Thanks for Making Me Clean! - A Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 21C
Luke 17:11-19 New
Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
****************
Ten
lepers approached Jesus seeking healing, though they kept their distance. After
all, to be a leper is to be an outcast. By leprosy, we’re not just talking
about Hansen’s disease, but a number of skin conditions that made a person
unclean. While the term might be used more broadly than we might today, the
point is the same. When I think of leprosy, I think of the story of Fr. Damien
and his ministry with the lepers on Molokai. What is interesting about this
story is that in the end he himself contracted the disease, and he became as
much an outcast from society as the people with whom he ministered.
In the
case of first-century Judaism, leprosy in all its forms not only pushed one to
the margins of the community but more specifically its religious life. In the
context of the need for ritual purity, to be so afflicted made one unclean. One
remained uncleaned until the priests said otherwise. Then you would perform a
set of rituals before reentering community life. Let us remember that unlike
today there really was no separation between religious life and the rest of life.
In this
story ten lepers approached Jesus and asked for mercy—that is healing. Jesus
told them to go show themselves to the priests, which was the appropriate thing
to do. In essence, the priests served as both public health inspectors and religious
gatekeepers. The procedure for being restored to the community was laid out quite clearly in Leviticus 14, and this is what they would have done (Leviticus 14). Thus, if they let you inside the gates of religious life, then one
could be admitted to the rest of community life. When Jesus told them to go to
the priests, they did so, apparently convinced that Jesus would heal them. This was an act of faith on their part, and as
we see at the end of the passage, it is this faith, this confidence in Jesus’
ability to heal that lead them to head toward the priests.
Of the
ten, nine continued on once they discovered they had been made whole
(healed/saved). We will assume they went to the priests, performed the prescribed
rituals, and then continued on with life. They followed directions. As for the
other leper, we learn that he was a Samaritan and thus a foreigner. Unlike the
other nine, he turned around and praising God at the top of his voice went back
to Jesus to thank him.
It’s
important that we pause to consider this turn of events. I find it interesting
that while he was a leper, and thus an outcaste, he found community among a
group of Jewish lepers. While they were lepers they weren’t too concerned about
this foreignness. They shared something in common (marginalization). In this
case, misery loved company. Would that sense of community continue after
cleansing? Would his former friends welcome him or would they accept the view
that Samaritans were heretics, foreigners, and thus still unclean? Had the Samaritan continued on to see the
priests, it’s unlikely the priests would welcome him. I
realize that this involves some reading between the lines, but it is
intriguing.
We can
presume that the nine received their bill of clean health and were restored to
their families and communities. Everything was now as it should be. Thanks be
to God! But of course, this isn’t the
purpose of the story. There are many other healing stories, but this is really
about more than healing. It has to do with extending the vision of whom God
was claiming as part of the family.
As to
why the Samaritan returned to Jesus, could it be that he didn’t have a priest
to go to? It’s quite likely that had he gone to the Jewish priests they
wouldn’t receive him, and as for Samaritan priests, perhaps one was not
available. Therefore, even as one barrier was lifted, another remained in
place. So, where else would he go to express his thanks to God? After all, it
was Jesus who had lifted this burden from him.
Before
we continue with the story of the Samaritan’s cleansing, it would be
appropriate to once again take notice of how Luke portrays Jesus. For those of
us who like a nice calm and compassionate Jesus, this Jesus can get a bit hot
under the collar. He can appear judgmental at times. In this case, at least at
first glance, Jesus seems piqued because the nine didn’t come back to say
thanks. His own people didn’t return. Only the foreigner returned to give
thanks. What’s the matter with them? Don’t they know who made them clean? It is good to be grateful. It’s proper
etiquette to say please and thank you.
But is that what Jesus is concerned about? It’s possible that Jesus was
just a bit resentful. It happens to all of us. It happens to me. Hey, I do good
things. Why don’t I get any thanks or recognition? But hopefully, there’s more
to the story than simply resentment that the nine didn’t return.
When
reading Luke, it’s always good to remember that the Gospel is but part one of a
two-part story. In part two the mission moves into the Gentile community. So, could
encounters like this be previews of a sort, reminding us that Jesus has a
broader vision than simply ministering to the Jewish community? When we get to
the Book of Acts, we discover that the mission of the realm will encompass the
world, a little bit at a time (Acts 1:8). If so, then this becomes a hint of
what is to come. Perhaps Jesus is himself beginning to recognize the fullness
of his calling.
Interestingly
enough, Jesus commends the Samaritan for giving praise to God, even as he
prostrates himself before Jesus. This act could be seen as an act of worship,
or at the very least an act of homage, recognizing that God had worked through
Jesus. Thus, for him, there would be no need to visit the priest. Returning to
Jesus accomplished this for him. Perhaps this is a precursor of what is to come
when the message of Jesus is taken outward from Jerusalem to Samaria and then
to the rest of the world. Thus, this is less of a healing story and more of a
mission story! Not only that, but once again one who is considered an outsider
is offered up as an exemplar of faith, and as one who understands the
importance of giving thanks and praise to God!
May we also show such gratitude.
Comments