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21st Sunday after Pentecost, 10/09/2016
Sermon on Luke 17:11-19, by Pari R. Bailey
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well." Luke 17: 11-19
The other day I was standing at the bakery counter, waiting my turn. The woman behind the counter had given the little girl in front of me a cookie, and as her chubby fingers reached out to grab it, the mom said, “What do you say?” The little girl was obviously very shy and put her hand down immediately and looked at the floor. Her mom prompted, “What do you say? Say 'thank you.'” The little girl continued in silence. Her mom said. “No cookie unless you say thank you!” At which point the shy one mumbled a little “thank you,” took the cookie, and they went away.
Most of you have probably had scenes like this with your children. It’s good to teach children manners and teach them how to say thank you. I can’t tell you how many times I have read Dear Abby, in which someone writes in to say that they faithfully send gifts to their grandson (or niece or nephew or cousin), but never receive any thank you notes in return. Abby always says to remind the young person to write a thank you note, give them a couple chances, but if they don’t--then stop sending presents.
It’s reasonable advice for most things in human life. But not where God is concerned. This text today from Luke, the story of the 10 lepers—most often you hear this text preached as a moral lesson, the equivalent of the mother saying, “now what do you say? Say thank you!” We hear this text as God reminding us to say thank to him for his bounty.
That’s not wrong, but it’s not all there is. The thing I worry about with that reading of the text is that we will unconsciously slip into what happened to that little girl at the bakery: no cookie if you don’t say thank you. No more gifts from Grandma without a thank you note. No blessings from God if you don’t give thanks or respond properly to them.
You notice in the text that Jesus cures all ten lepers. No mention of if they were worthy or not, no searching questions into the state of their heart or soul, to see if they would really be grateful for the cure. He just does it. One of them—a foreigner, even!-- returns to fall at Jesus’ feet in gratitude, a most proper response.
But the lack of response on the part of the other nine does not negate their cure. What I am saying is this: God gives his gifts because it pleases him to bless us. It is entirely right for us to be grateful for those gifts, but the gifts are not dependent on our gratitude, our state of mind or heart. All ten lepers called out to Jesus “Master! Have mercy on us!” All ten believed that Jesus would cure them, and he did because it pleased him to do so.
Now, we should make a distinction here and say that the one who returned to Jesus was not just cured, but healed. His relationship with God was made perfect and whole for acknowledging Jesus' gift. He was healed in spirit as well as in body—but it was still Christ’s action that led him to this place of thanksgiving and adoration.
That woman at the bakery who gave the little girl the cookie? I bet she didn’t give the cookie so that she could get a thank you. She gave the gift because she wanted to do something nice for a little girl. Now, she probably understood what the mom was trying to teach her child, but I’m guessing she would have let the little girl have the cookie out of her generosity anyway, even if the girl had never managed a “thank you.” All of you understand this: you give gifts to others for the pleasure you receive in seeing others receive something wonderful. It is, of course, nice to be acknowledged and thanked, and is good manners, but I bet that’s not the reason you gave the gift in the first place. You gave it because you wanted that other person to have it, to take pleasure in it, to see the joy on their face.
It is the same with God, except God’s generosity goes way beyond our human capacity for generosity, and even our understanding of generosity. Jesus gives the gift of health to ten lepers, even a Samaritan, an outcast. Ten should have come back to thank him, but, still, ten were cured. The story of Naaman, the Aramean general, also illustrates how God gives blessings even to those who seem not to deserve it, or even want it. Like the 10th leper, Naaman wasn’t an Israelite. He was a pagan army commander, an enemy of the chosen people of God. He kept Israelite slaves in his house. When he finally humbles himself to go to Israel to seek a cure, he thought that his rank entitled him to some show of power from the prophet Elisha and was angry when Elisha didn’t even come out of his house to greet him.
But finally, Naaman is cured of his leprosy—and healed in spirit as well, when he acknowledges the true God, the God of Israel. Despite his outsider status, despite his pride, despite his anger and skepticism, God still heals Naaman and draws him into true faith.
God does the same with you. No matter who or what you are, God gives you the gifts of food, clothing, house and home, friends and family. He provides for all people on earth. He blesses us with bounty and riches beyond knowing. He even gave up his only Son for us so that we can be healed forever.
So often our hearts are hard and we think that God has not given us much, or has neglected us. We think that we are responsible for getting our own blessings, or that we can some how deserve them from God. We can’t. We think that we are the ones who have to provide for ourselves, or are responsible for getting enough to live on, to fulfill our needs. But we aren’t. God blesses us with all that we have. It’s all a gift from him, and he is generous beyond our understanding. Remember what the Small Catechism says concerning the first article of the Creed:
“I believe that God has made me and all creatures, and that he has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, all my members, my reason and all my senses and still preserves them. He has also given me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods, and he richly and daily provides me with all I need to support this body and life. He also defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from evil. All this he does purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness on my part. Therefore I surely ought to thank and praise, serve and obey him. This is most certainly true.”
This is most certainly true, that God’s gifts are just that: free gifts. What response do you make to our generous God who has given you so much? What could be a response for such great bounty from such a generous God? What can you say to the one who provides for and sustains your very lives?
Simply put, you make the response of the last leper. You make the response of Naaman the general. You thank and praise, serve and obey him. And you trust that, like a father, he will give you good things. You take him at his word, that you are forgiven, healed. You believe his promises. And in joyful response to his generosity, you fall at his feet to worship and give thanks. And then you go on your way, living your whole lives in his generosity, with your very hearts changed to be thankful to God for all his gifts, with your hands and hearts and minds open to others with that same generosity that God has first shown you. Amen.