Below is a homily from Pastor Gabe Dodd for a chapel service he led at White Birch nursing home on August 12, 2018.
Scripture: Luke 17
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Sermon: “Your Faith Has Made You Well”
We should be thankful.
That seems to be the obvious message here in the text. 10 people were cured from their sickness, and yet, only one returned to thank the healer. Then, Jesus, surprised by this single person who showed gratitude, sent that person a blessing. It sounds like the moral of the story is to be thankful. And if you thought that, you wouldn’t be wrong.
Gratitude has been recently scientifically proven to improve mental and physical health. One chaplain I know has taken over a year to continue some of this research. He has asked other chaplains to help him in his experiment. The experiment was for chaplains to show gratitude to the patients. In other words, the chaplains would come into hospital rooms, or into nursing homes and retirement communities, and would first, tell the patient something they are thankful for. He said it tended to set a very positive tone for the rest of the conversation they would have. Secondly, the chaplains would encourage the patent to name their thoughts and feelings as normal, and acknowledge the realities of their circumstances, but then he also encouraged the patients and residents to think of things they are also thankful for. The goal is to not ignore the reality of pain and negative experiences. But to acknowledge that pain and negativity are not the only things that are present. Thankfulness, and gratitude are also present. And when we are in a slump, or when we are in pain, we often forget the care that we are receiving, and the prayers that are coming. We sometimes forget to think about the cards we have received, or the visits we get. We oftentimes forget the blessing we have of being in a facility like this that is structurally sound and is keeping us safe, or the warm meals we have on a daily basis, and regular medicines that are helping us. In this experiment, chaplains and nurses have seen a change in behavior and mood. They have seen more optimism from patients, and health has even seemed to improve.
I have even found this to be true to my own story. I understand that I am a young person in a room of “older” people, and that I might not look like someone who knows what its like to be in a facility like this. I have actually spent some time, not just in facilities like this visiting residents, but I have also been in facilities like this to visit my own father who suffered from a brain tumor. Last November my dad was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor that eventually took his life, just four months after diagnosis. Those four months were tough for me. They were emotionally draining. I felt helpless, I felt sorrowful, and I even felt anger. As I mentioned these feelings and thoughts along the grieving process, I was challenged by my chaplain friend to notice things I am thankful for. That was when I realized that I also had some other feelings. I also felt loved and comforted for by my family. I felt supported by my church and my colleagues. I was shown mercy in school assignments. I had the ease of not worrying about travel money to visit my dad whenever I wanted. I was thankful that I got to spend time with my dad and to say goodbye – as sometimes we do not get such opportunities. Although it was uncomfortable, and hard to go see my dad in his last stages of life, it was where God met me, and showed me love in the midst of darkness.
This story from Lukes gospel is about being Thankful, but it is also about faithfulness. You see, when someone has lepracy, they are banned from worshiping in the synagogues and temples. If there is a large crowd, lepers are not allowed to be near. They have bells to ring so people know that a leper is near, and that you should not get too close or else you will catch the disease and send you to sickness. So the Lepers were outside the city. And that is the dangerous and risky place where they met Jesus. When Jesus healed them, they were sent into the city. This command was in line with Livitical law. If one is healed from lepracy, they must show themselves to the high priest, to be confirmed of their safety. If you received a blessing from the priest, they were then able to finally go to your home. Visit your friends. See your family. Worship God with others. Go to bingo. Eat at your favorite restaurant, etc. And obviously, that sounds attractive since who knows if it was years or even decades of keeping distance from all the things they loved and wanted to do.
And 9 of them did that! Because to go out of the city, where Jesus was still, was to put yourself at risk to become sick again. If you leave the city, you might be exposed to another contagious leper, and be stuck away from your family and friends. All except for one. One Leper decided that it is more important to show gratitude to his redeemer, than to take the blessing for granted. It is in the uncomfortable and dangerous wilderness that the 10th leper found Jesus. It is in that sacred dangerous space, that he received a blessing from Jesus. The leper put his faith that Jesus is bigger than the dangers of the world. The leper put faith that worshiping Jesus in the dangerous wilderness was greater than worshiping God in the city. The leper put faith that Jesus has healed, and Jesus can heal again.
The first lesson of this scripture is to be thankful. I believe that the second lesson in this story, is to put your faith in Jesus. Even if you are treading uncomfortable territory like – doing the hard work of care taking, or the sad task of visiting your dying father. Put your faith that following Jesus might be risky, but that Jesus can handle it.
And maybe, just maybe, Jesus might say, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Prayer:
Lord God, Thank you for sending us a healer, a leader, a savior, a friend in Jesus. We give you thanks for our many blessings, and ask you to help us remember to follow you, even when its not easy. Help us to see our blessings in the midst of sorrow and pain. help us to follow you in our own discomforts. It is you that we put our hope. We pray these words from our most sincere hearts. Amen.