Cleansed

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
Luke 17 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:17-19, NIV)


REFLECTIONS:
What would make you shout for joy at the top of your voice? What would make you fall on the ground—yes, flat on your face!—in front of someone?

I used to love to watch the Discovery Channel's TV series called I Shouldn't Be Alive. In each episode, survivors of death defying experiences would relive their ordeals and the moment of truth that kept them alive. For days or even months, these individuals would battle unspeakable horrors, not knowing where they were or how to get out. Finally, after many adventures and often giving up hope, they would eventually be found and rescued. Upon their rescue, they oftentimes lacked the energy to actually shout for joy, but they undoubtedly felt like it. Reliving their rescue many years after the fact, they would inevitably be overcome by emotions and gratitude.

You might shout for joy when the doctor told you that someone you love very dearly had come safely through the operation or was being declared free of cancer. You might do it when suddenly all your debts were rolled away and you were given a new start in life.

What, then, is the more surprising detail in Luke's story: the fact that one person came back, shouted for joy, and fell down at Jesus' feet? Or the fact that nine didn't?

As is his tendency, Luke once again focuses on Jesus' attitude toward the outsider, the foreigner. This man—the despised Samaritan—put to shame the Jews who had been healed but who didn't say "thank you." We don't know exactly why they didn't. Perhaps, once they'd seen the priest (who was responsible for declaring when people were healed from such diseases), they were afraid to go back and identify themselves with Jesus, who by now was a marked man. Or, perhaps, having realized they had been healed, they were so eager to get back to their families (whom they hadn't been able to live with all the time the disease had affected their bodies) that they simply didn't think to go back and look for Jesus.

Luke doesn't say that they were any less cured, but he does imply that they were less grateful. After the lesson in humility (verses 1-10) comes the lesson in gratitude (verses 11-19). Humility, of course, is still built in: only the outsider, only the foreigner, only the hated Samaritan, gives God the glory, showing up the Jews, whose very name reminded them to praise God (the word "Judah" in Hebrew means "praise").

It's not only the nine ex-lepers who are shown up. It is all of us who fail to thank God always and for everything (Ephesians 5:20). We know with our heads, if we have any Christian faith at all, that our God is the giver of all good things: every mouthful of food we eat, every breath of air we inhale, every note of music we hear, every smile on the face of a friend, a child, a spouse—all that, and a million things more, are good gifts from his abounding generosity. 

The world didn't need to be like this. It could have been far more drab. Yet, our gracious God chose to lavish us with all sorts of incredible gifts. The beauty we everywhere see with our eyes. The world, buzzing with life, that we hear with our ears. The sweet refreshment of food and drink. The warm sun, the cool breeze, the refreshing rain that we feel upon our skin. The fragrances that cause memories to flood our minds or emotions to stir our bellies. The joys and delights of family and friends. Companionship in the midst of daily storms. Peace and strength to endure. Hope of an inheritance unending.

There is an old spiritual discipline of listing your blessings, naming them before God, and giving thanks to him for his generosity and his grace. It's a healthy thing to do, especially in a land where we too often assume we have an absolute right to health, happiness, and every possible creaturely comfort.

……………

Jesus' closing words to the Samaritan invite a closer look. In preparing for this devotional, a few of the authors I read pointed out that Jesus' words—“Rise and go”—would have been recognized by early Christians as having to do with "resurrection." Like the prodigal son, this man "was dead, and is alive again." New life—the life which Israel was longing for as part of the age to come—had arrived in this little village on that day, and it had called out of this man, a faith you didn't know he had. 

Once again (compare Luke 5:20; 8:48; 8:50), faith and healing go hand in hand. And, once again, "faith" here means not just any old belief, any generally religious attitude to life, but the belief that the God of life and death is at work in and through Jesus, and the absolute confidence that this is not just a vague general truth, but that it will hold good in this case, right here and right now. This rhythm of faith and gratitude simply is what being a Christian, in the first or the 21st century, is all about.


POINT OF ACTION:
Here's a great quote: 

Gratitude… goes beyond the “mine” and “thine” and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy. —Henri J. M. Nouwen 

Small things done consistently can have monumental results. Practice the discipline of gratitude daily and your life will be transformed. Simply pause to thank God for his good gifts. Meditate on his faithfulness to you in the past. List out all that you have to be grateful for in the present. As you practice this discipline of gratitude instead of complaining, grumbling, or forgetting God's goodness, you will experience his peace, be filled with his joy, and grow in faith and maturity.

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and I've recently found myself being drawn to the Gospel stories of Jesus healing people with physical infirmities. I don't know what that's about, necessarily; but it's a fresh new reality for me. God has been very gracious to me and has restored much of my strength and bodily abilities. When I was first injured, I literally could not move any part of my body. After a number of months of rehab, I was finally able to begin moving my arms ever so slightly. God graciously surrounded me with the number of quality people who used their gifts, skills, and creativity to push me forward in my rehab. After a few years of diligent work combined with God's grace, I was able to regain a good amount of upper body strength and balance. To this day, I still deal with a lot of physical limitations; but I choose to focus on all that God has graciously enabled me to do. He is so good to me!