Jesus was on his way to
Jerusalem and entered a village along the way. Jesus was always out and about
and available to people. God is always available to us! Sometimes, Jesus would
withdraw for rest and prayer, but was soon ready to engage with people all over
again. And Jesus had gained a reputation for healing people with all sorts of
medical problems. In this case, there were ten people suffering from ‘leprosy’
looking for help.
‘Leprosy’, in these times,
was a general term for a variety of skin conditions, whether they were
contagious or not. Yet, all these people with obvious skin or flesh issues were
grouped together, and shunned from general society. They were forced to live in
remote and desolate places, often enduring horrible conditions. These people,
therefore, suffered poverty, hunger, mental anguish, and shame (even though
they were not at fault).
Legally, they would have to
“keep their distance”, and call out ‘unclean, unclean’, if someone who was
unaffected came close to their location. So, even though these sufferers (from
leprosy) did “keep their distance”, this was still a bold and brave move for
them to approach Jesus like this. This also speaks of Jesus’ very public
reputation … in being able to help. Given that Jesus was the incarnation of God
into the world, we have here an example of the universal availability of God to
address even the most complex needs … right across society.
Mercy is what Jesus trades
in, and mercy is what the people of God should trade in. Why? Well God, we
believe, created this world in love, and therefore is committed to its
well-being, and to the well-being of all its inhabitants. We, especially living
here, have a witness to God’s creative genius every day. And God continues to
reach out to this world in love. And that is why we built this building –
because we want to maximise our opportunities to share that message. In just a
small way, this building represents God’s caring presence in the world, and
availability to each of us.
In those times, when a person
with such a skin condition experienced a recovery, they would need to present
themselves before their priest to be declared ‘clean’ and healthy, and thereby
be allowed to re-enter mainstream life. So, the assumption was, that, as Jesus
had shown “mercy” to them, inevitably, they would be declared ‘clean’ and they
could return to their neighbourhood. Today, in such a circumstance, people
might be sent to their doctor to certify them healthy.
But the centrepiece of this
story, is the one person who stopped, turned back, and returned to thank Jesus.
This person left his visit to the priest for a bit later, understanding that
the remarkable thing that had happened, was purely as a result of connecting
with Jesus. I can just imagine this person going on their way, then suddenly
realising the significance of the encounter, and the greatness of the person
who brought this healing.
There was here, an opportunity,
really an invitation … to come back to Jesus for a further blessing … actually
for the ultimate blessing! Now feeling free of any restraint, this former
“leper” … fell at Jesus’ feet in exultant excited gratitude! He realised that
his life had been touched by God, and he wanted more. And with almost a
throw-away line, the storyteller informs us that this person was, quote, a
“Samaritan” – to remind us that even, and perhaps especially, it may be the
least likely who might surprise us all … with their positive response to Jesus.
The ultimate blessing here,
as a result of faith in Jesus, was not only physical healing, but also
spiritual transformation, or what we often call ‘salvation’. This is where we
become ‘whole’ and fully alive. This person’s life was put right! But, before
this happened, this person needed to step up … in gratitude and faith, to be
able to move forward in life. As we said before, the turning point of the story
… is this person’s discontent with his own life situation, his realisation of
who could, and who had, helped him, and his active decision to embrace the
answer. This story gives us a window … into how Jesus is able to change the
course of people’s lives in extraordinary ways.
God is available! If anyone
has questions about faith, the Bible, Jesus, maybe even the existence of God –
they can know … that we built this place for them. We seek to make our unique
contribution toward the spiritual well-being of this community. Because of
this, we also seek to assist with the very real and present needs of our
neighbours. We want to participate helpfully and encouragingly … in what’s
happening all around us. As we represent Jesus as best we can, hopefully
getting better at it by the day, we want to show that God is available! Amen!
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