The Gospel text for this Sunday (20th Sunday after Pentecost) comes from Luke 17:11-19. This is the story of the ten healed of leprosy.
Jesus is traveling along, on his way to Jerusalem, along the Galilee/Samaria boarder, when he comes across 10 individuals suffering with leprosy. Unlike Naaman in 2 Kings 5, these lepers had to keep their distance and shout out to get Jesus’ attention – "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" (Lk 17:13) Being a leper, you were an out cast. If anyone came close by you had to shout out, in warning, that you were a leper. To come in contact with a leper would make one "unclean" whether you contracted the disease or not. So people kept their distance.
Upon hearing these ten lepers call out to him, Jesus says (maybe from a distance – we don’t know) to "Go, show yourselves to the priests." This was to be in compliance to the Jewish law. If you were unclean, and were healed or made clean in someway, you had to show yourself to the priest and "officially" be declared clean. So…the lepers did what they were told…or least 9 of them did.
One of the healed lepers came back.
Upon coming back, this healed leper (who had not been "officially" declared clean) threw himself at Jesus feet. [I like that phrase, "threw himself" — I picture Jim Carey grabbing himself and throwing himself to the ground in a comical, Gumby-like style :)] Anyway…the leper threw himself at the feet of Jesus to thank him (praising God in a loud voice while on his way to Jesus). At this display Jesus wonders where the other 9 are. "Were not all 10 cleansed?" (Lk. 17:17) After Jesus finishes pondering he says to the healed leper, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." (Lk 17:19)
Thoughts from my pondering brain:
(1) Didn’t the other 9 do exactly what they were told? Yet Jesus is saddened by the fact they did not come back to praise God.
(2) In Matthew 8, Mark 1 and Luke 5 Jesus came across a leper but this time he touched him in order to heal him. In this text there is no indication that Jesus came close to the leper, but rather gave an instruction (Naaman was healed in a similar way). This seems to indicate something significant to ponder…hmmm…
(3) The healed leper who returned to praise God and thank Jesus received an additional healing: "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." I think this healing took place as soon as his physical infirmity was healed; as soon as he realized that it was God who healed him. Jesus just affirmed that fact and sent him off as a disciple (I say disciple because I am willing to bet this healed leper went out to tell people about this Jesus).
(4) I think Luke is going after the Jews of the time. Of the ten lepers that were healed, a Samaritan (foreigner) come back to praise God and thank Jesus. In Luke 10 it is a Samaritan that shows mercy to the beaten traveler. In Luke 4 Jesus says that during Elisha’s time there were many people who had leprosy, but only Naaman, a foreigner, was healed. I see this as Luke’s way of saying that God’s gift of faith is for ALL people – not just for a select few.
What are some of your ponderings? What did YOU hear in this text?
Common threads (Between 2 Kings 5 and Luke 17:11-19)
(1) Naaman and the 10 lepers were healed through a word and obedience.
(2) The gift of healing came to two people who "should not have been healed" – "foreigners". God’s grace is for all.
These two texts give us a lot to think about. But what ever you come away with, know this: God’s grace is sufficient FOR YOU. Have a joyous and blessed day. Amen!
-edh-
The Heart of a Pastor 
I don’t like the NRSV translation of verse 19. The verb used by Luke is “sozo” which also means “to save or to rescue”. Jesus cleansed all ten thus healing them, but it is faith that saved the Samaritan. According to the Greek text, Jesus tells the tenth man “Your faith has saved you.” It is one thing to be healed, but quite another to be saved.
Even today with our modern medicine, people can be healed from cancer, heart disease, and other once deadly maladies, but medicine cannot save people from inevitable death, but merely postpone it. But God saves. God saves the lost, sick and marginalized by the faithfulness of Christ. Faith saves; and because we are joined to Christ in life and death, we are saved through faith.
I am to supply at a small rural church this weekend and I think this will be the direction I go with my sermon. Not knowing the context or the people, I am not totally sure if I am comfortable saying that I don’t like the NRSV words they are holding in their hand. I’ll have to find another way to express this.
David — you bring up a very interesting point. On Wednesday nights I am leading an adult Bible study where we talk about the up coming Sunday texts. And we wrestled with this very same thing, but we never quite put our collective fingers on it.
The one healed leper was more concerned about a relationship than about the “rules” – hence, his faith saved him. I like that. We use the NIV version in worship (I know, I know, scandalous, an ELCA congregation using the NIV, but I generally like it) but I am thinking I will re-word vs 19 and say that his faith saved him.
Thanks for giving me (and anyone else) something to think about. Blessings to you as you prepare the sermon you will preach.
I like what David said, plus this: when discussing this with my Wednesday Bible study it occurred to me that this Samaritan leper was hanging out with these Jewish lepers, who would ordinarily hate each other. What WOULD happen when they all became clean? Suddenly, they would no longer be united by their disease. The Jewish lepers would now be acceptable, but the Samaritan would still be … a Samaritan.
And I wonder if he would have been welcomed by the priest?
Diane – That’s a good point. I wonder why the Samaritan even thought in the first place that he would be welcomed at the temple. After all he did turn to leave and was cleansed on the way. He knew the situation. Was it his faith in Jesus and his willingness to obey?