Proper 23 / Pentecost 21 / Ordinary Time 28
Devotional
Water From the Rock
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle C
Object:
He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.
-- Luke 17:16
Sometimes we see better signs of faith outside the church than from within the community of faith. In the story there were ten lepers among whom one was a Samaritan. As lepers, they were outcasts. In their leprosy, they had come together in ways that their faith, nationality, and culture had separated them. Their shared crisis had united them. When they saw Jesus, they cried out for mercy. He directed them back to the resources of their faith tradition. " 'Go and show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were made clean."
The community of faith that had rejected them was still their source of healing. It was the foreigner who recognized this as the mercy of God and returned to give Jesus thanks. We do not know what happened to the other nine. We are only told that they were healed as they went as Jesus had instructed them. We do know that this outsider demonstrated the power of gratitude. His faith was demonstrated by his gratitude, and his faith made him well.
When your faith is shaky and you feel cut off from the church as if you are living in a foreign territory, you are invited to turn and give thanks and be healed. It is by the power of our thanksgiving to God that we are restored to the harmony of life.
-- Luke 17:16
Sometimes we see better signs of faith outside the church than from within the community of faith. In the story there were ten lepers among whom one was a Samaritan. As lepers, they were outcasts. In their leprosy, they had come together in ways that their faith, nationality, and culture had separated them. Their shared crisis had united them. When they saw Jesus, they cried out for mercy. He directed them back to the resources of their faith tradition. " 'Go and show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were made clean."
The community of faith that had rejected them was still their source of healing. It was the foreigner who recognized this as the mercy of God and returned to give Jesus thanks. We do not know what happened to the other nine. We are only told that they were healed as they went as Jesus had instructed them. We do know that this outsider demonstrated the power of gratitude. His faith was demonstrated by his gratitude, and his faith made him well.
When your faith is shaky and you feel cut off from the church as if you are living in a foreign territory, you are invited to turn and give thanks and be healed. It is by the power of our thanksgiving to God that we are restored to the harmony of life.
