Proper 23: October 10, 2004.

2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c

Psalm 111

2 Timothy 2:8-15

Luke 17:11-19

Faith, foreigners. Ritual, conversion. Praise, thanksgiving. This week's texts continue the exploration into discipleship and answer questions about what it looks like to follow Jesus.

The first example is the young girl in the first lesson. Not named, not thanked, a woman's servant in a strange land, she speaks her faith, saying that Elisha the prophet could cure Naaman the mighty warrior of his leprosy (2 Kings 5:2-3). Is her suggestion one of those mustard seeds Jesus spoke of in last week's reading?

In case we miss that example, another one is provided, but again we have to read carefully not to miss it. When Naaman, the powerful commander of the king of Aram, feels slighted by Elisha's lack of personal contact, lack of flair, and proposed method and place of healing, he is enraged! His servants (also Israelites?) dare to approach and encourage him with a tactful question. Again, an echo from Luke 17:5-10; there is great power in small obediences to God.

Much more detailed and dramatic, therefore more memorable, are the faith examples of Naaman and of the Samaritan. They hold in common not only their leprosy and miraculous healing but also their Gentileness and the clarity and exuberance of their faith. Naaman not only returns but brings his whole company and stands before Elisha to proclaim, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel" (v. 15). What makes this extraordinary is Naaman's initial fury when Elisha would not come and stand before him to do the healing.

And of course, the Samaritan is the only one to return to Jesus when ten lepers are healed all at once. His praising of God with a loud voice and lying at Jesus' feet thanking him are legendary, as are the stories of faith shown by two other Samaritan people: the woman at the well (John 4:1-42) and the man on the road (Luke 10:25-37). Note that only we, from the perspective of faith and history, would call this man the Good Samaritan. In his own day, he, and the woman, were members of an avoided, despised minority group.

Back to the healing story, we often hold up this Samaritan man as the only faithful one of the ten. Evidently the other nine, when they discovered themselves healed, continued on to the priests as Jesus had directed, and as their tradition, if they were already God-fearing people, dictated.

It may be hard for us to understand the force and intensity that the concept of cleanliness exerted over the faithful of that time and place, much less the constraints and complexity of the laws that governed cleanliness. I'm not sure that there is any one thing we can point to in our faith tradition that grips us as firmly as the purity laws ruled the lives of the ancient faithful. (For a review of the identification of leprous conditions, see Lev 13:1-46, and for the purification rituals see 14:1-32.)

Could it be that the Samaritan was the only one who either didn't know the rules or didn't feel bound by them? Did the others go forward not in careless disregard but in faith, believing they were doing exactly the right thing, what they had been taught by the priests, and what would restore them to holiness in God's eyes and to their places in their families and community? Viewed from this perspective, it's hard to imagine that the nine would do anything but what they did.

And yet, Jesus noted their absence. He expected them to return to him to praise God. Jesus had broken the rules to heal them. Did Jesus expect them to break the rules in return? How does this apply to us? Jesus' praise of the worship of the Samaritan begs the question of our worship. Are there times when we are rule-bound? What would happen if we broke some of our molds? Are there ways we could worship more abundantly, more vibrantly, imitating the energy, enthusiasm, and movement of the Pharisee?

In her book A Royal "Waste" of Time (Eerdmans, 1999), Marva Dawn explores the splendor of worshiping God for no purpose other than worship--not teaching, not evangelism, not mission--solely for the praise of the holy and almighty God. Even the dedication she wrote is inspiring and thought-provoking. In it she speaks of composers and poets creating "new forms, new images, new sounds ... musicians offering ... artists sculpting and dancing and painting to the glory of God, worship participants yearning for depth and excellence...."

This is such a rich text; there are many other sermon options! The preacher could choose to tackle the question of Jesus' power. Is it possible that it was growing, or that he chose to show more of it, even as the Pharisees closed in? Note that in Luke 5 Jesus healed one leper with a touch; here in Luke 17 he heals ten lepers, and from a distance.

Or, we could look at this from a justice perspective. Perhaps the move from one to ten could be seen as indicative of Jesus' wish to heal all people, Jesus' intention to bring everyone out of their pockets of contempt and isolation into the glory and fellowship of wholeness in the kingdom of God.

Another point: When we consider how personally and socially infectious leprosy was, we can be amazed that Jesus did not "catch" it from those condemned unclean. Even more miraculously, through his physical and spiritual healing touch, Jesus stemmed the tide of impurity and actually spread cleanliness!

There may be a sermon in verse 14, "And as they went, they were made clean." The lepers hear the word of God; they go in peace and are healed, made whole, through Jesus' mercy and through their faith. This spring, representatives of our synod did an immersion trip through the Lutheran Center in Mexico City and visited the homes of squatters in nearby Cuernavaca. Living on borrowed land in cobbled-together, dirt-floor dwellings without benefit of power or running water, their thankfulness to God was beyond belief! "And as they went, they were made clean." These faithful are walking with God through lives in places forgotten by most of the world. Truly Jesus is at work in all the corners of the world, healing and creating wholeness.

"Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well" (17:19). A discussion of the examples of faith in Luke would include Jesus commending and praising the faithful: those who carried the paralytic (5:20), the centurion (7:9), the woman who anointed Jesus' feet (7:50), the hemorrhaging woman (8:48), and, of course, the grateful leper (17:19). It would also include Jesus challenging the faith of the disciples: during the windstorm on the lake (8:25), following the parable of the widow and the judge (18:8, in the reading for next week), and predicting Peter's denial (22:32).

One final idea is to see this text as confirming last week's text. In the story about faith as the tiny mustard seed begetting power as great and multifaceted as a full-grown tree, the question being answered seems to be, "How much faith is needed?" Today Jesus answers us again. Any amount of faith will do. Faith expressed in quiet suggestions and questions or in loud praise "works" equally well. Here we have been treated to four fine examples of God working through the faith of God's people to accomplish miraculous things. RKB