Episode Transcript
CONSECRATE
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
HEAR
Luke 17:11–14 NIV
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.
CONSIDER
Jesus loves borders and border crossings. Today he takes us Gospelling along the border between Samaria and Galilee. There are at least two other borders in play as well. As he comes upon these ten lepers, he's navigating the border between the clean and the unclean; between those who are acceptable in society and those who are exiled. The larger border he is ever traversing is the border between faith and fear. Jesus especially wants to get us across this most important border in life.
Just earlier, Jesus had this exchange with his disciples:
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you." (vv. 5–6)
It is not a matter of how much or how little faith one has. It is where one's faith is anchored. Faith is not measured by quantity but in the quality of one's belief. And the quality of belief Jesus searches for is aligned action. When action, no matter how small, is aligned with the truth of God's Word, mountains move. Faith is action aligned with truth—in anticipation of a promise realized.
Simplest translation here. We are asking Jesus, "Write us a check." Jesus responds to this request, "Cash it! The money is already in your bank." Watch this with the leper encounter.
“Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Translation: "Write the check!"
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
Translation: "Cash it!"
Jesus told them to do the very thing they would do if their prayer were answered. The priest would certify their cured condition and readmit them to the community. Notice, though, nothing had happened at this point. They were not healed of leprosy. Jesus was looking for their faith.
Now, behold their faith:
And as they went, . . .
Now, behold the mountain move.
. . . they were cleansed.
Faith is action aligned with truth—in anticipation of a promise realized. When action, no matter how small, is aligned with the truth of God's Word, mountains move. It brings to mind other such Jesus moments as, "Fill the jars with water," and "You give them something to eat," and "Take up your mat and walk."
And as they went, they were cleansed.
There's one more bit—maybe the most important bit. Behold the heart of faith:
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. (vv. 15–16)
As the nine ran to "show themselves to the priests," one ran back to present himself to the Priest of all Priests—the High Priest of Heaven and Earth. Behold the heart of faith: gratitude.
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.” (vv. 17–19)
Ten lepers cleansed. One leper made well.
This is how to become the one in ten—or a thousand.
PRAY
Lord Jesus, thank you for being the subject, object, and verb of faith. Thank you for giving us faith. Thank you for responding to our faith. You cleanse me. And, on top of that, you make me well. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. A thousand times thank you. For your glory, Jesus, for others' gain, for my good, amen.
