October 12, 2025
Luke 17: 11-19
Paul “The word of God is not chained.”
Jesus is heading to Jerusalem – we all know what that will mean for him… He goes through Samaria and his familiar Galilee as he travels. Perhaps he is quietly saying his goodbyes internally. Jesus enters a village on the way, and ten lepers meet him. They stand at a distance as lepers must and call out to Jesus to have pity on them.
What would that look like? What did they mean? Are they asking him to heal them or not to shun them?
Jesus says “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” Is he sending them to Jerusalem ahead of him? They do not seem to question Jesus but set out as he told them to. The ten are “cleansed” on their way and their leprosy disappears. One of them realizes that it was Jesus who healed him and decides to turn around, to go back to Jesus. We do not know what the other nine did. Maybe they continued to Jerusalem to get a priest’s blessing as Jesus instructed them to do just in case. Maybe they rushed home to their families.
The one who returns – the foreigner, the one not like the others – comes back to find Jesus. We hear that he is loud as he approaches. His voice is raised in “glorifying God.” This one is a Samaritan and falls at Jesus feet and says his thank you to him. Jesus does not recoil from his closeness and doesn’t say “you are welcome” – he says, “your faith has saved you.” Jesus reminds all gathered that this Samaritan is here to give thanks but the other nine are not – even though Jesus is the one who sent them away.
How does this story speak to us today – twenty centuries later? We may not feel like outcasts but all of us have that feeling of “not fitting in” at some times in our lives. All of us have moments when we are moved to express our gratitude for God’s accompaniment and interventions. How do we thank Jesus for all God’s goodness to us? Do we remember to do that? Do we welcome and respect those different than we are? All of us do meet others who are struggling to be accepted or maybe behaving in a way that doesn’t urge us to welcome them. How do we let our love lead us with the Spirit’s help? This is a story of what happened which Luke tells us about and is not a parable. There is a lot to ponder this Sabbath day!
Luke 17: 11-19
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
The Gospel of the Lord.