Sermon 10-12-25

Sermon 10-12-25 2nd Kings5: 1-15 Luke 17:11-19

I have absolutely, by far, the best daughter-in-law in the world. Go on, go ahead, be jealous, it's true.

She even agreed to marry my son after I almost gave her leprosy.

I think the first time I had my picture taken with her was at Fort Benning, Georgia. She rode down there with us to watch Willie graduate from jump school. I was standing between the two of them holding a dead armadillo. She was a little uncomfortable to say the least but, she stood there and smiled anyway. It was later on in the evening and we had just gone into town and had supper.

If the picture had been taken a few hours earlier, in true hillbilly fashion, I would have skinned the thing and thrown it on the grill outside the cabin we were staying in.

When we got home I was telling my buddy, the biologist, the story. He said, “Oh my God man, armadillos carry leprosy”. Nine-banded armadillos are the only animals, besides humans, known to carry bacterial leprosy. I guess we dodged the bullet that time.

Two of our readings today deal with leprosy. In both cases Elisha and Jesus cure lepers from a distance. Elisha doesn't even come out of his house to do it.

Scientists, doctors and anthropologists agree that true leprosy, called Hansen's disease, was not present in the ancient Middle East that we read and study about in our Bible. True leprosy is only mildly contagious. Even spouses do not usually “catch it” from their infected partners.

What the authors of the Bible call Leprosy are a wide variety of skin rashes, scales or sores. Even mildew or mold found in houses. Rather than being deadly, they were unsightly. They made the healthy people around them feel uncomfortable.

The people in the biblical world are dyadic. That means that individuals basically depend on others for their sense of identity, for their understanding of their role and status in society. If someone appears different, they are different, and can sometimes be shunned. Even if they only have a rash on their arm.

In the Book of Leviticus there are a full three or four chapters describing what they call Leprosy. It tells how to recognize it and what the infected person is to do while they have the problem. They're told how to dress and act while they have the malady, and what to do when it's gone. It' a long involved process.

One of the things they have to do is stay completely away from the general population and shout “unclean, unclean” as they walk along. They can only associate with other people who are unclean. Being separated from their families and unable to attend social and religious functions would probably have been a lot harder on them than the itch associated with a simple case of psoriasis.

This is what Jesus encounters in Luke's story today.

He's traveling to Jerusalem. He had made the trip many times before. All adult Jewish males were required by religious law to go to Jerusalem at least three times a year to attend certain religious functions. A trip of about 50 miles, like walking from here to Olney, only through rough and ragged terrain. A five day trip.

The area of Samaria lies between Galilee to the north and Judea to the south. The area between Galilee and Samaria was a wilderness. Jesus would not have been well known there, yet He was hailed at a distance by a group of lepers.

They were following the laws found in Leviticus, keeping to themselves and at a safe distance from the village. The distance from village to village was about a day's walk. The same as it is here.

They met Jesus as He entered the village. They didn't ask for help after He had rested from His day's journey, but before He entered town.

And they said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Oh, man, how I would like to go into a one hour dissertation on that line alone.

Each time someone asks Jesus to to heal them with “have mercy” they use a title that underscores the basis for a debt owed, such as Lord, Son of David even “Master” has we have here.

It's called Interpersonal Obligation, I'll go into that some other time.

Jesus just looks at them and says, “Go and show yourselves to the priests”.

That was part of the requirements of getting from “unclean” to back into their social world. Lepers were required by law to show themselves to the Priest when they were over their ailment. The priests would declare the lepers healed and allow them to resume their place in society.

Ten came, nine never came back. And the one who did was a Samaritan.

Jews as a rule had no dealings with the Samaritans. They worshiped the same God as the Jews but in slightly different ways. They had, and used, the five books of Moses, Genesis to Deuteronomy, but not the rest of the Old Testament.

The Samaritan turned back. He was praising God with a loud voice and prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked Him.

He was not bashful about his cleansing and wanted all within earshot to know. I'm sure the other nine could hear him. This is another example of Jesus showing His concern for non-Jews, the Gentiles. It's also an example of ingratitude. God gave us His only Son, and often, we never give Him a word of thanks.

“Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?”

Jesus tells him to “get up and go your way; your faith has made you well”. Not go again to the Priest. Jesus declares the man well, the job of a priest.

Jesus welcomes him back in to the community. Other Judeans and Galileans might not be so accepting.

The Samaritan knew that he was in the right place at the right time and he was gracious. The other nine, went to see the priest.

Amen.