“Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? So where are the other nine? Did none of them return to give glory to God except this foreigner?’”
Luke 17:17-18

We don’t always show the appreciation we should.

In this story, Jesus is traveling through the borderlands between Galilee and Samaria on His way to Jerusalem. Jesus was approached by ten men who had a skin disease. They called out to Jesus, and He sent them to see the priests. As they walked, all ten were healed.

But only this single man returned to Jesus to thank Him and praise Him. As with many other stories, the hero is not Jewish. He is a Samaritan. It was the foreigner who returned, thanking Jesus for the miracle.

I do not know why the other nine men didn’t return. Maybe they were Jewish, and the priests dissuaded them from worshiping Jesus. Maybe they were selfish. We aren’t told. Maybe they were all Samaritans, though the fact that the text points out that the one who returned was a Samaritan would seem to indicate that not all the others were Samaritans.

The other nine aren’t really the point.

We often wonder about sin and failure more than we do about faithfulness. All ten called out to Jesus, asking for His mercy, and He gave it to all ten of them. They were all healed. They all went to the priests and showed evidence of Jesus’ power.

But despite the clear miracle experienced by these ten men and seen by the priests, only one demonstrated faith. Once he realized he had been healed, he returned to Jesus, praising God, throwing himself at Jesus’ feet, and thanking Him.

A clear, undeniable supernatural event produced faith in only one of the recipients of Jesus’ mercy, and it produced no faith among the religious leaders who witnessed the healing.

It is notable that in the next verse, when Jesus told the man that his “faith had made him well,” the man had already been healed. The word “well” here is often translated as “saved.” The man’s faith had made him spiritually well. That was the healing that Jesus really cared about, and it was not limited by religious, political, or ethnic alignment. All that mattered was that the man responded appropriately to the mercy Jesus provided to all who were not well.

A Quote to Consider:

“Few are guilty, but all are responsible.”
–Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets

I have five children, so I have heard phrases like “It’s not my fault,” He did it,” or “She made me” more times than I can count.

I also grew up in a family that was politically engaged, and I have remained engaged. Just as importantly, I’ve stayed engaged with a group of lifelong friends who see things very differently politically. So, I have seen and been involved in many discussions about which political party is guilty of perpetuating this problem or that problem.

History tells us stories of those who tried to avoid guilt by blaming it on those who gave the orders or claimed they were not culpable because they lacked the necessary power to resist.

Guilt is a real thing. I am not trying to absolve guilt in general or to say that determining specific guilt is not important. It is important. It is a crucial element of justice.

But guilt and blame are not the same. We can have a responsibility even if we do not bear direct guilt.

I may never have committed a particular wrong for which specific guilt can be assigned to me personally, but I am still responsible for my part in creating or failing to oppose an environment where that wrong existed, maybe even was nurtured.

It is my responsibility to promote truth, goodness, justice, and mercy, even if I am not explicitly causing or doing wrong.

Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace. But it does not imply a simple absence of conflict; rather, it points to human flourishing. I may not be guilty of causing conflict–physical, emotional, etc.–but I still have a responsibility to promote flourishing. I need to worry less about whether I am seen as guilty and more about whether or not I am fulfilling my responsibility to foster an environment of goodness.

Prayer:

Jesus,

Thank You for Your mercy that makes us clean and makes us whole. Give me the faith to return with gratitude, and the courage to live responsibly in service of truth, justice, mercy, and shalom.

Amen.

 

Image: Pamela Reynoso

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