Proper 23
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook, SERIES II
for use with Common, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
Comments on the Lessons
The Micah passage describes the wickedness of the people, despite God's work. The Ruth pericope tells of the close bonding of Ruth and Naomi and their return to Naomi's homeland of Palestine. The 2 Kings reading is part of the story of the healing of Naaman the leper, which relates to the Luke miracle healing of the ten lepers. The 2 Timothy reading describes the heart of the Gospel message and the responsibility of the preacher to rightly handle the word of truth. Luke tells the story of Jesus healing ten lepers, one of whom was a Samaritan and the only one to return to glorify God and give thanks. Here is a contrast of gratitude and ingratitude, and the role of faith.
Commentary
Micah 1:2; 2:1-10 (C)
Micah was from the Judean town of Moresheth, about twenty miles southwest of Jerusalem, toward Gath. His career came during the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, between 742-687/86 B.C. His name is a shortened form of Michaiah, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?" A contemporary of Isaiah, he spoke his message to the leaders of the city of Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. Our pericope is part of the first section of the book, dealing with the crisis of Judah in 1:1--3:12.
In 1:2 we have Micah's announcement of his call to all the peoples of the earth, that God is a witness to them from his holy temple.
In 2:1-10 the thrust of Micah's message is that, because God holds the Israelites responsible for uncleanness, they must experience a grievous destruction. The nation is guilty of moral and social abuses. Micah says they stay up nights devising their evil plans to oppress the poor. "They covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance." (v. 2) These people with vested commercial and political interests stay awake at night, concocting ways to add to their wealth at the expense of their fellow Israelites. They take from the poor the little they have. But Micah sees a day of reckoning coming: "Behold, against this family I am devising evil ... for it will be an evil time." (v. 3) He chides the false prophets for saying "Do not preach," which was a popular slogan of the false prophets. The people want to hear only what is pleasant, and are not capable of self-criticism. Is this not the condition of the church and society today, scrambling after a gospel of possibility thinking, cheap grace, and abundant living? The house of Jacob refers to all the Hebrew people.
The prophet says the wealthy rise against the people like an enemy army and strip the robe from the peaceful. The women are driven out of their homes and their young are taken away. As a result, Micah can see only annihilation for his people, since their sins are so great. There must be grievous destruction. (v. 10)
Ruth 1:1-19a (L)
The story of Ruth is one the most beautiful in all literature. The vow of loyalty of Ruth to Naomi is often used in wedding ceremonies as an example of the bonding of two lives in life and in death. While it seems to be set in the days of the Judges, many commentators have supposed it to be a post-exilic composition based on an older tale. They think the purpose is to counteract the harsh decrees of Ezra and Nehemiah, requiring Hebrew men to divorce their foreign wives and marry only within Israel. Ruth was a Moabitess, not an Israelite, and an ancestor of David and Jesus.
The story begins with Naomi, a Hebrew woman who, with her husband Elimelech and their two sons, settled in Moab because of a famine in Palestine. He was from Bethlehem. One son was the husband of Ruth, the other the husband of Orpah, both Moabite women. Moab was directly east of the Dead Sea and the people were often regarded as enemies of the Israelites. Note the meaning of the names: Elimelech means "God is king;" Naomi means "my pleasant one;" Mahlon means "weakness;" Chilion means "pining;" Orpah means "stiff-necked" or "rain cloud" and Ruth means "rose" or "companion." These are real names of real persons.
The status of a childless widow in those days was unfortunate. She was classed with the sojourner and fatherless. When their husbands died, Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem and starts out with her daughters-in-law. She has learned that God has blessed his people with food in Bethlehem. Naomi urges the daughters-in-law to return to their mother's house, asking God's blessing upon them, so that God will deal kindly with them, just as they had with her. She looks forward to their remarriage. She kisses them, and they weep, showing their love for one another. They insist on going with Naomi, but she reminds them she would not have more sons to be their husbands for she is too old to remarry. Then Orpah kisses Naomi and returns home, but Ruth clings to Naomi. Notice that Naomi's bitterness is not self-pity. She believes God has brought this calamity on them, and is concerned for the two women.
Ruth insists on accompanying Naomi, and in verses 16-17 gives one of the most moving vows of loyalty and love known to literature. Ruth's motivation is not loyalty to Yahweh but devotion to Naomi, so the story is a personal rather than theologically-based one. Consider the theology involved, however.
The words of Ruth are regarded as poetry, or at least as poetic prose. So Ruth was determined to go with Naomi and Naomi no longer discouraged her. And the two went until they came to Bethlehem. Naomi returns home as a childless, sorrowing widow, with her childless, widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth. And at this point our pericope ends. But despair is not the last word, as the rest of the book reveals. Naomi might have expressed her feelings at this point in the words found written in the prison cell by a Jew in Nazi Germany during World War II:
I believe in the Sun
Even when it is not shining
I believe in Love
Even when I feel it not
I believe in God
Even when He is silent.
But God does not remain silent forever. And, through Boaz, Ruth and Naomi find a new life and future together.
2 Kings 5:14-17 (RC)
The focus of this passage is on the healing of Naaman the leper, which parallels the healing of the ten lepers in the passage from Luke today. Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, goes to Elisha and asks for healing of his leprosy. He is told to wash seven times in the Jordan, which he does. His flesh is restored. Note his earlier resistance to such a simple cure, but his obedience at the urging of his servants. Naaman returns to Elisha, the man of God, and offers to give him a gift, but Elisha refuses it. Then Naaman asks for two mule's burdens of earth to take home with him, and makes a vow to offer sacrifice only to the Lord, Israel's God. The rationale for asking for the soil was based on the theory that a god could be worshiped only on its own soil. Naaman asks for pardon for one occasion, however, when he must go with the king to worship his god (not Yahweh) on state occasions. Elisha bids him "Go in peace."
2 Timothy 2:8-15 (C)
2 Timothy 2:8-13 (L) (RC)
In this passage (8-15) "Paul" writes to Timothy about fellowship with Christ's sufferings. Consider that verses 8-13 seem to be an early Christian creed. It has the basic elements of Paul's Gospel. It begins with Christ risen from the dead, with the stress on his being alive and active in the here-and-now. The note that he was descended from David is found only here and in Romans 1:3, and there is no great significance to it, other than countering the Gnostics with an emphasis on Jesus' humanity.
Paul was imprisoned for this Gospel like a criminal. But the Gospel which he preached cannot be fettered or contained. The elect are the chosen people of God. The suffering of Paul and all Christians serves to advance the purpose of God.
In verse 14 he deals with false teachers who dispute about words. Such controversy does no good and only ruins the hearers. Instead, says Paul, do your best as a minister of the Gospel to present yourself to God "as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (v. 15) The "them" of verse 14 are the ministers. The minister must not let himself or herself get sidetracked in doing many good things but forsaking the one best thing, namely "handling the word of truth." The Greek word for "handle" originally meant to "cut straight." The KJV has "rightly dividing." It brings to mind a farmer plowing a straight furrow, or a woman cutting a piece of cloth according to a pattern. But the word came to mean "to handle rightly or correctly." This means guarding it against error, preaching it in season and out, following it oneself, and suffering for it as Paul did. The word of truth is the Christian revelation, the core of the faith, the Gospel believed and preached by Paul. The able preacher is the one who works hard at the task of expounding the Gospel, just as he or she learned it from Scripture. The "New Age" religious cult, mysticism, and the gospels of nationalism and national security all challenge the preacher to hold fast to the Gospel received and not to adapt it to the current philosophy of society.
Luke 17:11-19
This is the beginning of the third part of the Lucan travel account as Jesus moves toward Jerusalem. Luke does not seem to have a good grasp of the geography of Palestine, and scholars are not sure what Luke meant about Jesus' passing "between Samaria and Galilee." He appears to have been going south to Jerusalem, but now Luke seems to have Jesus going east to west, or possibly west to east, between Galilee and Samaria! He puts him in this area where the Samaritan leper would likely be found. This third part continues to 18:14, or possibly 19:27.
Only Luke tells this story of the cleansing of the ten lepers. The first and last verses have the marks of being composed by Luke. The rest seems to come from an early source which Luke adapted to his purpose. Compare this story to that of the healing of Naaman the leper in our 2 Kings reading for today. Naaman the Syrian returned to thank Elisha for the healing and offered him a gift, which Elisha refused. He pledged his faith to the God of Israel and took home soil from Israel on which to worship God. Of the ten lepers healed, only one, a foreigner (and a hated Samaritan), returned to give thanks and glorify God.
The thrust of the story is the contrast between ingratitude and gratitude, and between Jews and a Samaritan, but especially the contrast between the miracle of healing and the eyes of faith. When only the Samaritan returned praising God and giving thanks at Jesus' feet, Jesus asked three questions:
1. Were not ten cleansed?
2. Where are the nine?
3. Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?
Notice that Jesus makes a point of citing the Samaritan, a foreigner and standing outside the house of Israel, as being the only one who gave thanks. Jesus' word in verse 19 relates the Samaritan's seeing ("when he saw that he was healed," verse 15) to faith and salvation. He, along with the nine, had cried to Jesus for mercy: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (v. 13) In 19 we learn that his faith has made him well.
This is a miracle story which has become a pronouncement story. Titles suggested for it are, "The thankful Samaritan" or "The healing of the ten lepers and the thankful Samaritan" or "The cleansing of ten lepers."
The reason Jesus sent the cleansed lepers to the priests was to have them officially declared clean. Only the officials in the Temple could do this, and assure the restoration of those healed to the religious community. The sending is a kind of test. Notice Jesus did not speak a word of healing first. One leper noted that he was healed already and returns to give thanks.
This story shows the nature of faith. The disciples had asked about faith (v. 5) when they asked Jesus to increase their faith. The Samaritan expressed the kind of thankful response to God's grace which makes a person well. Thankfulness and faith are closely related and both express dependence upon God. It is the faith that saves. The other nine did not "see" and thus come to faith in and gratitude to God. They were obedient enough to present themselves to the priests and were cured physically. But their failure to act responsibly in glorifying God and thanking Jesus reveals that they have missed the greatest moment of their lives. Gratitude involves turning from self to God, from inwardness to otherwardness. My mother, who died at age 91, experienced three bouts with cancer, a severe heart attack, and a severe stroke. All of this followed loss of her life savings after working for fifteen years as a nurse before marriage. Yet in all of her illness and trials she was a deeply grateful person who daily expressed her gratitude to God in prayer and through a cheerful attitude. There are members of every congregation who by all human standards would be embittered and resentful, but by the grace of God are gracious, grateful, giving men and women. They have found not only physical healing but also salvation, wholeness, communion with God.
Theological Reflections
Micah declares the coming judgment of God on Israel for her social and moral abuses. She is ungrateful to God for his covenant love. Ruth expresses loyalty and love to Naomi in returning to Judah from her homeland Moab. In her vow of loyalty there are all the signs of gratitude of one person for another. We see the bonding which can take place in human relations. In 2 Kings we learn of Naaman's gratitude to Elisha and his God for healing him of leprosy. He makes a vow to worship only the God of Israel. Paul reminds Timothy of the Gospel which he received and preaches, the Gospel of Jesus Christ risen from the dead for which Paul suffered. But Timothy is to avoid foolish disputes about words and rather rightly divide the word of truth. Luke tells of one Samaritan out of the ten lepers who were healed, one who was grateful and returned to glorify God and thank Jesus. "Gratitude contrasted with ingratitude" is a theme running through most of the pericopes for today.
Homiletical Moves
Micah 1:2; 2:1-10 (C)
God's Anger Over Injustice
1. God will judge those who covet fields, taking from the poor, widow and orphan, as an invading army might strip a nation
2. Micah declares that for Israel there will be grievous destruction
3. God in Christ has judged evil on the Cross, breaking the power of sin and death
4. Let us repent of our sins and turn to God, following the law of love in all our relationships
Ruth 1:1-19a (L)
Entreat Me Not To Leave You!
1. Naomi and her daughters-in-law find themselves widows and without children and turn toward Bethlehem, Naomi's home town
2. Naomi pleads with the two women to go back to their mothers' homes in Moab, which Orpah does, but Ruth clings to Naomi
3. Ruth declares her bonding companionship to Naomi (Ruth = companion, or friend) in life and in death
4. God has called us to covenant relationship with him and one another, to live with strong ties of human bonding in families and communities
5. Let us renew our loyalty to family and friends under God
2 Kings 5:14-17 (RC)
I Know There Is No Other God
1. Naaman the leper was cleansed in the Jordan and returned to thank the prophet Elisha
2. Naaman offered to give Elisha a gift but he refused it
3. Naaman asked for soil from Israel to take home to Syria on which to worship Israel's God, and pledged his loyalty to God alone
4. Let us count our many blessings and recommit our loyalty to God alone, who is God of the nation (there is no other)
2 Timothy 2:8-15 (C)
2 Timothy 2:8-13 (L) (RC)
Do Your Best To Rightly Handle the Word of Truth
1. Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, knowing that if we have died with him we shall also live with him
2. Though Paul is in prison, the Gospel is not fettered, but has been spread across the world in spite of persecutions
3. Avoid disputes about words, which only ruin the hearers
4. Instead, do your best as a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth
5. Whether lay person or minister, do your very best in studying and handing on to others the Gospel of Christ who is risen from the dead!
This Preacher's Preference
Luke 17:11-19
Rise! Your Faith Has Made You Well!
1. Ten lepers cried out to Jesus to have mercy on them
2. Jesus healed them and commanded them to show themselves to the priests, in order to be declared officially clean
3. One leper saw he was cleansed, turned back praising God, and fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks
4. Jesus singled out the Samaritan leper for his gratitude, in contrast to the nine Jews who were not grateful
5. Jesus told the Samaritan, "Rise, and go your way; your faith has made you well"
6. Let us take stock of our lives and how God in Christ has healed us physically and spiritually; turn to God to praise him, and give thanks all our lives in word and deed
Hymn for Proper 23: O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee
Prayer
Gracious God, forgive us our ingratitude. Forgive us when we have forgotten our covenant loyalty and have oppressed our neighbor, the poor, widow and orphan. We repent and turn to you for forgiveness. By the power of your Spirit help us to work for justice in the marketplace, to care for the poor, widow, orphan, and handicapped. We thank you for healing us of our brokenness. May we, like the Samaritan leper, turn to you in praise and thanksgiving, now and all our days. Amen
The Micah passage describes the wickedness of the people, despite God's work. The Ruth pericope tells of the close bonding of Ruth and Naomi and their return to Naomi's homeland of Palestine. The 2 Kings reading is part of the story of the healing of Naaman the leper, which relates to the Luke miracle healing of the ten lepers. The 2 Timothy reading describes the heart of the Gospel message and the responsibility of the preacher to rightly handle the word of truth. Luke tells the story of Jesus healing ten lepers, one of whom was a Samaritan and the only one to return to glorify God and give thanks. Here is a contrast of gratitude and ingratitude, and the role of faith.
Commentary
Micah 1:2; 2:1-10 (C)
Micah was from the Judean town of Moresheth, about twenty miles southwest of Jerusalem, toward Gath. His career came during the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, between 742-687/86 B.C. His name is a shortened form of Michaiah, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?" A contemporary of Isaiah, he spoke his message to the leaders of the city of Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. Our pericope is part of the first section of the book, dealing with the crisis of Judah in 1:1--3:12.
In 1:2 we have Micah's announcement of his call to all the peoples of the earth, that God is a witness to them from his holy temple.
In 2:1-10 the thrust of Micah's message is that, because God holds the Israelites responsible for uncleanness, they must experience a grievous destruction. The nation is guilty of moral and social abuses. Micah says they stay up nights devising their evil plans to oppress the poor. "They covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance." (v. 2) These people with vested commercial and political interests stay awake at night, concocting ways to add to their wealth at the expense of their fellow Israelites. They take from the poor the little they have. But Micah sees a day of reckoning coming: "Behold, against this family I am devising evil ... for it will be an evil time." (v. 3) He chides the false prophets for saying "Do not preach," which was a popular slogan of the false prophets. The people want to hear only what is pleasant, and are not capable of self-criticism. Is this not the condition of the church and society today, scrambling after a gospel of possibility thinking, cheap grace, and abundant living? The house of Jacob refers to all the Hebrew people.
The prophet says the wealthy rise against the people like an enemy army and strip the robe from the peaceful. The women are driven out of their homes and their young are taken away. As a result, Micah can see only annihilation for his people, since their sins are so great. There must be grievous destruction. (v. 10)
Ruth 1:1-19a (L)
The story of Ruth is one the most beautiful in all literature. The vow of loyalty of Ruth to Naomi is often used in wedding ceremonies as an example of the bonding of two lives in life and in death. While it seems to be set in the days of the Judges, many commentators have supposed it to be a post-exilic composition based on an older tale. They think the purpose is to counteract the harsh decrees of Ezra and Nehemiah, requiring Hebrew men to divorce their foreign wives and marry only within Israel. Ruth was a Moabitess, not an Israelite, and an ancestor of David and Jesus.
The story begins with Naomi, a Hebrew woman who, with her husband Elimelech and their two sons, settled in Moab because of a famine in Palestine. He was from Bethlehem. One son was the husband of Ruth, the other the husband of Orpah, both Moabite women. Moab was directly east of the Dead Sea and the people were often regarded as enemies of the Israelites. Note the meaning of the names: Elimelech means "God is king;" Naomi means "my pleasant one;" Mahlon means "weakness;" Chilion means "pining;" Orpah means "stiff-necked" or "rain cloud" and Ruth means "rose" or "companion." These are real names of real persons.
The status of a childless widow in those days was unfortunate. She was classed with the sojourner and fatherless. When their husbands died, Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem and starts out with her daughters-in-law. She has learned that God has blessed his people with food in Bethlehem. Naomi urges the daughters-in-law to return to their mother's house, asking God's blessing upon them, so that God will deal kindly with them, just as they had with her. She looks forward to their remarriage. She kisses them, and they weep, showing their love for one another. They insist on going with Naomi, but she reminds them she would not have more sons to be their husbands for she is too old to remarry. Then Orpah kisses Naomi and returns home, but Ruth clings to Naomi. Notice that Naomi's bitterness is not self-pity. She believes God has brought this calamity on them, and is concerned for the two women.
Ruth insists on accompanying Naomi, and in verses 16-17 gives one of the most moving vows of loyalty and love known to literature. Ruth's motivation is not loyalty to Yahweh but devotion to Naomi, so the story is a personal rather than theologically-based one. Consider the theology involved, however.
The words of Ruth are regarded as poetry, or at least as poetic prose. So Ruth was determined to go with Naomi and Naomi no longer discouraged her. And the two went until they came to Bethlehem. Naomi returns home as a childless, sorrowing widow, with her childless, widowed daughter-in-law, Ruth. And at this point our pericope ends. But despair is not the last word, as the rest of the book reveals. Naomi might have expressed her feelings at this point in the words found written in the prison cell by a Jew in Nazi Germany during World War II:
I believe in the Sun
Even when it is not shining
I believe in Love
Even when I feel it not
I believe in God
Even when He is silent.
But God does not remain silent forever. And, through Boaz, Ruth and Naomi find a new life and future together.
2 Kings 5:14-17 (RC)
The focus of this passage is on the healing of Naaman the leper, which parallels the healing of the ten lepers in the passage from Luke today. Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, goes to Elisha and asks for healing of his leprosy. He is told to wash seven times in the Jordan, which he does. His flesh is restored. Note his earlier resistance to such a simple cure, but his obedience at the urging of his servants. Naaman returns to Elisha, the man of God, and offers to give him a gift, but Elisha refuses it. Then Naaman asks for two mule's burdens of earth to take home with him, and makes a vow to offer sacrifice only to the Lord, Israel's God. The rationale for asking for the soil was based on the theory that a god could be worshiped only on its own soil. Naaman asks for pardon for one occasion, however, when he must go with the king to worship his god (not Yahweh) on state occasions. Elisha bids him "Go in peace."
2 Timothy 2:8-15 (C)
2 Timothy 2:8-13 (L) (RC)
In this passage (8-15) "Paul" writes to Timothy about fellowship with Christ's sufferings. Consider that verses 8-13 seem to be an early Christian creed. It has the basic elements of Paul's Gospel. It begins with Christ risen from the dead, with the stress on his being alive and active in the here-and-now. The note that he was descended from David is found only here and in Romans 1:3, and there is no great significance to it, other than countering the Gnostics with an emphasis on Jesus' humanity.
Paul was imprisoned for this Gospel like a criminal. But the Gospel which he preached cannot be fettered or contained. The elect are the chosen people of God. The suffering of Paul and all Christians serves to advance the purpose of God.
In verse 14 he deals with false teachers who dispute about words. Such controversy does no good and only ruins the hearers. Instead, says Paul, do your best as a minister of the Gospel to present yourself to God "as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (v. 15) The "them" of verse 14 are the ministers. The minister must not let himself or herself get sidetracked in doing many good things but forsaking the one best thing, namely "handling the word of truth." The Greek word for "handle" originally meant to "cut straight." The KJV has "rightly dividing." It brings to mind a farmer plowing a straight furrow, or a woman cutting a piece of cloth according to a pattern. But the word came to mean "to handle rightly or correctly." This means guarding it against error, preaching it in season and out, following it oneself, and suffering for it as Paul did. The word of truth is the Christian revelation, the core of the faith, the Gospel believed and preached by Paul. The able preacher is the one who works hard at the task of expounding the Gospel, just as he or she learned it from Scripture. The "New Age" religious cult, mysticism, and the gospels of nationalism and national security all challenge the preacher to hold fast to the Gospel received and not to adapt it to the current philosophy of society.
Luke 17:11-19
This is the beginning of the third part of the Lucan travel account as Jesus moves toward Jerusalem. Luke does not seem to have a good grasp of the geography of Palestine, and scholars are not sure what Luke meant about Jesus' passing "between Samaria and Galilee." He appears to have been going south to Jerusalem, but now Luke seems to have Jesus going east to west, or possibly west to east, between Galilee and Samaria! He puts him in this area where the Samaritan leper would likely be found. This third part continues to 18:14, or possibly 19:27.
Only Luke tells this story of the cleansing of the ten lepers. The first and last verses have the marks of being composed by Luke. The rest seems to come from an early source which Luke adapted to his purpose. Compare this story to that of the healing of Naaman the leper in our 2 Kings reading for today. Naaman the Syrian returned to thank Elisha for the healing and offered him a gift, which Elisha refused. He pledged his faith to the God of Israel and took home soil from Israel on which to worship God. Of the ten lepers healed, only one, a foreigner (and a hated Samaritan), returned to give thanks and glorify God.
The thrust of the story is the contrast between ingratitude and gratitude, and between Jews and a Samaritan, but especially the contrast between the miracle of healing and the eyes of faith. When only the Samaritan returned praising God and giving thanks at Jesus' feet, Jesus asked three questions:
1. Were not ten cleansed?
2. Where are the nine?
3. Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?
Notice that Jesus makes a point of citing the Samaritan, a foreigner and standing outside the house of Israel, as being the only one who gave thanks. Jesus' word in verse 19 relates the Samaritan's seeing ("when he saw that he was healed," verse 15) to faith and salvation. He, along with the nine, had cried to Jesus for mercy: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" (v. 13) In 19 we learn that his faith has made him well.
This is a miracle story which has become a pronouncement story. Titles suggested for it are, "The thankful Samaritan" or "The healing of the ten lepers and the thankful Samaritan" or "The cleansing of ten lepers."
The reason Jesus sent the cleansed lepers to the priests was to have them officially declared clean. Only the officials in the Temple could do this, and assure the restoration of those healed to the religious community. The sending is a kind of test. Notice Jesus did not speak a word of healing first. One leper noted that he was healed already and returns to give thanks.
This story shows the nature of faith. The disciples had asked about faith (v. 5) when they asked Jesus to increase their faith. The Samaritan expressed the kind of thankful response to God's grace which makes a person well. Thankfulness and faith are closely related and both express dependence upon God. It is the faith that saves. The other nine did not "see" and thus come to faith in and gratitude to God. They were obedient enough to present themselves to the priests and were cured physically. But their failure to act responsibly in glorifying God and thanking Jesus reveals that they have missed the greatest moment of their lives. Gratitude involves turning from self to God, from inwardness to otherwardness. My mother, who died at age 91, experienced three bouts with cancer, a severe heart attack, and a severe stroke. All of this followed loss of her life savings after working for fifteen years as a nurse before marriage. Yet in all of her illness and trials she was a deeply grateful person who daily expressed her gratitude to God in prayer and through a cheerful attitude. There are members of every congregation who by all human standards would be embittered and resentful, but by the grace of God are gracious, grateful, giving men and women. They have found not only physical healing but also salvation, wholeness, communion with God.
Theological Reflections
Micah declares the coming judgment of God on Israel for her social and moral abuses. She is ungrateful to God for his covenant love. Ruth expresses loyalty and love to Naomi in returning to Judah from her homeland Moab. In her vow of loyalty there are all the signs of gratitude of one person for another. We see the bonding which can take place in human relations. In 2 Kings we learn of Naaman's gratitude to Elisha and his God for healing him of leprosy. He makes a vow to worship only the God of Israel. Paul reminds Timothy of the Gospel which he received and preaches, the Gospel of Jesus Christ risen from the dead for which Paul suffered. But Timothy is to avoid foolish disputes about words and rather rightly divide the word of truth. Luke tells of one Samaritan out of the ten lepers who were healed, one who was grateful and returned to glorify God and thank Jesus. "Gratitude contrasted with ingratitude" is a theme running through most of the pericopes for today.
Homiletical Moves
Micah 1:2; 2:1-10 (C)
God's Anger Over Injustice
1. God will judge those who covet fields, taking from the poor, widow and orphan, as an invading army might strip a nation
2. Micah declares that for Israel there will be grievous destruction
3. God in Christ has judged evil on the Cross, breaking the power of sin and death
4. Let us repent of our sins and turn to God, following the law of love in all our relationships
Ruth 1:1-19a (L)
Entreat Me Not To Leave You!
1. Naomi and her daughters-in-law find themselves widows and without children and turn toward Bethlehem, Naomi's home town
2. Naomi pleads with the two women to go back to their mothers' homes in Moab, which Orpah does, but Ruth clings to Naomi
3. Ruth declares her bonding companionship to Naomi (Ruth = companion, or friend) in life and in death
4. God has called us to covenant relationship with him and one another, to live with strong ties of human bonding in families and communities
5. Let us renew our loyalty to family and friends under God
2 Kings 5:14-17 (RC)
I Know There Is No Other God
1. Naaman the leper was cleansed in the Jordan and returned to thank the prophet Elisha
2. Naaman offered to give Elisha a gift but he refused it
3. Naaman asked for soil from Israel to take home to Syria on which to worship Israel's God, and pledged his loyalty to God alone
4. Let us count our many blessings and recommit our loyalty to God alone, who is God of the nation (there is no other)
2 Timothy 2:8-15 (C)
2 Timothy 2:8-13 (L) (RC)
Do Your Best To Rightly Handle the Word of Truth
1. Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, knowing that if we have died with him we shall also live with him
2. Though Paul is in prison, the Gospel is not fettered, but has been spread across the world in spite of persecutions
3. Avoid disputes about words, which only ruin the hearers
4. Instead, do your best as a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth
5. Whether lay person or minister, do your very best in studying and handing on to others the Gospel of Christ who is risen from the dead!
This Preacher's Preference
Luke 17:11-19
Rise! Your Faith Has Made You Well!
1. Ten lepers cried out to Jesus to have mercy on them
2. Jesus healed them and commanded them to show themselves to the priests, in order to be declared officially clean
3. One leper saw he was cleansed, turned back praising God, and fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks
4. Jesus singled out the Samaritan leper for his gratitude, in contrast to the nine Jews who were not grateful
5. Jesus told the Samaritan, "Rise, and go your way; your faith has made you well"
6. Let us take stock of our lives and how God in Christ has healed us physically and spiritually; turn to God to praise him, and give thanks all our lives in word and deed
Hymn for Proper 23: O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee
Prayer
Gracious God, forgive us our ingratitude. Forgive us when we have forgotten our covenant loyalty and have oppressed our neighbor, the poor, widow and orphan. We repent and turn to you for forgiveness. By the power of your Spirit help us to work for justice in the marketplace, to care for the poor, widow, orphan, and handicapped. We thank you for healing us of our brokenness. May we, like the Samaritan leper, turn to you in praise and thanksgiving, now and all our days. Amen
