Praying Together 9th October 2022

Collect for Trinity 17

Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you: Teach us to offer ourselves to your service, that here we may have your peace, and in the world to come may see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord

Luke 17: 11-19

The story of the healed lepers is one which initially appears straightforward – but isn’t. At one level, it seems to be about ingratitude – and that is certainly an element of the intended message. The ten lepers are desperate – they are prepared to proclaim Jesus’ authority so long as it suits them – but once healed, they’re not interested in continuing to follow Him.

As the saying goes, there are no atheists on a battlefield. It’s as if God is just some sort of spiritual Paracetamol, to be used in desperate situations – but once the crisis is past, He is put back in the cupboard without a thought – until the next time.

Reading closely, however, there is another, more important, message; quite easy to miss if we only consider the ingratitude.

‘And he was a Samaritan … your faith has made you well.’

The Jews despised Samaritans, seeing them as half-breed heretics. The Samaritan leper wouldn’t expect to be healed by a Jewish teacher – and certainly not treated as an equal. Like the Jews, Samaritans believed in a Messiah who would be a prophet. Of the ten, he alone realises Jesus as much more than just a Jewish healer, as did the Samaritan woman at the well – and the parable of the Samaritan who helped the man left to die by robbers gives another example of Jesus’ universal love and ministry. For ‘Samaritan’ read ‘Everyone’.

It doesn’t matter who we are – Jesus offers healing and forgiveness to all who ask. In turn, all He asks is that we follow Him with love and service. Taking His Gospel for granted when it suits us is nothing less than a total rejection of who He is. There can be no greater insult.