Gratitude—Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 18C/Proper 23 (Luke 17)

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.”

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                In this reading from Luke, Jesus is making his way toward Jerusalem. In other words, he’s heading toward an encounter with the religious and political establishment that will lead to his death. Along the way, he encounters several people, some of whom are looking for help. In other words, the message has gotten out that Jesus of Nazareth can do some mighty miracles. So, as he traveled through Samaria and Galilee, making his way south, he encounters not one but ten lepers. They keep their distance, but they have a purpose in mind. They heard Jesus heals people and they want the same deal. It’s natural, especially in that context.

              First, a word about the disease/ailment that inflicts these ten people. We can’t be sure what the nature of the disease is. While we tend to think in terms of Hansen’s disease (leprosy proper), the term several skin conditions that made a person unclean. While the term might be used more broadly than we might today, the point is the same. To be so afflicted made one an outcast. That is the reality that is relayed by the story of Father Damien of Molokai, whose compassionate ministry has been recognized by the Roman Catholic Church through canonization as a saint. Saint Damien, a priest from Belgian, served for most of his life in the leper colony on Molokai, eventually contracting the disease and dying from it. What is important to note here is that like the ten lepers in the Gospel story, Fr. Damien became an outcast due to his affliction.

When it comes to the disease present in this story, we should note that the term translated as leprosy covered a variety of diseases, all of which could push one to the margins of society. That would include religious life. To be so afflicted meant one was unclean, and in a culture that expected worshipers to express ritual purity this was a problem. Since the priests got to determine who was and who was not so afflicted, it would be appropriate if the disease cleared up to make an appointment to visit with the priest. Then you would perform a set of rituals before reentering community life.

                In this story ten lepers approached Jesus and asked for mercy—that is healing. We’re told that they remained at a safe distance from Jesus, meaning that in case they didn’t come close enough for Jesus to touch them. So, in this case, Jesus simply told them to go show themselves to the priests. After all, this was the appropriate thing to do, since 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. The meaning here is simply that if you can enter the gates of religious life, you would 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. As we see at the end of the passage, it is this faith, this confidence in Jesus’ ability to heal, that leads them to head toward the priests to get checked out. Again, let’s remember that unlike today there was no separation between religious life and the rest of life.   

                Of the ten, nine continued on once they discovered they had been made whole (healed/saved). We will assume they went to the priests first, performed the prescribed rituals, got their clearance from the priests, and then continued on with life. They followed directions. As for the other leper, we learn that he was a Samaritan. As such he was a foreigner. Unlike the other nine, he alone turned around and praising God with a loud 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 the Samaritan 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 once they had all been healed, or would they fall back on the view that Samaritans were heretics, foreigners, and thus still unclean? We might even wonder whether the Samaritan went to see the priests since 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 once the nine received their clean bill of health they would have been restored to their families and communities. They would no longer be outcasts. Everything was now as it should be. Thanks be to God!  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. Luke pays special attention to Samaritans. We see this in the parable of the Samaritan as well as the story of the conversion of the Samaritans in Acts 8.

               As I noted, perhaps the reason the Samaritan returned to Jesus was that he couldn’t go to the priests. The Jewish priests, to whom the other nine would have gone, probably wouldn’t receive him since he was an outsider. 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. Those of us who envision a nice calm and compassionate Jesus might be surprised by this picture of Jesus getting a bit hot under the collar. Luke’s Jesus can be a bit judgmental at times. So, in this case, at least at first glance, Jesus appears annoyed because the nine don’t come back to say thanks. His own people don’t return. Only the foreigner returns to give thanks. What’s the matter with them? Don’t they know who made them clean? 

It is good to be grateful. In fact, it’s proper etiquette to say please and thank you. At least that’s what I was taught growing up. But is that what Jesus is concerned about? Of course, it’s possible that Jesus was just a bit resentful at this lack of gratitude on the part of the nine. It happens to all of us. It happens to me. Hey, I do good things, so why don’t I get any thanks or recognition? While such an attitude is understandable, could there be more to the story than simply resentment that the nine didn’t return to give thanks?

                When we read Luke’s Gospel, it’s always good to remember that this volume is 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? Could they serve as reminders that Jesus had a broader vision that included but went beyond 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 could offer us a hint of what is to come. In fact, 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. At the very least this served as an act of homage, such that the Samaritan recognized that God had worked through Jesus to bring him healing. Therefore, perhaps he did not need to visit a priest. Returning to Jesus accomplished this task 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. If this is true, then 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, for we are the recipients of God’s healing and inclusive grace.  

Image Attribution:  Christ and the Lepers, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56011 [retrieved October 4, 2022]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CodexAureus_Cleansing_of_the_ten_lepers.jpg.