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Blessed Are The Grateful

Jeremiah 29: 1, 4-7
Luke 17: 11-19

Today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke seems = at first glance to be an unadorned story about how ungrateful people can be, e= ven when something is done for them that changes their lives in positive and significant ways. It’s a good story to have in the lectionary at this time of year when churches are conducting their annual stewardship campaigns! As in most bibl= ical stories, however, there’s more here than meets the eye. . . .

Among the charismatic qualities which drew people to= Jesus was his gift of healing, and word of that had spread throughout the region where the life and ministry of Jesus took place. Stories were told --- or w= ere they just rumors? --- about the blind receiving sight, the lame made able to walk and ‘demons’ cast out of those whom we, perhaps, might lab= el ‘emotionally disturbed.’ Those stories surely preceded the man = from Nazareth as he “journeyed toward Jerusalem”--- a destination fi= rst announced to readers of Luke’s gospel back in the ninth chapter and repeated from time to time in the narrative as if to remind us of where it = is all heading.

For that reason, biblical scholars suggest that R= 20;on the road to Jerusalem” is more figurative speech than a set of direct= ions from ‘Triple A.’ From where he was to where he was going wouldn’t have taken Jesus through Samaria --- for more reasons than o= ne. But in biblical accounts, geographical references often serve literary and theological purposes as much as identifying location. In this story, itR= 17;s significant that Jesus be traveling through an area where Samaritans might reasonably be encountered. Once again, as in that well-known parable record= ed earlier in Luke, it will be the often-despised outsider --- looked down upo= n by those who think they have the corner on truth and virtue --- who ends up be= ing the true example of how God wants us to live.

There’s nothing unusual about the lepers in the story who appeal for mercy as our Lord is about to pass them by. “Rai= se their voice” is the literal rendering of what the lepers did, and it’s implied that they were asking Jesus for something more than spare change. The dreaded and contagious disease required that they keep their distance from others, and so they were doing. For mutual support as well as adhe= rence to Old Testament Law, they stayed in groups of their own but would commonly= be found near populated areas, since they were dependent upon the charity of ‘normal’ folk who felt compassion for them.

The Law of Moses was quite clear concerning the proc= ess by which the healing of those with leprosy could be confirmed and they be allo= wed to re-enter the every-day life of human community. The 14th chapter of Leviticus can tell you more about that process than you probably care to kn= ow. . . .

In Luke’s narrative, stories like today’= s are not so much about the miracle, but about the teaching opportunity presented= by the display of God’s ultimate authority over all things. The proclama= tion of God’s Word --- not the flashy show of God’s power --- is primary to the story.

Although their voices were raised in unison --- their common affliction providing them with an identity that superseded any other; and although all ten of the lepers were healed as they responded faithfully= to Jesus’ instructions; the response of those who had been made clean was not in unison . . . and biblical scholars aren’t even sure about the harmony!

As it turns out in the story, nine of the lepers are= Jews. It was fitting, therefore that they follow Levitical law and show themselve= s to the priest, as Jesus instructed them, so that ritual cleansing could follow upon confirmation of the physical healing and they could be welcomed back i= nto the community.

One, however, was a Samaritan who, as such, lived ou= tside the requirements of Jewish tradition. Did he, too, feel obligated to show himself to the priest? Or, while the Jews went on to do what Jesus had remi= nded them to do, did the Samaritan feel free to turn back and pour out his deep thanks to the One whose healing powers had touched him and made him whole again?

All ten of the lepers had obeyed Jesus and were heal= ed, accordingly, as they went on their prescribed way. What, then, does Jesus mean when he says to the Samaritan, “Your faith has made you well?”

Scholars suggest that today’s passage be under= stood as the weaving together of two stories. First is a healing story with all t= he usual ingredients. In the second, a foreigner --- an ‘outsider’= to the “chosen people” --- finds salvation. The blessing which Jes= us pronounces upon the Samaritan goes beyond what he, along with the other nin= e, had already received. In fact, the verb translated here as “made well” is translated elsewhere “to be saved.” The Samaritan recognized the true source of his healing and wanted to be in touch with th= at Power he had newly discovered is able to give new life.

The writer of Luke and Acts has a special sensitivit= y to the rejection of Jesus by his own people and the intention of Jesus that th= at the ‘good news’ of God’s love be taken beyond them to the gentiles. He reminds us that it is often the ‘outsider’ who challenges us to reflect on our God-given identity and brings us a correcting perspective on how= God wants us to be in the world.

I wonder who in our society can be thought of as contemporary versions of those afflicted with leprosy in New Testament time= s? Who are the ‘outsiders’ we fear and from whom we keep our dista= nce?

Are they the homeless in the park who will shortly be looking for places to come inside?

Are they those with emotional disorders who now walk= the streets and get wear-housed in our jails without treatment because we no lo= nger fund programs and places designed to meet their needs?

Are they the drug users who cycle in and out of our scandalously-overcrowded prisons, especially if their drugs of choice are t= hose used primarily by minority groups?

Are they people who work to end war and get branded ‘unpatriotic’ in nations that promote violence and the thorough= ly unbiblical doctrine that ‘might makes right?’

Last week both our high school and middle school you= th groups discussed their reactions to the opening episode of a new TV series entitled “Aliens in America.” In it, the parents of a boy who i= s an ‘outsider’ --- a ‘loser’ --- in the social circles = of his high school seek to remedy their son’s status by getting a foreign exchange student. Presumably, such a student would become popular with the other kids and thereby get their son into the ‘in’ crowd by association. It turns out, however, that the handsome blue-eyed blonde boy = on the cover of the brochure isn’t who gets off the plane. Instead, he’s a tan-skinned, black-haired Pakistani youth --- and a Muslim, for heaven’s sake!

The host family, concerned that the presence in thei= r home of a boy who is ignorantly accused by other students as being one of those people who bombed buildings in New York will result in their son becoming e= ven more of an ‘outsider’ by association, plot to send the Pakistani boy back home. In the midst of this drama, an older daughter announces to t= he mother that she wants to go on ‘the pill’ and that her new boyfriend will be joining them for supper. Well, you can probably ‘gu= ess who’s coming to dinner?’ He’s not a blue-eyed blonde, eit= her! Needless to say, there was a lot of material to discuss concerning those who are ‘outsiders’ --- the ‘lepers’ of our society, in high school and beyond --- and how we are called as Christians to be inclus= ive rather than exclusive, willing to learn what new people in our lives have t= o teach us --- above all, perhaps, to be grateful for the rich variety of God’= ;s creation and the healing presence of God’s love.

Yesterday several hundred high school youth gathered= at Western Michigan University for what’s called the “PeaceJam Slam.” Along with fun and informative activities and discussions concerning the clean drinking water crisis facing the world, we learned that the Nobel Peace Laureate that will be coming to spend an April weekend with= the youth as the culminating event of this PeaceJam year is the 2003 Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. She’s the woman who worked her way, against all odds, to becoming a judge and has ever since championed the rights of ‘outsiders’ in her culture --- in this case, women and children= in the fundamentalist Muslim nation of Iran. Hopefully, our State Department w= ill not consider her message too threatening to American democracy and not allow her to visit with us.

We have new members joining our faith community this morning. We have yet to learn what gifts and ideas and energies and experie= nces they will bring to the life of this congregation. May we be welcoming not only of their pre= sence but of the new perspectives they may bring from their backgrounds as we ima= gine together where God desires the ministry and mission of this church to go in= the time ahead.

One wonders what role the presence of those with lep= rosy played in the life of the larger community by which they lived. What benefi= ts might those blessed with good health have received, perhaps unwittingly, fr= om those afflicted with that dreadful disease? Those with leprosy were unable = to participate in the social, economic, and religious interactions common to t= he rest of society, yet they were a constant reminder of the community’s need to care for those who cannot care for themselves. It’s been said, after all, that the moral integrity of a people can be measured by the compassion and justice with which the most vulnerable among them are treate= d.

There is no theological justification in the New Tes= tament for claiming it to be God’s will that some are afflicted with special burdens, health or other-wise. What scripture does clearly indicate is that those with special needs in our midst present, among other things, a God-gi= ven opportunity for us to demonstrate the compassion of Christ, and our response has eternal consequences.