The Special Leper

October 9, 2022 Luke 17:11-19 Year C The Special Leper 18th Sunday After Pentecost Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship One: The Psalmist commands: “Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!” Many: We’re gathered to sing God’s praise. One: Come and see what God is doing; Many: God brought us out from fire and water. One: God brings people out to a spacious place, Many: and we give God our gratitude! (Disciple’s of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Opening Prayer O Lord, our Creator and Sustainer, you give us seasons to plant, to grow, to harvest, and to rest, and we are grateful. As the leaves turn and fall from the trees, help us embrace the changes we see as a natural part of life. We come today with our ups and down, doubts and fears, trials and triumphs. We’re grateful you have created each one of us and molded us into your own image. As we worship you, help us stand strong and sure when the winds blow. Remind us: through it all you are with us, every moment, every step, every time, every situation. And hear our praise for you in every moment of our day. Amen. adapted from Cynthia Bond Hopson, The Africana Worship Book for Year C, Valerie Bridgeman Davis and Safiyah Fosua, eds., (Discipleship Resources, 2008), 137. Song Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee UMH 89 Children’s Time Does anyone know what I have here? (Hold up the thank-you card.) That’s right, I have a thank-you card. Can anyone share about a time when you have sent or received a thank-you card? (Allow kids to respond.) We have lots to be thankful for everyday, but sometimes we forget to say those two little words in response to someone doing something kind for us. In fact, that’s what happened in our Bible passage today. The story is about ten lepers. Do you know what a leper is? (Pause for kids to respond.) A leper is a person who has a disease called leprosy. This disease causes sores all over the body. Leprosy was very common in Jesus' day, and people who had this disease were thought to be dirty and unclean. They were required to stay away from other people because of the fear that they might infect them with their disease. One day, Jesus was walking through a small village when He saw a group of ten lepers. They stood far away from Jesus and called to Him, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us." Obviously, they knew who Jesus was and that He had the power to heal them. When Jesus heard them, He called back to the lepers and said, "Go, show yourself to the priest." As the lepers went on their way to see the priest, they looked at their skin and the sores were gone. Jesus had healed their disease. They were so happy that they ran up and down the streets singing and dancing. Suddenly, one of them stopped and went back. Praising God with a loud voice, he threw himself at Jesus' feet and said, "Thank You." Jesus said to him, "Weren't there ten who were healed? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:11-19) Only one out of ten remembered to say, "Thank You." God does so much for us! Every day He provides everything we need: food, clothing, and a place to live. Do we ever forget to say, "Thank You?" Let's stop right now and say, "Thank You," and ask God to help us remember to thank Him every day. Dear Lord, You give us everything we need, but we often forget to say, "Thank You." We thank You now, and ask You to help us to remember to give thanks every day for all that You do for us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. (Sermons4kids.com) Prayer for Transformation and New Life Loving God, form in me a space for healing and enter in anew. For too long I have clutched the past in ways that have prevented the possibility of moving forward. Boundaries of my own making have kept me resistant to your healing mercy. Definitions of the world’s making have created divisions preventing the possibility of a new day, a new season, a new life. By Your mercy form me for a life of mercy and thanks. Lift every burden and release me from every long-rehearsed story holding me hostage to any narrative of hopelessness, hurt and fear. Grant instead a lightness of spirit forgiving me and freeing me to leap into a dance of delight beyond my wildest imagination. Words of Grace Hear the good news! Into our little openings of trust, God is pouring a large love born of mercy. No burden of your past is stronger than this power of Love to forgive, heal, and bless. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Now may (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins) Scripture Luke 17:11-19 Sermon The Special Leper Greg Anderson, in Living Life on Purpose, tells a story about a man whose wife had left him. He was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, in God--he found no joy in living. One rainy morning this man went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else. Our miserable friend hunched over the counter, stirring his coffee with a spoon. In one of the small booths along the window was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the sad silence by almost shouting, "Momma, why don't we say our prayers here?" The waitress who had just served their breakfast turned around and said, "Sure, honey, we pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?" And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, "Bow your heads." Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down. The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen." That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another. The waitress said, "We should do that every morning." "All of a sudden," said our friend, "my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl's example, I started to thank God for all that I did have and stop majoring in all that I didn't have. I started to be grateful." We all understand and appreciate the importance of gratitude. How it can radically change relationships. In fact, one of the first things we were taught and that we teach our children is to express their gratitude. Someone gives them some candy and we say: “Now what do you say?” And the child learns from an early age the answer “Thank you.” And certainly we all know as adults that we appreciate being thanked. Yet, when it comes to giving thanks to our heavenly father, we so often miss the mark. And when it comes to giving our thanks to God, I don’t suppose there is any story in the Bible that is so endearing to us, so timelessly appropriate, as the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers. We have all heard the story many times, but like so many Bible stories, we never tire of it…. How can we put a sense of gratitude for God’s blessings in each and every day? That is a fitting message for our stewardship campaign. That is what our faith is all about, not only being able to say thank you, but to live thank you. The story of the ten lepers, is not so much a popular story, it is only found in Luke. But it is a familiar story. Jesus heals the ten lepers, all leave and return to their life, but only one of them returns to say thank you. And for us, the moral of the story is for us to be just like the leper and always remember to say thank you. Have You Forgotten Something? I can recall three rhetorical questions that accompanied me throughout my childhood. The first was, "Were you born in a barn?" That usually came when I left a door open, or didn't clean up my room. The second was, "When will you ever grow up?" which was a question my sisters asked me as a carefully planned, relentless program of persecution. The third one was, "Have you forgotten something?" That was the parental admonition, usually for not saying thank you after receiving some gift. This last question is what I thought of when I read the New Testament lesson for this morning from Luke's gospel, the seventeenth chapter, the story of Jesus healing ten lepers. Only one comes back to give thanks. Ten were healed, but only the Samaritan came back. If my mother had been there, she would have said to the nine, "Have you forgotten something?" Mark Trotter, How about Something Different? I am sure that each of us has a story about growing up and being taught the importance of saying thank you. For me, it was my stepfather who stressed to me how important it was to say thank you whether someone did something big or small for you. I always wondered why that lesson was never stressed to my younger siblings or nieces or nephews. But nevertheless it was a big lesson for me. In Sunday School, we were taught that the point of this story was to always follow the example of the tenth leper and be the one to come back and say thank you. As a matter of fact, many would think that this scripture is the perfect lesson about how faith, obedience and gratitude work together. If you look at the background of this story – that could not be further from the truth. The first words of the story say “On the way to Jerusalem”, somewhere between Galilee and Samaria. Jesus has already been to Samaria, so no one knows why he is in no man’s land between the Samaritans and the Jews. Jesus loved his people, but he was also about reconciliation between the two people. Perhaps Jesus was intentionally looking for people like the lepers who did not fit in on either side. The lepers were in quarantine from any social group. Their illness kept them together as a group, but it also alienated them from their support system. Healing was not just curing the disease, but returning them to that system. The story is not specific about what exactly Jesus does – but he does tell the lepers to return back to their support system. He also tells them to go back to church, so that they can get back to life as normal. All of them do that. But one of them is not a Jew, he is a Samaritan. He does not have a church to go to. He knows that if he returns to church, whether he is healed or not, he is not going to be accepted. Jesus is his church, and he returns to Jesus to show his gratitude. Who are the Samaritans of today? Who are the ones who know that they just don’t fit in here? Jesus point in telling us this story – sometimes outsiders are closer to god and have a deeper faith than those inside of the church. Outsiders find salvation, and insiders remain blind and oblivious to true faith. Why was Jesus in no man’s land on that day- looking for outsiders, outcast and others and showing them to salvation of God. The first lesson for us – blur the lines between the outsiders and the insiders of the church. Keep our eyes open for those unexpected moments of God’s grace in our lives. The second lesson – expand your definition of healing. Our scripture never says what Jesus did to these ten men. Did he pray, lay hands on them, preach a sermon. No mention of it as all. But Jesus does tell them that they are healed and to go show themselves to the priest. They may not have even had time to feel better or to know that they were really healed. But they took Jesus at his word – believed things were better. Jesus told them the healing was in the journey. How many of us take Jesus as his word? How many of us will do what Jesus says and just trust it to be so. The healing is in the daily journey, not in Jesus touching us. Jesus says that the Samaritans faith made him whole. God In the Ordinary Once upon a time, there was a far-away land that was ruled by a vicious king. His iron hand reached into every corner of his subjects' lives. Every corner - except one. Try as he might, he couldn't destroy their belief in God. In his frustration, he finally summoned his advisors and asked them: "Where can I hide God so the people will end up forgetting about him?" One suggested hiding God on the dark side of the moon. This idea was debated, but was voted down because the advisors feared that their scientists would one day discover a way to travel into space travel and God would be discovered again. Another suggested burying God in the deepest part of the ocean. But there was the same problem with this idea, so it was voted down. One idea after another was suggested and debated and rejected. Until finally the oldest and wisest advisor had a flash of insight. "I know," he said, "why don't we hide God where no one will ever even think to look?" And he explained, "If we hide God in the ordinary events of people's everyday lives, they'll never find him!" And so it was done. And they say people in that land are still looking for God - even today. ChrstianGlobe Illustrations We have to recognize the grace of God in every moment in life. • Rob Myalis (http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2010/10/luke-1711-19.html) “When Jesus says that the man's faith saved him, we see very clearly that Luke is not suggesting "your belief in a set of propositional truths gave you keys to heaven." What Jesus seems to be saying is more on long the lines: "your trust in my word and power motivated action from you that transformed your life in a way that have experienced the salvation of God." For all good theologians, faith leads to action!” The key word is transformation. The Samaritan leper is not a hero because he was a stranger, not because he was obedient and faithful. He was a hero because he chose to be transformed because of his encounter with Jesus. When was the last time you were truly transformed by saying thank you to Christ? Let’s try to do it everyday. I found this poem last night – the author is Ullie Kaye, but it channels the words of that special leper. How did you heal? I didn’t Then how is it that you can still face the sun every morning like that? Because I am healing. How do you know? Because I am finally okay with not being healed in the way that I wanted But choosing to know that I am being healed in the way that I needed. I am trusting the process. The Process is Jesus Christ. Amen. Song God of the Sparrow, God of the Whale UMH 122 Prayer Lord, we thank you for the wondrous ways in which you have healed and restored us. There have been countless times when we wondered if the trials and struggles of our lives would overcome us and swallow us up; yet you have reached out to redeem us. Just as in the scriptures when Jesus healed the ten people afflicted with leprosy, one, when he saw that he had been healed, returned to Jesus, praising God for the healing that had taken place. Make our faith as strong as the one of that man. Give us the wisdom to know the source of healing is not in our pleading, but in our acknowledging your love and power. As we bring before you the names and situations in our hearts that are filled with strife and trouble, we ask for their healing as well. We know that you hear the cries of our hearts and respond always in love. Help us to place our complete trust in your never-ending compassion. For it is in Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Meister Eckhart said, “If the only prayer you said was ‘thank you’, that would be enough.” If we begin there, with a simple “thank you” to God, the rest will follow. Thanks first. Thanks always. Thanks in everything. One of the greatest gifts we can give to each other in Christian community is that of helping one another cultivate a spirit of gratitude. If we do this, glad hearts and generous spirits will follow. Our spirits will be filled, along with our coffers, providing financial support for our congregation’s ministry. After all, gratitude begets more gratitude, and the more gratitude you have the more abundance you see. With thank-filled hearts, let us share our morning offerings, tithes and gifts. Adapted from https://www.stewardshipoflife.org/2013/10/first-and-always-give-thanks/ Prayer of Thanksgiving Holy Creator, Like the healed leper, we come to give you our thanks! You provide for us, abundant stores of more-than-we-need. Now, receive the gifts we’ve brought today. Help us transform them, modeling on the ways Jesus reached out. Encourage us to freely share what’s been given, so we might bless those we seek to serve: the hungry, the lost, the fear-filled neighbors who yearn for signs of help and hope. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Go, my friends, because the mercy of God has freed you from your past. Go, because the mercy of God calls you forward into the world. Go, because the blessing of mercy you offer to others will lighten the burden they are carrying. Go, because by this mercy of God, we are all healed again and again. Thanks be to God! Amen and Amen! (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Rev. Dr. David Long-Higgins) Community Time Benediction Benediction (Luke 17) Jesus said to the leper, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.” Let us all claim Jesus’ healing and liberation in our lives. Get up and go on your way! In Jesus’ name, your faith has made you whole And all God’s people say: Amen. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Rebecca Gaudino) Additional Illustrations Sermon Opener - Giving Thanks before Thanksgiving - Luke 17:11-19 _________________________________ Healing - Luke 17:11-19 When I was in fourth or fifth grade, I was helping my dad in the kitchen. I had been taught how to use a knife properly, but I wasn’t always perfect at it. I slipped and knicked my finger. It was just a small cut but it was on the knuckle, so if the cut was going to heal, we had to find a way to splint my finger. I remember being very proud that my dad simply took a piece of kindling from the pile for our wood stove, cut off two small pieces, bandaged my finger and taped it with adhesive tape. Voila! Within a matter of minutes I was on the road to healing. My finger healed quickly and you can’t even see a scar. It is as if it never happened. I think we often wish more of life was like that. When we are sick or injured, we hope and pray for healing. We want a transformation. We want our health completely restored. We want it to be as though we were never sick or hurt in the first place. We want transformation as we see in our scriptures today. In 2 Kings we hear the story of Naaman, the army commander, who was healed from leprosy when he finally followed the instructions of the prophet Elisha and went to bathe in the River Jordan seven times. Amusingly, Naaman was initially resistant to this source of healing as he expected a great fanfare or an endurance trial or challenge in order to be healed rather than merely just bathing in the Jordan. Yet that was not what was required of him. When he finally followed Elisha’s instructions, at the urging of the servants, Naaman was made clean. And this was some cleansing. It was not just that Naaman was healed of his leprosy, his flesh was completely restored to what it was before he ever had it. He had the skin of a young boy after he bathed. Naaman got exactly what we wish for — complete healing and transformation. Then in Luke’s gospel we get another story of a miraculous healing of lepers. The ten lepers asked Jesus to have mercy on them. Jesus told them to go show themselves to the priests, and Jesus granted their wish, and “poof,” just like that they were healed. The leprosy was gone. Again, just what we wish for when we are the ones who are afflicted. I have to admit, I actually have a hard time with these miraculous healing stories in the Bible. I find them rather frustrating. Because while the small cuts and bruises of life do heal over…. The Seeds of Discouragement An old legend tells how a man once stumbled upon a great red barn after wandering for days in a forest in the dark. He was seeking refuge from the howling winds of a storm. He entered the barn and his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. To his astonishment, he discovered that this was the barn where the devil kept his storehouse of seeds. They were the seeds that were sown in the hearts of humans. The man became curious and lit a match. He began exploring the piles of bins of seeds round him. He couldn’t help but notice that the greatest majority of them said, “Seeds of Discouragement.” About that time one of the devil’s helpers arrived to pick up a load of seeds. The man asked him, “Why the abundance of discouragement seeds?” The helper laughed and replied, “Because they are so effective and they take root so quickly.” “Do they grow everywhere?” the man asked. At that moment the devil’s helper became very sullen. He glared at the man and in disgust he said, “No. They never seem to grow in the heart of a grateful person.” Keith Wagner, But Are We Grateful? Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known. Garrison Keillor, Lake Wobegon