“Rise and Go Your Way” Luke 17:19

October 13, 2013


GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 17:11–19 [The healing of the ten lepers]

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

The ten lepers in today’s Gospel reading represent all those who, for one reason or another, find themselves excluded from the former, familiar existence they enjoyed in human society, among family and friends. Not only sick people, but this story also applies even to all physically healthy people who are outcasts or alienated from family or society. Actually, some people are weird, some have bad personalities, some have unacceptable opinions and orientations, and some people have come on bad times and are out of work, maybe homeless. Some people have made bad choices in their lives and are no longer trusted by others. Some people have suffered hardship or loneliness or disease or disfigurement. In this sermon, when you hear the word “leper,” think of all these social “lepers” in our world today.

In the case of the ten lepers in the Gospel story, their disease has made them outcasts in a literal, geographical sense, from their old former existence. They have been literally cast out from their homes to live in colonies in the wilderness, so that they do not infect other people. They are required to “keep their distance.” Of course, there are lots of other ways people, then and now, experience being outcasts. But what’s especially important to note here is that the lepers know they are outcasts—and rightly so. They know that it was right to be cast out. They know they are a danger to others. They concur with the assessment of the law and of the priests who are the legal protectors of society. And they know they can do nothing to change that fact. Indeed, this knowledge of the law, true as it is, only exacerbates their alienation. They know it is best for society that they are outcasts, and they know they can do nothing about it. Frustrated, they give up.

It is, therefore, understandable that when the lepers hear the word that Jesus is near, they get hope and make a plan, even if it might not work. They meet Jesus at the side of the road, at a distance, and they shout out to him, “Jesus, Lord, have mercy on us!” They obviously heard about the great miracles he performed and saw in him a way to be cured. They could be cured of their external disease and return to their old, familiar existence. They could go home to their village and family. Of course, what they don’t see is their internal disease: that is, their sin which makes them outcasts, not with regard to their fellow human beings, but sin which makes them outcasts with God. Therefore, all they want is to return to their former existence, to a life in that society which is managed by the law, even though that same law had rightly excluded them in the first place because of their leprosy. As a result, what they long for is what they get—and that’s all they get! True, they get cleansing from their leprosy, just as they wanted. True, they get to return to their old existence within their old community which is defined by law, just as they wanted. But what is also true is that they don’t get what Jesus calls being “made well.”

And that is the ultimate tragedy in this story: their longing to return to their old existence comes at the cost of abandoning Jesus who embodies the very Mercy of God. In his mercy, Jesus granted them the cure that they wanted, but he was not able to give them complete health of body and soul. They were cured, but not made well. Perhaps the very reason they didn’t return to give thanks to Jesus is because they could not understand the mercy of Jesus. They were once again hopelessly bound to that Law which by definition excluded mercy. The Law is strict without mercy. And by excluding mercy, the Law had to exclude Jesus and any praise of him. But what no one in this Jewish community under the Law realized—not even the priests—is that the very law which they cherished for their protection (the political function of the law) also ensures their destruction (the theological function of the law). For where you find law, you find sin. And wherever you find sin, sooner or later, you find death.

Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem when he encountered the ten lepers. Jerusalem will be the place where Jesus himself will become the outcast. Jesus will be outcast by the Law of the Jews and the law of the Roman Gentiles and even on the cross he is abandoned by the Will of God the Father. True, the law has no legitimate case against Jesus per se. He is not a sinner, he is personally “innocent” (23:47), all is “well” between him and the Father. Yet, he is guilty of this: of overruling the verdict of the law on sinners. It was insurrection. The law condemns but the mercy of Jesus saves. Throughout his ministry Jesus is overruling the law of God in the name of God’s mercy: he heals the sick, cleanses the lepers, and gives hope to the downtrodden. Even on the cross he gives mercy to the repentant thief. That thief knows he is guilty as charged. He is guilty of breaking both the law of Rome and the Law of God. And yet Jesus in mercy declares that he will be with Christ in paradise.
★ Jesus rose on the third day, so we know the promise is true.
★ Jesus rose on the third day, so we know that his mercy is greater than the Law of God.
★ Jesus rose on the third day, so we know that he is Savior and Lord of all.
★ Jesus rose on the third day, so we know that he is not just giving us a band-aid cure and sending us back to our old community of sin and Law. He is making us well for the purpose of binging us into paradise, into the new community of his mercy. We are not only cured, we are saved.

In the Gospel reading, where did the lepers go? Nine of the lepers are following the instructions of Jesus, and when they show themselves to the priest, they will be able to join their communities and families. This is according to the Law and they will live by that Law. The Samaritan goes to Jesus and he is given freedom by Jesus. Jesus said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” The life of faith is not a life compulsion; it is not a life marked with rules and regulations. Rather, it is a life of freedom, a life of simply “going there” for others as Christ was there for the Samaritan. The life of faith doesn’t mean forsaking the world of law or the life of work and family and politics, but it means “going there” in a new way, for a new purpose. The purpose is to live free in the mercy of Christ. It is bringing that same freedom and mercy to other outcasts.

We do not have the disease of leprosy, but we do know our sin and faults and problems. Some of us really are weird and social misfits. Some of us are justly shunned by others. Some of us are unjustly discriminated against. But we have all prayed, and even have wanted to shout like the ten lepers, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, but he did not pass us by. He stops when we cry out t ohim in prayer. Then he takes with him our sin and problems to the cross. In his mercy we find our freedom.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor *
Okinawa Lutheran Church
*with thanks to Steven C. Kuhland of crossings.org for the sermon idea and outline, especially the insights into God's Mercy compared to God's Law.


Sermon Index