Saturday, July 10, 2010

TEN LEPERS (Luke 17:11-19)


WHAT A WONDERFUL STORY TELLER JESUS IS

IN ONE SHORT PARAGRAPH

HE HAS CALLED TO MIND

SEVERAL LIFE SITUATIONS

THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO HIS LISTENERS

THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO THE LIVES

OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE FIRST CENTURY

THAT ARE IMPORTANT

IN DIFFERENT WAYS

TO THE PEOPLE OF THE TWENTY –FIRST CENTURY



THE ELEMENTS OF HIS STORY ARE

THAT THERE WERE TEN LEPERS

THAT ONE WAS A SAMARITAN

AND THAT THERE WAS

A LACK OF GRATITUDE SHOWN



FIRST HE MENTIONS LEPERS

WHO IN THE FIRST CENTURY

WERE TREATED

AS IF THEY WERE ALREADY DEAD



THE STORY SAYS

THAT THEY KEPT THEIR DISTANCE

BECAUSE A LEPER COULD NOT APPROACH

A HEALTH PERSON CLOSER THAN FIFTY FEET



SO FROM A DISTANCE OF FIFTY FEET OR MORE

THE TEN LEPERS

LIVING IN A COMMUNITY OF FELLOW LEPERS

ISOLATED FROM NORMAL SOCIETY

DISFIGURED HORRIBLY BY THEIR DISEASE

SEGREGATED FROM

SPOUSE

CHILDREN

FRIENDS



CALLED OUT FROM 50 FEET OR MORE

JESUS

MASTER

HAVE MERCY ON US





HE HEALS THEM

SENDING THEM TO THE PRIEST

WHO ALONE HAD THE AUTHORITY

TO ALLOW THEM TO RE-JOIN

NORMAL JEWISH SOCIETY

TO ONCE MORE

LIVE WITH SPOUSE

CHILDREN

FRIENDS



WHILE THEY WERE ON THEIR WAY

CERTAINLY REJOICING

ONE LOOKED AT HIS HEALED BODY

AND FILLED WITH GRATITUDE

HURRIED BACK TO JESUS TO THANK HIM



THEN JESUS MAKES MENTION

THAT THE ONE RETURNING

WAS A SAMARITAN

THAT HE WAS A SAMARITAN

A RACE OF PEOPLE THE JEWS HATED



THIS WAS A RECURRING THEME WITH JESUS

TO MAKE THE HERO OF HIS STORY

A SAMARITAN

OR SOME OTHER KIND OF PERSON

THAT THE JEWS HATED



HE WANTED TO IMPRESS UPON HIS AUDIENCE

AND UPON US



THAT IN GOD’S HOUSE

THERE IS NO RACIAL HATRED

OR ANY OTHER KIND OF HATRED

EXCEPT HATRED OF SIN

THAT WE ARE ALL GOD’S CHILDREN

IN ONE UNITED

FAMILY



THEN JESUS MAKES MENTION

OF SOMETHING

THAT TOUCHES US ALL





THAT TOUCHES ALL OF US

WHO TAKE THE MIRACLE

OF BEING HEALED

AND GO OFF

FORGETTING ABOUT JESUS

AND HIS GIFT OF HEALING



WE FORGET

THAT WE WERE ALL LEPERS

MARRED BY SIN

THAT WE ARE ALL LEPERS

HEALED BY JESUS

HEALED BY HIS SACRIFICE

ON THE CROSS



AND WE COME BACK TO HIM

ONLY WHEN WE ARE IN PAIN

WHEN WE ARE RE-INFECTED

WHEN OUR WORLD IS UPSIDE DOWN



WE CRY

AS WE SO OFTEN CRY



JESUS

MASTER

HAVE MERCY ON US



AND HE WILL

JESUS KEEPS HIS PROMISES



HOW LONG JESUS WAITED ON THE OTHER NINE

WE DO NOT KNOW





BUT LOOKING DOWN THE CENTURIES

HE SEES US

AND HE CRIES OUT

WILL YOU BE GRATEFUL

FOR ALL I HAVE DONE FOR YOU



HE CRIES OUT

WILL YOU BE GRATEFUL

WILL YOU COME BACK TO ME

WILL YOU COME BACK TO ME

REJOICING IN YOUR HEALING



SO I ASK YOU………………….

WILL YOU BE GRATEFUL

FOR ALL GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU



(RESPONSE)

I WILL AND I ASK GOD TO HELP ME





FRANK A VOLLMER

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