Merciful Messiah
Leprous. Unclean. In some ways, we know we are like lepers.
We are not of this world. We hurt. We mourn. Things are not as they should be. Moreover, we feel the pervasiveness of sin, in every corner of our bodies and our world, our neighborhoods, and communities.
And the Samaritan leper saw it. Saw it. His eyes were opened. He turned back to give thanks. He
turned back to worship. This outsider, foreigner, who was unclean and excluded
from the temple, worshipped in Spirit and in truth before the true Temple . He fell at Jesusā
feet in gratitude and worship. The Merciful Messiah was here. We, too, see the Merciful Messiah. We, too, recieve his touch on our leprousy, pain, violence, grief.
Ten came to Jesus ā One returns to Jesus.
Ten kept their distance ā One throws himself at Jesusā feet.
Ten lament ā One praises.
Ten are seen by Jesus ā One sees Jesus as who he really is.
Ten are sent by Jesus ā One is sent by Jesus.
Ten are cleansed ā One is made whole.
We need healing. We need mercy. We cry out. I just found out
a good friend suddenly died. Mariaās husband is dying, sheās in pain, she has
no heat. Angelicaās husband is in jail. Gracie receives calls in Honduras about
victims of sex trafficking and rape. Friends: fight cancer. Brain surgery. Car
accidents. Depression. Crushing busyness of the holiday season. No food. Alcoholism.
Shame.Domestic violence.
Lord, have mercy.
In Luke 17:11-19, the ten lepers, who constantly raised
their voices crying āUnclean! Unclean!ā now raise their voices, crying,
āMaster, have mercy!ā Mercy. Mercy. Lord, we need mercy.
He gives mercy. Jesus says, āBe cleansed.ā And they were
cleansed.
But one of them saw something more, something greater. He
realized one greater than Elijah was thereāElijah healed Namaan the Syrian,
like us, a foreigner. A leper. Who with all his powers and riches, was hit and eaten away by
the suffering of life. Leprous. Outsider. Hurting. Confused. Bewildered. But..... Now, now this Samaritan leper saw that one greater than
Elijah was here. The Messiah would be known by the cleansing of lepers (cf.
Jesusā previous words to John, Luke 7:22). The Great Healer was here. God breaking in.
In light of his mercy, the leperās past suffering fell away.
His perspective changed--he saw this rabbi, this itinerant, homeless teacher, as the in-breaking of hope, of a great new thing, and all the world and grief and pain was re-ordered. His values changedāhe valued Christ more than the gift of healing. The
cleansing declared by the priests would āsealā his cleaning, but he turned back.
This could have raised doubtsāwould he lose his healing if he didnāt go to the
priests? There was a change in trustāhe trusted Jesus more than ritual.
This merciful Messiah. His priorities changedāfirst he would worship and say
thanks, then he would return to the temple, society, and his family. He could
see his kids again, touch his wife again. But first, raise his voice in worship.
First, touch Jesus. First, be with Jesus, this Merciful Messiah. We can be, just be, with our Merciful Messiah.
Lord, have mercy.
Ten lament ā One praises.
Ten are seen by Jesus ā One sees Jesus as who he really is.
Ten are sent by Jesus ā One is sent by Jesus.
Ten are cleansed ā One is made whole.
Jesus, his presence. Worship. Gratitude. New sight.
Perspective, priorities, values, trust changed. And a true healingāthe ten are
ācleansed,ā Greek katharizo. Yet, the
Samaritan is āmade wellā by his faithāthe Greek is sozo, a word that signifies a more complete wholeness, healing,
both in a physical and salvific sense. In the presence of Jesus, in light of
this Merciful Messiah, he found wholeness. Healing. He who was far off was now
in the presence of Mercy personified. He touched Mercy. Mercy, we touch Jesus. Mercy, we are with Jesus. Mercy, we worship Jesus. Mercy, Jesus. Jesus, the Merciful Messiah.
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