Show and Tell
Show and Tell
Luke 17:11-19
October 25, 1998
“Stop‘N Go” is the name of a chain of convenience stores. The name gets across the idea of quickly getting what you want and getting out of there as fast as possible.
That slogan tends to describe our fast-paced lives quite well:
-We go to work to earn a living while wanting the day to end so we can do the things we like to do.
-We rush through schoolwork if it means we can go outside and play.
-We gallop in and out of relationships like they are meaningless, or, a dime-a-dozen.
-We just can’t seem to wait to get one thing done before moving on to another. Is this an accurate description of our hurried and harried lives?
This “Stop ‘N Go” attitude might also describe 9 out of 10 lepers in this Gospel lesson. So, we can all identify with them. But the question we want to ask ourselves is, “Does this attitude also describe me, as a child of God?”
I. Jesus, the Ten, the Nine, and the One. Let’s review the events surrounding Jesus and the 10 lepers; then the nine, the one, and finally us.
Jesus made a deliberate effort to go among the people. We even find him among people who by social standards were not permitted to come near him. He listened to the plea for pity, and immediately answered the request of the lepers. He didn’t make them beg or justify their request. He simply restored them to health, to their families, to the community, and to life itself.
The 10 lepers had faith to ask Jesus to have pity on them. We know they went on their way, trusting that they would be healed before they got to the priests. Just think about this life-changing experience: They were no longer unclean, which meant they could worship in the temple, and be involved with their family and society again.
However, Nine out of 10 lepers took the blessing they had received and kept right on going. They had what they wanted. Were they ungrateful? It is probably safe to assume that anyone with such a debilitating disease would indeed be grateful for being healed. So what did nine of these lepers lack? They lacked a firm and solid relationship to the Healer. They were simply intent on carrying out the command.
Only one of the ten lepers realized that Jesus had given him much more than a command to carry out. This foreigner realized the love and mercy of Jesus came to him without any merit or worthiness on his part. What a gift to receive, and yet, there is more.
Jesus’ words, “Your faith has made you well” indicates Jesus knows all there is to know about this man. Jesus knows what is not obvious. The man has recognized Jesus for who He truly is, the great high priest who through His own the sinless sacrifice cleanses and heals the soul. Even those which naturally take God’s mercy and grace for granted.
2. Jesus and Us. When Jesus deliberately come to us in Word and Sacrament, what do we realize about him? Do we see him for who he truly is? Do we understand what he has truly done?
You see, Jesus allowed himself to be placed outside of God’s love. On the cross he is abandoned by his Father. And there He gains victory over sin, death, and the devil, for us. This means that all who come to know this truth in their own lives have been cleansed from sin--which is far worse than any illness, because sin cuts us off from God. Yes, he comes to us again and again to give us mercy. Again and again we can now stand clean and pure before God. And it had all been made so by the blood of the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.
Like the nine, we know the temptation of taking God’s blessing and running—the temptation to “Stop ‘N Go.” We don’t like to take time to think about what the Lord has eternally changed in us. We don’t like to seek him out to thank him, only to take from him. We don’t like to sit at His feet to learn of Him through his Word. And, in the process we deny ourselves the very power of God which comes to us in Jesus’ words to “Rise and go.” .
Yet like the one leper who gave praise to God and thanks to Jesus, we can overcome our “Stop ‘N Go” tendencies and begin to “show and tell”. As Jesus shows his love and power in our life, which he very willingly does to all who receive him, we can’t help but tell him thanks, not only with our lips but with every part of our being and life, with our time and money and talents.
Another way to look at this is by asking this question: How are you returning thanks to Jesus with your time and money and talents?
Let me offer a short story to illustrate how an attitude of gratitude tells the story quite well.
In October 1994 a leading law school announced it had received the largest cash gift ever given to a law school: $13 million.
What inspired such generosity? Gratitude. Almost 40 years before the gift was given, the donors had met at the law school. The day after final exams they were married. Together they went on to become highly successful in business. Their deep gratitude to their university was because of its role as matchmaker. At the ceremony to mark the donation, they said, “The school had a unique role in bringing us together.
Jesus Christ has the unique role of bringing us together with God. He presents us as his forgiven brothers and sisters to the heavenly Father. He alone can bring us together, for in his death on the cross we are declared “not guilty”. And in his Resurrection from the dead we are assured of a new life, a new relationship, and a new future with God.
In this regard, I would like to challenge all of us to follow the example of the One. Let’s return thanks by increasing our weekly offerings to the general fund. Let’s each give 10% more than usual. If we give a dollar, let’s give $1.10; if we give $10, let’s give $11; if we give $100, let’s give $110 each week. Let’s return thanks by allowing ourselves to become more involved in the life of the church, seeking opportunities to serve instead of waiting to be asked. Let’s return thanks by offering our talents for use in the church. In short, let’s go back to the Lord to show and tell all he has done for us. Amen.