSV)
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."

Psalms 67:3 (NRSV)
3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

The Samaritan did not permit himself to be drawn from Christ; he was determined and steadfast in his gratitude. He worshiped and praised Jesus at his feet. He was humble before the Lord. Even thought he was a Samaritan, one of the tribe of the most despised and rejected of men, he glorified God. He fell down on his face at the feet of Jesus and he worshiped Him. Here we see the most rejected, a stranger, a foreigner, a Samaritan, was the most thankful. What an example to all of us. We are to be thankful and praise God as we are told in the following scriptures.

Colossians 1:12 (NRSV)
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NRSV)
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Peter 2:9 (NRSV)
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Jesus said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Not only did Christ heal this man of his leprosy, a disease of the body which manifests itself externally on the body, but he cleansed him internally of his leprosy of the heart. He was made clean and saved. His sins were forgiven. A thankful man shall be the one truly saved. For the one leper received assurance of being cleansed and of having his sins forgiven. The other nine were made externally clean, but were not saved.

As Max Lucado writes in his book, Just Like Jesus: Our hearts seem so far from his. He is pure; we are greedy. He is peaceful; we are hassled. He is purposeful; we are distracted. He is pleasant; we are cranky. He is spiritual; we are earthbound. The distance between our hearts and his seems so immense. How could we ever hope to have the heart of Jesus?

Ready for a surprise? You already do. You already have the heart of Christ. If you are in Christ, you already have the heart of Christ. The lesson here is that we are return to Christ continually, to glorify and worship Him for He is the power and strength for life.

So what are we to do? Like the answer of the lawyer in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:27, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

Conclusion

We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. Sin is the internal leprosy that we all suffer. But wait - There is good news - It is our common faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior that has brought us together. We are cleansed by believing in Jesus and having him wash our sins away. It is by His blood that the leprosy from our souls has been cleansed. We humbly in obedient faith give gratitude each and every day, over and over again, that He has made us clean. We are to be grateful by giving thanks to God for the simple reason He deserves it. How do you ask? By worship, for it gives God honor.

Are you suffering from leprosy of the soul? Please pray this prayer with me. Jesus, I am thankful for your love and call upon your holy name to come into my heart with your cleansing power to wash away my sins as I repent of them. For God so loves me, that he gave his only Son, so that I, who believes in him, may not perish, but may have eternal life.” Amen.

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD - Luke 17 11-19 - 10-14-07