Luke 17:11-19 (NRSV)
Read Luke 17:11-19 on biblegateway.com
Verse 11On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. Verse 12As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, Verse 13they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" Verse 14When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Verse 15Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. Verse 16He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Verse 17Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Verse 18Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Verse 19Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."
Devotion
This story of Jesus cleansing the ten lepers, occurring on his journey toward Jerusalem, challenges our anxious certainty regarding who is worthy and what is healing. They, like we, are all unclean. By simply asking Jesus for mercy, all ten lepers are made clean and welcomed back into community as a free gift. Yet how is it that only one, an alien at that, is made fully whole? This question challenges me, whether in the church, in protective custody, or in the clinic, where I am given to listen to people who piously declare, “I am spiritual not religious.” How so? In contrast to the moniker that floats around here in Silicon Valley, i.e., “presentation is reality,” Christ Jesus among us declares integrity, a lived and forgiven faith, full of gratitude, heals and makes us whole. I acknowledge daily, “Your worship, where I failed, Holy Spirit, your faithfulness has brought me into community where I am made whole.”
Prayer
Merciful and faithful Christ, let your faithfulness draw us toward one another, whether strangers or alike, that we too may be made whole among others. Amen.
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