Resurrection Healing of the 10 Lepers Luke 17:11-19 Sermon for October 10, 2004 The Rev. William V. Livingston, Rector Church of the Resurrection, Starkville, Mississippi Our Gospel reading today tells us that Jesus was walking along in the area between Samaria and Galilee and 10 men with leprosy approached him and called out for his mercy. When he SAW them Jesus gave them directions. Just a short while later, after the men were doing what Jesus had asked them to do, one of them SAW that he was healed and turned back and praised God. The act of seeing plays a vital role in this story. When Jesus SAW the lepers, Jesus saw their need and responded to it. This story is very much like the good Samaritan, from our readings a few weeks ago, who had SEEN the need of the man in the ditch and responded to it and like the Blind Man we have been studying in Adult Christian Ed who was healed and SAW that his healing was from God and was not afraid to report that regardless of the consequences. More significant than the healing of these men with leprosy is the response of the one man when he SAW that he was healed. Think about this idea for a moment in relation to our own lives: What do we see when we go about our days? And, don't worry so much whether your eyes see well or not at all because probably it is more of all our senses seeing than only our eyes. What I mean is that we may walk or drive past someone and see them or pass close enough to hear their words, voice tone or even their sigh or moan. However we don't truly see them. By seeing I mean that we perceive there is a need within that person versus passing and not even thinking of what is going on with whomever we have just passed. To survive our day we may be tempted just NOT to SEE a co-worker or a classmate who is irritable for unknown reasons who we later learn may be dealing with a health problem or a difficult family problem. Do we SEE an international student on campus or at church who lives far from their homeland or someone who cannot gather with family at holiday times? When the man with leprosy saw, he realized that God was behind the Grace and healing that had occurred. He did not just celebrate his good fortune but he returned to praise God and fall on his face before Jesus. His gratitude showed that he was not self-centered and he did not have the attitude that he deserved more than he ever got. In this story Jesus models for us how to see others and the healed man who returned to Jesus models for us how to SEE the graces, the thanksgivings in our lives - the little ones and the big ones - and how to express our thanks to God. Once he saw that he was healed, this person was not hesitant to vary from the plan. He had courage and passion when he saw what had happened and he was not afraid to break with tradition and even to stray from Jesus' directions to him which were to go and show himself to the priest. Like last week when we focused on faith, we see in this healed man that faith is not a recitation of what he believes based on tradition and the laws but we see someone who is eager to turn back, who is eager to think again, to retreat, to try a new road, to sing a new song, maybe even to tear down a wall or to love a stranger. All of the persons who had leprosy got what they asked for. The one who saw that he was healed and returned and thanked Jesus and was told that his faith had saved him received more than he had dreamed of asking for. So, we are still left with these 2 questions: What do we SEE in our daily walks and what do we do when we see? No doubt we each have fallen short in both situations and all of us are in need of love and discernment as we re-begin each day. Therefore over and over we must pray to let our ears and hearts and eyes and minds be open to see the need in the world around us, both close and far away. Lynn Perry, a wife, mother and active layperson, served at the "Uptown Ministry," an advocacy group for the poor in Chicago and she has written of her experiences in her work with this ministry. Let us hear through her words how she was able to truly see another and how thank you was expressed and how out of the exchanges the holy occurred. (A reading from SACRAMENTAL COCOA and Other Stories From the Parish of the Poor by Lynn E. Perry) As Jesus walked along, he saw ten men who had leprosy and saw their need. And when one of the men who saw that he had been healed returned, he was able to express his gratitude to Jesus. He had seen clearly and now indeed something holy occurred.