A Sunday Reflection on the lectionary readings for the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost.
“As they went they were made clean.” I grew up in a denomination in which most instruction was about the moment of the decision to invite Jesus to us and not so much about how we follow Jesus on this journey of our life on-earth-as-in-heaven. When I first began attending the Episcopal church it made so much more sense to me to talk about how we follow Jesus in our culture and society, in our ordinary days, in our struggles and celebrations, in our joy and our grief. Our faith in God is a way of life, not just a momentary decision. Our continuous transformation into who God made us to be begins with that decision, yes, but the Kingdom road is made as together we follow Jesus day in and day out.
In the culture of our gospel story, those with skin diseases lived under strict rules of oppression. They were not allowed to make contact or even come close to anyone without a skin disease. They couldn’t work or go to the market for provisions. They couldn’t even go to the temple or synagogue to receive food or care. They were literally cast out of their community and made to fend for themselves with no resources. So, many grouped together to help each other as best they could to survive.
This group of outcasts approaching Jesus was a BIG DEAL. They know Jesus can heal them so they get close enough to shout and ask for mercy. Jesus doesn’t make a big show of it, he simply tells them to go and see the priest, the normal thing to do. No, really, at least in their culture. In the jewish culture of first century Roman Occupied Palestine, it was the priests who declared anyone either clean or unclean. If y’all have a skin issues and come to me, I’ll pray with you and then ask if you’ve been to the doctor.
Jesus telling these folks to go to the priest to show they’ve been healed so they could be declared clean was the first step in being reaccepted into their community. And, so, they go. All ten turn and head out to find a priest. And as they went, they were made clean. So, before we give the nine too hard of a time, remember that they did begin by stepping out in faith. They weren’t clean before they went looking for the priest, it was on the journey they were healed. So, they do get some credit for doing exactly as Jesus said.
We don’t know why they didn’t turn back to give thanks. Perhaps, like the commander Naaman from the Old Testament story in the Second book of Kings, they were disappointed because their healing wasn’t some dramatic spectacle. Perhaps they believed they were entitled to the healing and gratitude wasn’t necessary. Perhaps even as they are visibly healed, they don’t feel worthy of the gift nor to be in Jesus’ presence. Or perhaps they didn’t believe the healing would stick if they didn’t find the priest as they were told. The gospel writer doesn’t tell us of the nine but leaves Jesus’ question “the other nine where are they” ringing in the ears of our hearts so that we can ask ourselves “were am I?”.
The gospel writer does tell us of the one, the Samaritan. Remember, the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other, even though they were both descendants of the original twelve tribes of Israel, with each group considering themselves the ones of ‘true’ faith. The Jews considered the Samaritans unclean because of their way worshiping God and so to encounter a Samaritan with leprosy was a double whammy.
But it was this despised man who turned around – the meaning of repentance – and praised God and gave thanks for his healing. This changing of heart and mind is when Jesus tells him he is made whole (translated as ‘well’ in the NRSV). The others were healed physically, but this man experienced a spiritual transformation also, praising and loving God with all of his being, heart+soul+mind+strength.
Modern psychology reveals the need for complete healing. Research into stress, trauma, and abuse reveals that what happens to our bodies (strength) impacts us emotionally (heart), alters our thought processes (mind), and shapes how we move through life (soul). And what happens to us emotionally impacts the whole of who we are.
We are made by God to be whole and holy humans. All that we experience in life shapes the entirety of our being. The experience of physical and emotional pain is designed by our Creator to teach us something about ourselves. It’s our warning system. If I touch a hot stove, I am burned and I learn not to touch the hot stove. If I am ill and don’t get treatment (be it medicine, rest, nutrition, surgery, or any combination) healing is inhibited. If, through my careless or intentional behavior I cause harm to another, the whole of who they are is impacted. And it goes even deeper – I am impacted as well because we are all connected to and interdependent on each other to be truly whole and well. My pain and suffering impacts you and yours impacts me.
The Samaritan man honored this relational connection when he returned to Jesus to show gratitude. And in this moment of relational connected he is not only made clean on the outside but he is made whole. This man’s journey would be one of deeper growth as a child of God and in turn, he would show others the journey toward wholeness.
Transformation into the beloved people we are made to be is a lifelong journey. And the vast majority of the time, this transformation takes place as we go about the ordinary events of our days. God’s gift of a whole and holy life doesn’t often come in dramatic spectacle. It isn’t something we are entitled to or can earn. T
Together as we follow Jesus we are made whole as we deepen and nurture our relationship with God and with each other, as we walk the Kingdom-on-earth-as-in-heaven path giving thanks for all that we are and all that we have and praising God with each step we take. This is the faith that makes us whole.
Mother Nancy's Coffee Thoughts 