For parents, one of the highlights in life is when their young adult children come back and say thank you. We spend 20 plus years giving them birth, caring for them, providing for them (spending almost more money than we can make), encouraging them, teaching them, and loving them. And then they begin the process of becoming adults themselves and somewhere in that process, as they are enjoying the freedom to make their own decisions, to travel, to make new friends and experience new things, they begin to realize how much their parents gave up for them and how much their parents did and continue to do for them, and they come back and say thank you. And as a parent, hearing those words is more than worth every diaper you changed and every late night you picked them up from a school function, and every argument you had trying to convince them to make good choices.
“Now on his way to Jerusalem [some believe this was his last trip – on his way to the cross] Jesus was traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, Master, have pity on us!’ When he saw them, he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were cleansed.” Luke 17:11-14
Leprosy in that day was even worse than AIDS today. They were separated from everything and everyone that they knew and loved. They were not allowed to stay in their homes. So lepers stayed together and begged from a distance for people to meet their needs for food and clothing. I can’t image trying to go on that way. How desperate they must have felt! I wonder if they knew who Jesus was and that he could heal or if they were just asking for food for the day.
It is interesting to me that in this case Jesus did not ask them about their faith or whether or not they wanted to be healed. He didn’t expect anything from them at all and his love for them didn’t depend on their response to him. Yet, he looked at them and simply told them to go show themselves to the priests. The priests would declare them clean or unclean. And they didn’t question him. They simply turned and went. This is one of the few instances where Jesus did not touch those he was healing. He simply spoke the words, they obeyed, and they were healed.
“One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’” Luke 17:15-19
How on earth could the other nine walk away without even saying thank you? They were saved from a life of total separation from their families and friends. They were basically raised from the dead in that their bodies were slowly declining to sure early death.
Then I wonder, how many times a day do I not recognize how much this same Jesus has done for me and how many times do I go on with my business and not take time to pause and say thank you? I was headed for sure death and he gave me life. Sin was the leprosy in my life and he healed me. And he continues to heal me day after day.
This incident points out that it was a Samaritan who came back. I wonder if that is the person who has lived a very sinful life and as an adult turns to Jesus and is saved and if maybe the other nine are those of us who grow up in the church with all the teaching and grace around us every day. We see new Christians ecstatic with their new found salvation and celebrating and thanking Jesus over and over while we quietly smile and nod. Oh my!
Two things have jumped out of this portion of Luke today. One is that Jesus wants to give us so much more than we ask for. We ask for bread; he wants to give us life. We ask for water; he wants to give us living water. We ask for healing of our physical bodies; he wants to give us healing of our souls. We ask for strength for today; he wants to give us strength for tomorrow as well.
The other is that he has already given us so much and we take so much of that for granted. It is time to grow up and become adults in God’s kingdom and go back to our Father and say thank you!
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