When Your Life Becomes an Object Lesson

The addict who spends every waking moment of the day trying to hide his addiction.  If people knew who he was...  And what he had to do to make it through the day...  A life time of struggle.  The secrets.  The pain.  Being sure that no one who could truly see him, would actually love him.

The young man who closets his depression.  Who tries desperately to function in spite of it, doing it so well, that no one sees his true pain only adding to the cycle of inadequacy.  Danger looms before him every night as he looks at the pill bottle next to his bedside.

The successful businessman who wears a mask to each work each day.  Hiding the terrible abuse of his childhood.  It would be tempting to allow work to give way to an unhealthy way of making up for his past, but boundaries matter too much to him.  Regardless - he continues to quietly suffer in pain and silence.

The young couple who put on their happy face each day, while their arms ache to hold a baby that should have long-since been the joy of their hearts.  The well intended comments, encouragement that discourages, and quiet musings of wondering "what if..." bring greater pain than either will give voice to.

The wisdom -graced with age - that resides in a woman who had to say goodbye to her husband, far sooner than she wishes.  Her best friend had wasted away from illness that seemed too evil for words - stealing the very best parts of life.  People praise her resilience.  Her honor.  Her hard work.  Her joy.  But yet after a lifetime of an intimate relationship with Jesus, her heart aches in such a way that she asks God: "why?"  While God longs for her words - she feels shame every time she enters the church, prays with friends, and fights for justice.  She buries the shame with great heart ache each and every day.

The creative, life-filled, brilliant woman whose husband walked out, leaving her with beautiful children, to fend for themselves.  Stealing their dignity - a crime far worse than the money he took with him.  Because her identity is deeply rooted in the words God has spoken over her, she takes one step after the next, building a good life for her family - so that her children know what it means to be loved - by her - and their Father in Heaven.  But at night - when the day ends, she wonders - why was I not enough?  The loneliness aches in her heart, as she longs for the riches promised her on her wedding day.

The ability to see is truly a precious gift.  What if they could?  What if for a moment, God pulled back the curtain and allowed them to see?  Who He is.  And who they are.  Would they be able to sing: "It is Well with my Soul?"

As Luke chapter 17 continues, we find ourselves on the heels of the disciples' struggle.  After the pivotal words shared in the transition of last week's Gospel reading, we see a people trying to live into what they so desperately desire.  The disciples don't understand Jesus' teaching about suffering in a shame and honor culture.  And because of this, they haven't been able to embrace Jesus' mission.  In the end, the disciples more closely mirror the Pharisees.

The disciples asked Jesus to give them faith.  And as life is best learned in real life and tangible examples - object lessons - Jesus provides real and living stories.  A foreigner (17:11-19), a widow (18:1-18), a toll collector (18:9-14), children (18:15-17), and a tax collector (19:1-10).  Jesus doesn't just give them an example, He pushes the disciples to the very limits of their understanding.  None of what they expect, and yet -this is the kingdom and the redemptive economy of God.

As we enter into the story and read the way that Jesus encounters ten lepers as he journeys to Jerusalem between Samaria and Galilee, it instantly calls to mind the story of Namaan in 2 Kings.  As the grace of God plays out before our eyes, we read that these 10 people respected the law, crying out to Jesus for mercy from afar.  The incredible physical, emotional, and psychological pain were no match for the fact that their leprosy rendered it impossible to be a part of the worshipping community, essentially cut off from God - a pain far worse.

Jesus' answer was quite simple.  He saw them. And to fulfill the law and all righteousness, sent them to the temple, part of the requirements of the law to be declared "clean" again.  On the way, one leper "saw" that he was healed.  He runs back to Jesus and falls at his feet in an act of thanksgiving and worship.  The ability to touch another human being - and no simple human being, but to worship at the feet of the One that called the universe into being.  The same words that spoke his healing into being.  And yet this man, one in a long line of many.  For when people see what God is up to, they worship at His feet.

And that would be enough.  But Luke shares an even greater miracle that provoked the disciples and does the same for us today.  As the story concludes, Luke shares that one of the lepers was a Samaritan.  Most understand the tenuous relationship that was had between Jews and Samaritans - the great length that people would go to, to avoid each other.  The hatred that consumed.   But here - we see the great fulfillment of God's plan for rescue and redemption, for restoration, healing.

The original Jewish audience, much like us, would have assumed in reading this story, that these lepers are Jewish, until Luke drops the bomb at the end of the story.  Then the Jews (and Samaritans alike) would have been asking - wait, when Jesus told the lepers to go show themselves to the priest according to the purification laws, which one did he mean?  The Jews worshipped in Jerusalem, the Samaritans claiming that Mt. Gerizim was the holy place - one of the major splits between the two groups.  So which temple did he go to?

The Spirit of God stirs in our hearts and reminds us of another moment of healing that is told in John 4, where Jesus encountered the woman at the well.  An outcast.  A woman with deep wounds.  Sin.

Jesus' ultimate answer is the fact that the Samaritan leper didn't go to either Mt. Gerizim or Jerusalem.  Rather, the leper "saw" that he was cleansed and came to Jesus to worship.  "For when the Messiah comes, you will worship neither on this mountain or Jerusalem...But the hour is coming and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth."

And so our story collides in a real life object lesson with the Word of God.  The shame and sin that is hidden in your heart meets the healing found in Jesus Christ alone.  Rather than hide your sin, and the sin laid upon you by others, Jesus claims it as his own, bearing it for the world to see in his body, on the cross.  The empty tomb declaring the victory that there is no longer power in darkness.

In case there is any question, and down to the very last detail...  In Luke 17:18 - Luke intentionally uses a word for "foreigner" that is found no other place in Scripture, and literally means "a label for one born to the wrong family."  My brothers and sisters, remember your baptism - you are a child of God.  Adopted into his family, grafted in by the blood of His Son.  Your sin has been washed away, and you have received the seal of the Holy Spirit, a promise and deposit, guaranteeing your inheritance.  You are no longer slaves, but sons and daughters of the King.  While you have fallen at the feet of Jesus, worshipping in spirit and truth, take great joy that He sends you out to the world, healed and well, that your entire life my be a fragrant offering and act of worship, declaring the praises of Him who has made you a "chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (I Peter 2:9-11)