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.” Luke 17:11-19

The Lepers do as Jesus commands…they keep their distance, as they should.  They beg the Master for mercy, as they should, and he hears their cries, as we hope he always does. They listen to the master, as they should, and run to the priests, as we always should. They are healed, as we knew they would, and they all return praising G-d, as they should, as we always should.  Wait – only one returns to praise G-d – and that one is a Samaritan – and, is that right? How could that Samaritan, the one so detested, be the only one to praise G-d for G-d’s mercy, and thank G-d in sincere gratitude? Could it be that 9 out of 10 “religious people” take G-d’s grace for granted? Could it be that 1 out of 10 “non-religious people” will come to recognize G-d’s grace for what it is – and will come to praise G-d as they should? Should we settle for those percentages – or be more involved in praising G-d and spreading the word?

Pastor Dave