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Proper 23, Year C "Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well’" (Lk 17:19). Today we catch Jesus in a characteristic pose of blessing: approached by ten lepers who seek mercy, he sends them on their way to be certified by the priests, and in the course of their journey they are healed. Only one of the twelve, a Samaritan, praises God and returns to thank Jesus. Jesus calls attention to the exceptional nature of this man’s thanksgiving, and then tells the man that his faith has made him well. Notice the changes that are rung in this brief story. Healing is offered by Jesus to the incurably ill; thanks are returned to the One who is the source of health and salvation; and faith is the means by which the healing takes place. This story gives us a lot in a little; and interweaves the themes of salvation, thanksgiving, and faith in a wonderful way. Salvation first: the lepers are cleansed, and reconnected in the process to God and the community. Leprosy in Jesus’ day was a disease that made one ritually impure, incapable of appearing before God in the right relationship to him. It was also a disease that separated one from the community. The healing that occurs is not only material but profoundly spiritual, as the lepers are restored to right relationship with God and with the community. In this, the lepers stand for all Christians everywhere, who have been healed of the disease of sin and death, and been given the gift of community and communion with God. Next, thanksgiving: the right response to what has taken place. Again, the lone Samaritan leper is the model for Christians, who give thanks to God always and everywhere, no matter what the circumstance. If Jesus’ characteristic pose is one of blessing, then our characteristic pose is one of thanksgiving. We have received so much from God: not only our existence, from the One who gave birth to all things, but also our reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. When we appear before God, healed and redeemed, we stand on nothing else but on what God has done for us and through us. Finally, faith: a theme that Jesus returns to again and again in this part of Luke’s Gospel. Faith in little things and faith in large things; faith like a mustard seed and faith which leads to healing. This faith that Jesus calls us to is not faith in propositions, or even belief in God, but fundamentally trust in God. It’s easy for me to believe certain things about God, but much harder for me to trust God. This trust issue is where "the rubber meets the road" for human beings and for Christians; where we are all caught up short and much is demanded of us. Part of us just doesn’t believe that we can trust God. That’s why Jesus wants to talk here about faith in the sense of trust, and why it’s so crucial for us to hear it. Today these themes of salvation and thanksgiving, and of faith in the sense of trust in God, plays against the backdrop of our Capital Campaign, "From Generation to Generation". You have heard much about this, and will hear more again. We are thinking and praying about this, considering our commitment and what this will require from us. Our Gospel says to us that we have received all we are and have from God; we give thanks to God through Christ for all his gifts; and in the process, we put our trust in God who alone is trustworthy. Trust in God will be vital for us as we consider our gifts to the Capital Campaign and to our Annual Fund. We are all thinking about the stretch that this represents for us, to make available resources for a Church that is in the midst of a most remarkable growth spurt. This stretch will call for sacrifices from us, so that the gospel can be proclaimed effectively by our community of faith. We will need to trust God as we give, as we challenge ourselves and go beyond that point where we are merely comfortable giving. We give because God is the giver of every good gift; because we are thankful for the gift of life and redemption; because we trust in God who is trustworthy. He will make it possible for us to see this through. "Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever" (Eph. 3:20-21). The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington. |
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