Tuesday, October 4, 2016

A Season of Harvest: A Time for Gratitude

This week, we turn to Luke 17: 11-19, where there are 10 lepers that Jesus makes clean. "Your faith has made you well" is one of those verses from the Bible that may do as much harm as it does good. There are all kinds of people, even this day, praising God for being present in their lives, for healing, blessing, and making the presence of God real. But there as just many people, perhaps, who are praying to God for healing, and seemingly coming away empty-handed. Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever been sick, or had a loved one receive terrible news of an illness, and prayed to God for healing...only to remain in your current state? You may have felt that your prayers were inferior to those who were healed. I do not think that is the case. Many Christians understand faith to be all about cause and effect---you pray for something, and it either happens or it does not; the prayer is either answered with a yes or no from God.


Jesus points to a much deeper meaning of faith, here in this gospel lesson. Jesus heals here without much attention being drawn to it. It is almost as if this is only a subplot to the story. I have no idea where nine of the ten lepers go, but the Samaritan comes back to Jesus to bow at his feet to thank him. Jesus asks where the other nine went, and we can imagine his tone. How did Jesus feel? Sad? Angry? Confused? What Jesus is certain about, is that this "double outcast" (Kimberly Long, Feasting on the Word), this person was a leper and a Samaritan, has been embraced by the love of God. And Jesus tells them to "get up and go, your faith has made you well."


This grateful leper's healing "runs beyond the physical." The gospel tells us that all ten lepers were rid of their leprosy. This past Sunday, Bishop Ken Carter preached on the parable that precedes this passage to listen to his sermon, click here), about "the faith of a mustard seed." Jesus is teaching about what faith really is. We learned on Sunday that Jesus does not talk about faith as if his audience does not have it. He is speaking to them as if to say "you have the faith...what is lacking is action." Here, he doubles down on his message. It is not about the quantity of your faith, but the quality. For this leper, it drove them to their knees in gratitude and worship. Their healing went beyond the physical. To "have faith" is to live it, to act on it...to give thanks. "It is living a life of gratitude that constitutes living a life of faith---this is the grateful sort of faith that has made this man from Samaria truly and deeply well." Prayers of thanks are part of the healing of this leper. The physical outcome of our prayers don't matter as much when we live a life of gratitude. It is the thanking that truly saves this grateful person, and this life of gratitude is available to us all, no matter what we are facing. What can you be thankful for?

Prayer:

Thank you God for giving me another day, another chance to become a better individual, another chance to give and experience love. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving me so much, that you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, not only to die for me, but to live for me. Thank you for his example, his compassion, his love for all people. Help me to live a life of gratitude, to see You at work in this world and in my life. I love you, I praise you. Help me to have the faith that will heal me from all things, a faith that leads to thanks for who You are. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

In Christ,

Jack


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