Pentecost 21 October 21, 2007

“A Snapshot of A Thankful Heart”

Luke 17:11-19

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.

15 One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and praise God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Have you ever heard of Edward Spencer? He lived in Evanston, Illinois, just outside of Chicago in the 1800s. He volunteered for a “life squad” group in the days before ambulances and paramedics. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston. Edward waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue seventeen passengers. In the process, his legs were frostbitten badly and he suffered permanent damage. After that day, Edward never walked again. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that over the rest of his life, not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him. Not even one.

What a bummer to be Edward Spencer. He discovered that human nature is often thankless. And even Edward Spencer cannot compare to Jesus, for there is nobody who does more and is thanked less than Jesus. Listen to what happened one day as he met ten lepers. (read text)

Leprosy was a terrible combination of many diseases. It was like the Bubonic plague in that it was both deadly and contagious. It was like Parkinson’s in that you slowly got worse and worse for years before the disease finally killed you. And it was like AIDS in that there was no cure. Once you had it, you were stuck with it for life.

Once you had it, everyone knew you had it. It was a label you wore forever. You were required by law to yell, “Unclean! Unclean!” to anyone brave enough to walk near you. If the USA had the same laws as Old Testament Israel, it would never happen that some honeymooner afflicted by tuberculosis would board a plane with the general public.

The consequences of leprosy were terrible. The day you found out you had it was your death sentence. And the emotional part was worse than the physical. There would be no running your hands through your little girl’s hair. There would be no hugging your spouse. You’d always feel dirty and unclean. You could take a shower all day long and the leprosy would still be there. A leper was treated as less than human. A leper must have believed that he truly was less than human. Any human being longs for the human touch, to be caressed and comforted. The leper received none. There was nothing to look forward to except more flesh rotting, more suffering, more separation and eventually death.

One day ten needy and desperate lepers saw Jesus as he was going to a village. They stood at a distance…they always stood at a distance…and shouted, “Master, have pity on us!” Jesus called back, “Go and show yourselves to the priests. Let me explain to you why he said that. If a leper thought he was cleansed, and he wanted to return to normal Jewish society, he couldn’t just go to his hometown resume his life as normal, and say, “Hey, my leprosy is gone, come give me a hug.” Nobody would trust that he truly was cleansed. Before resuming normal life, the leper first had to show himself to the priests. They were the court system who would officially declare a leper to be “Clean.” Then, and only then, could the leper return to a normal life.

It is interesting that Jesus did not heal the lepers immediately. He only told them to go and show themselves to the priests. They had to start walking to Jerusalem and trust that Jesus would heal them along the way. When they started the journey they still had leprosy. They had to trust that by the time they knocked on the priests’ door they wouldn’t be making fools of themselves. We don’t know how far they got down the road before the miracle occurred. Maybe they had journeyed 100 yards, maybe a couple miles, maybe twenty miles. What we do know is that at some point they were completely healed. The Scripture says, “And as they went, they were cleansed.” Now they could scoop up their babies! Now they could hug their spouses! Now they could play UNO with their teenagers! They could eat turkey and mashed potatoes with their family again. This was a tremendous healing. Luke, the doctor, is the only gospel writer to record this miracle. The impossibility of ten lepers being healed must have made quite an impression on him.

One ex-leper immediately turned around. Going to see the priests could wait. Getting the official certificate that he was no longer contagious could be put on hold a few more days. There were more important things to do. Instead of calling “Unclean!” in a loud voice…now this man was praising God in a loud voice. Instead of staying at a distance…now he ran right up to Jesus. How good that must have felt to throw himself at someone else’s feet! He thanked him and I’ll bet he was crying. Why did this man turn around? Because what Jesus had done was worth a lot to him.

How wonderful for Jesus to know he was appreciated! Yet this was a bittersweet moment for Jesus. He was happy to receive praise from the one…but disappointed in the other nine who continued to Jerusalem in unthanks. “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?

Why did nine cleansed lepers NOT come back to thank Jesus?

Perhaps a few of them weren’t sure if the cure was real… “Did I really lose this disease that lasts a lifetime? Quick, let’s go show the priests before it comes back!” Perhaps some didn’t understand the full scope of what had happened… “I’m sure I would have gotten well anyway. Any old rabbi could have done what Jesus did.” Perhaps some simply said, "I really need to get back to my family first. Jesus will understand."

Why the nine didn’t come back? The answers I just gave are only suggestions - Scripture doesn’t share the details why they didn’t come back. But no matter what the details were, the reason they did not come back is that in their hearts, what Jesus had done was not worth a lot. Getting healed from leprosy was as awe-inspiring as getting a band-aid on their finger. No big deal. Anyone could’ve done it. There are lots of things to do before I thank some guy for putting a band-aid on my finger.

We must admit that too often we are like the nine. Jesus has given us so much. It is easy to take for granted that we live in a country where decent-paying jobs are readily available, a country where our land is not ravaged by war; where death and destruction are not an everyday facet of our lives. We all woke up this morning – that’s a blessing not to be taken for granted either. Jesus has given us one more day to fall at his feet and thank him. How much is that worth to us? What is our ratio of thanking Jesus for all the blessings he has given? Is it even one out of ten? If we are honest and thorough, we make Edward Spencer’s rescuees look grateful.

It’s time to repent for our unthanks. Think about what Jesus has done in your life. Is that worth a lot to you? Thank Jesus for who he is…he is powerful; he is eternal; he is compassion. He will use his power not to crush you but to save you. Honor him for what he has done! When you think about what he has given you, don’t act like he has put a band-aid on a scrape. Don’t treat him as though he has done something you could have easily done yourself. He has saved you from hell and given you more than you can imagine!

The best part about living in thanks to Jesus…we are able to give thanks even though life takes a turn for the worse. The ex-leper’s life was wonderful the day he was healed…but it wasn’t always so rosy. He didn’t die of leprosy but eventually he died of something else. The last thing Jesus told him was, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” If the man had no faith, he would have been healed of leprosy but punished forever in hell in the end. What good what that have done? His faith, though, would pull him through both. He was healed of leprosy, and whenever his earthly life ended, his trust in Jesus would last forever. And as we trust in Jesus, the same is true for us. We will thank him on earth and in eternity. Amen.