Luke 17: 11-19
And it happened as he was on the way to Jerusalem
that he passed through the middle of Samaria and Galilee.
And as he was entering a certain village, ten men
who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and they raised their voice,
saying
“Master, Jesus, have mercy on us!”
And seeing them he said, “Go, and show yourselves
to the priests.” And it came about that as they went on their way, they were
cleansed.
Now one of them, when he saw that he had been
healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell on his face at
his feet, and thanked him--and he was a Samaritan.
And Jesus responded and said, “Were not all ten
cleansed? And the nine—where are they? Was no one seen returning to praise the
revelation of God’s working in this event except this foreigner?”
And he said to him, “Rise, and go your way. The
power of your trust has made you strong.”
8th August
Trinity
 |
| Ten Lepers, James Christensen |
September 9, 2012
Luke 17:11-19
The ancient Hebrews were required to tithe, that is, to give
one tenth of their income back to God by offering it to the temple. In today’s
New Testament reading, one outcast in ten returns to give thanks to the Son of
God for what has happened to him. We could read this story’s characters as
being the different parts of one human being.
We all feel ourselves divided, ill, outcast from heaven. We
ask for mercy, to be healed and rejoined to the community of the heavens. In
the story, all ten who ask are granted their request. Yet only one returns with
a heart-offering, a tithe of gratitude. However, Christ, the Lord of Karma and
our Destiny-Guide, notes that this is only a tenth.
Do we remember to be grateful for everything that
happens to us? For our destiny would be immeasurably aided if we were to give
whole-hearted, one hundred percent thanks to God for everything that
happens to us. In this way, we align ourselves with our own destiny. We receive
it with an open heart. And we can work with it in a creative way.
We give thanks for everything, both ‘good’ and ‘bad’. For we
know that Christ and our guardian angel mean only the best for us; they are
always there to guide us, especially when we return to them with thanks.
Knowing this and expressing our gratitude makes us strong. And this power of
trust in the beneficence of God, becomes our own power to make good all that
happens.
So we say in the words of e.e. cummings:
i thank You God for most this
amazing
day:…
(i who have died am alive again
today,
…
how should tasting touching hearing
seeing
breathing …
doubt unimaginable You?
(now the ears of my ears awake and
