The Thankful Samaritan

CProper23 2010
Pentecost XX

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Psalm 66:1-11
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Luke 17:11-19

On the way to Jerusalem…

Have you ever felt like a foreigner? Have you ever been a foreigner? I was a foreigner once – in Scotland. It was the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and they were celebrating in a garden in Edinburgh. “The foreigner,” I heard some one call me – and I was. I could enjoy the party but I could not share the pride – she was not my Queen – or the status of subject, citizen, member of the kingdom.

The Samaritan probably knew he was on foreign ground, but it didn’t matter much. He was an outside everywhere he went, as were the other nine. They were lepers – outcast – sufferers from a malignant skin disease were treated as unclean, and they were shunned. It would take a miracle to restore them to health and to community, to the common life.

It would take the action of the living Lord. There was nothing the Samaritan could do about his condition, except – call on the Lord, obey his command, trust and hope.

As Jesus went by on the way to Jerusalem, the ten lepers were crying out: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. They kept their distance – they were lepers, unclean – and Jesus said to them, as it says in the Law to do (Leviticus chapter 14) “On the day when he is to be cleansed he shall be brought to the priest.”

As they went, as they began to obey, they were cleansed. That’s the first part of the story. Ten called out, ten were healed. What they knew of Jesus, what had been proclaimed to them, the hint of the good news that they’d heard, was enough to bring them into earshot, to give them the temerity to call out to be cleansed, to be freed of their immediate plight.

Martin Luther said something pretty amazing about these people. Here is what he said:

“For tell me, who had given these lepers a letter and seal that Christ would hear them? Where is there any experience and feeling of his grace? Where is the information, knowledge or certainty of his goodness? Nothing of the kind is here. What then is here? A free resignation and joyful venture on his imperceptible, untried and unknown goodness. Here there is no trace in which they might discover what he would do, but his mere goodness alone is kept in view, which fills them with such courage and venture to believe he would not forsake them. Whence, however, did they receive such knowledge of his goodness, for they must have known of it before, be they ever so inexperienced and insensible of it? Without doubt from the good reports and words they had heard about him, which they had never yet experienced. For God's goodness must be proclaimed through his Word, and thus we must build upon it untried and inexperienced...”


But one of them knew that something more was here – that more than a miracle was present. The healing was the sign of life present in the person before him. He saw, he perceived, he knew – he was in the presence of the very Word of God. And so, he turned, he gave glory to God – shouting loudly, he threw himself at the feet of his Savior, thus confessing him to be Lord – the source of salvation, hope and health, the source of life.

And in gratitude he gave thanks. He responded to the word of God and the grace of God with thanks and praise.

And he was a foreigner. He was a stranger, an alien.

And Jesus brought him home to a place he never knew before: the kingdom not of this world’s way but the kingdom of heaven, where God reigns: the place, the time, even now occurring, where God sets right what has gone off course, when God brings to fulfillment the original purpose of creation – in the thankful Samaritan, in you, and in me.

May his grace be at work among us; may he heal and renew us. May his peaceable kingdom be established in the midst of us; may we know the joy of his service. May we too, like the thankful Samaritan, in obedience follow his command; but knowing he is doing for us more than we could ask for – imagination fails us – may we see him at work in the world, may we turn to him in thanksgiving, may we give glory to God in thanks and praise, may we rise up as his people, renewed refreshed restored reborn; and when we go on our way may we go forth rejoicing in the confidence of faith in a gracious God.

The Lord is your strength and your salvation; in him alone is wholeness and peace. The peace of the Lord be always with you.

The goodness of God the Father go with you. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ protect you. The guidance of the Holy Spirit of God ever lead you. And the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.



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Peace and blessing from David Adam.

Luther quotation from Jami Fecher.

Ideas from Alan Richardson, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Herbert O'Driscoll, David Adam, New Proclamation commentary series, New Collegeville Bible Commentary series, Fred Craddock, Sharon Ringe, Keith Fullerton Nickle, Tom Sine, Ryan Marsh, Michael Ross, Kari Reiten et al.

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