Pentecost 21 [Luke 17:11-19] (13 October 2013)

This sermon was preached at Trinity Lutheran, Tailem Bend (9 am) and St. John's Lutheran, Karoonda (11 am).  

There's a reason I don't go around to people saying, “how many times did you go to church last year?” It's not because I don't want to offend, or that it's not important to attend the divine service, because it's very important. It's because a question that requires a number in the answer is a question of God's Law. And “Most of the time” is never an answer that satisfies the Law – you've either kept it all the time or not at all. Jesus doesn't ask a 'how many' or 'how often' question, but it exposes unbelief all the same. Jesus asks his question, “And the nine – where are they? Were there none found returning in order to give glory to God except this foreigner?” - found where Jesus is?

Transition: And these ten lepers who met Jesus, they knew they weren't sick with leprosy 'most of the time', but all of the time. They knew something was wrong.

1. Sickness always reminds that the creation is fallen, just as someone who's mostly thankful is totally a sinner (reminds us of this too).
   1. The lepers knew something was wrong with them, which is why lepers usually shouted “unclean” to make people stay away, but where these lepers see Jesus they say “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” (like the beggar and like the one leper from chapter 5).
   2. But you would rather treat sickness as if it showed that nothing is wrong (health can also be an idol, because all idols abuse a good gift).
   3. Yet worse than that, nine of the lepers had a thankfulness problem. All of a sudden, they don't care one bit about Jesus.
   4. You'd say you're thankful, most of the time. “Most of the time I'm thankful, most of the time I would do what the Samaritan did”. But most of the time isn't all the time. And it's funny how many definitions can be given for 'most of the time'. Do you eat well? Most of the time. Have you kept your hands free from idols? And your heart? Most of the time. But if the answer isn't all the time, you're a sinner. Something's wrong with the creation, something unfixable, something's wrong with you, something unfixable.

Transition: But what was unfixable, Jesus fixed.

2. Jesus purifies because of his mercy by his cross, not most of the time but all the time.
   1. For God to dwell among his people in his grace, he must be the one to purify (and the surprise is that Jesus not only makes it possible for the unclean lepers to dwell with others, but that by his complete purification he makes it possible that he dwells with you.)
      1. God established the way to dwell with his people in the OT, that they couldn't approach him outside of his purification. You can't approach God with un-atoned sin, all the time. And here Jesus shows that he's the only one who can cross that line (between the Father and your sin) when he approaches these lepers, not to burn them up, but to take away their leprosy. He overcomes by his cleansing.
      2. Jesus doesn't just heal but he purifies, gives a coscience that knows from God's word how you stand before God (by grace through faith). [Aside: so don't come away saying “I need to be more thankful”, come away saying, “I'm not thankful, but Jesus is faithful to me and keeps pouring out his love and grace when he purifies me by the forgiveness of sins given to me by his Word. And I'm pretty thankful about that.”.]
      3. Jesus does this because where he is, he cleanses his Church.
   2. The cross is so big that it is the sacrifice for sins, so Christ and his presence is always where forgiveness of sins is to be found. The way of the Law is to put numbers on things but the way of the Gospel is to point to Christ as the sacrifice for sin. The question isn't “how many times have you gone to church this year?”, it's “how is Christ's cross given to me here?”

Transition: And how surprising that the one who sees this, is a Samaritan. He's the last of the ten lepers who should have realized that Jesus is God in the flesh, come to purify and cleanse his creation. But he did. And the other nine, who were so familiar with the temple and its sacrifices, didn't. And so the Samaritan comes and gives true worship.

3. The Samaritan's worship is a confession of his faith.
   1. Even his simple giving of thanks is a confession: “Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" ¹⁹ And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."”.
      1. The word 'give thanks' is always adressed to God, but here it is addressed to Jesus. That's a confession. Jesus is God. Only God purifies inside and out.
      2. [That word is where we get the word Eucharist, a name for Holy Communion, where we give thanks according to the Lord's words.] Your giving of thanks at the Eucharist is a confession of what the Lord's Supper is.
   2. Your worship confesses something.
      1. The Creed is an essential part of worship because all of the divine service is creedal in that it confesses what God is doing here and everything that we do is in agreement with this Creed because it is a true confession of what the Bible says.
      2. The Divine service confesses that Christ is really here by . . . (singing “holy, holy, holy” where Jesus is).
      3. When you pray the Lord's Prayer, you confess that the daily bread of health is good, but what's even better is the deliverance from death that Jesus promises and brings in the face of your own death, and is the reason we can pray “deliver us from evil”.

Most of the time isn't all the time – when it comes to thankfulness and mercy.

Jesus is always, all the time full of mercy, even to those who are never completely thankful all the time. He has paid the price for your unthankfulness, cleansed and purified you, and given you the heart that says “Amen” to this.

Conclusion: So here's a number to focus on: one. As in, “One Lord, one faith, one baptism”. And the one Church rejoices that the unfixable problem of a fallen and unthankful creation is fixed where Jesus is, by what Jesus has done and the blood that he has shed and serves you with. And to confess Christ is to worship him, as to worship him is to confess him. Amen.