Sunday, October 14, 2007
By pastor John Jorgenson
Jesus taught people to have compassion on those who suffer for one reason or another. Without restriction Jesus cured those who came to him or were brought for healing. Luke writes that Jesus also wondered about gratitude and thanksgiving. After curing the ten suffering from leprosy Jesus wonders why only one was grateful enough to return and thank God for being restored to health. Makes me wonder if I realize how grateful I can be for all God does for me every day and how best to express my gratitude.
Having a family member in the hospital makes this concern ever so much more meaningful and urgent. I realize how vulnerable we really are in terms of what life really is, what life is intended to be and what life can be.
Essentially, life to be thoroughly enjoyed, is life to be lived ultimately in terms of the relationship God established in the beginning. I guess what frustrates me most of all is that far too many people, I myself, members of our families, our friends and neighbors and globally in the world simply want to live life on their terms or with some self-oriented, personal definition of God, that can be used when necessary and if necessary. And if what we want does not work, well it is all God’s fault and then we decide that after all I guess God does not exist anyway.
So what I would like us to share this morning for our consideration is how we deal with a life threatening challenge or a potential life threatening challenge and learn that God is the ultimately final judge who determines the outcome of life for each of us.
If and when we accept that as reality, we are free. That is what Jesus taught and Luther emphasized over and over with his stress on Law and Gospel or as I have defined the two as responsibility and freedom. We cannot have responsibility without freedom, which amounts to slavery and we cannot have freedom without responsibility, which is leads to anarchy and total disorder.
Then when we learn this, accept it, and begin to make use of it, we have an overwhelming sense of gratitude. We come to understand God’s gift of a faith-filled cure for the illnesses of life. For me that is what faith is all about. We have a new sense of reality as Jesus taught and we have a sense of gratitude for this freedom as Jesus also taught. The longer I live and the more experiences I have in living the more I realize what a tremendous gift Jesus presented us in terms of faith and its importance regardless of what happens to us. In its simplicity it is awesome. We express our gratitude simply loving God and loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.
Luke describes this situation in our lesson this morning. Judeans had a strong faith in God and lived very close to God. Samaritans were looked down upon as being less worthy as a people. However when individuals fell sick to leprosy, whether they were Judean or Samaritan made no difference. They were to be avoided at all cost. Luke writes that, “On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten people who had leprosy approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’”
At that time people understood that they were to have as little contact with anyone with leprosy as possible to avoid the disease. They set up laws that required any leper to remain as least fifty yards away minimum. So how can you have any kind of relationship with someone a hundred and fifty feet away?
Well, anyway, when these ten lepers heard that Jesus coming by, they called out in desperation for mercy. Luke writes, “When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean.” In other words what Jesus stated is simply return to the basis of your faith, accept what God intended for you and you will be healed and they were.
Now comes the difficult part. Luke writes, “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.” Any sense of gratitude for the healing and new life was expressed, only by the one who was despised and none by those who considered themselves to be God’s faithful followers.
Luke continues, “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 Jesus said to the Samaritan, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’”
How effective have we been in helping our children learn gratitude? I did not say guilt, I said gratitude, learning to be thankful. With the huge amount of stuff available to all of us today, who even thinks of gratitude? It is more important to figure out how to manipulate our credit cards to get more and more new stuff. Gratitude is unheard of. Money is the driving force of life today. No wonder families are frustrated and upset when they are asked to care for an older relative or friend. There is little gratitude for what the family has been provided and the result is resentment, why should we pay? I have heard that over and over again in family counseling and elder workshops. At the same time I have experienced times where nephews and nieces have responded with care as well as children in families who have responded with commitment to their elders.
Another expression of gratitude that is rarely seen is we receive something from a teacher, a friend, that has is impossible to repay. The tragedy is that we don’t even try to.
Finally, we rarely express our gratitude to God for all that we have received. When we face a serious need, oh boy, how desperately we can pray. Then when it is over, we don’t even say thanks after stopping at Dunkin donuts, much less Starbucks! Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits! Psalm 103:2.
Jesus said to the Samaritan, “Get up and go on your way, your faith has made you well!” Jesus says the same to each one of us this morning.
Jesus did not confuse people. He talked with them about fundamentals of life and about God in their own language. He met people right where they were on their own ground and that is why common ordinary people enjoyed Him so much.
Amen.