Luke 17:11-19 

I had a message for today’s homily that very neatly partnered with today’s Gospel reading from the book of Luke. In today’s lesson we witness Jesus as he makes his way to Jerusalem, stopping in a village in the region between Samaria and Galilee. In this village, Jesus meets ten lepers, who cry to Jesus from a distance to have mercy upon them. He tells the lepers to go and show themselves to the priests in the village and when they do so they are made clean.

One of the men, upon realizing that he has been made clean and well, really lets everyone know how thankful he is for this transformative moment.  He turns back and shouts praises to God among the people of the village and goes back to Jesus.  Humbled, he casts himself down at Jesus’ feet and thanks him.  After contemplating the return of only one of the lepers, asking “Were not ten made clean?  But the other nine, where are they?  Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”, Jesus tells the man to get up and go on his way, that his faith has made him well.

I always like to think about how this story might have continued for this man who has just experienced a transformation, both physically and spiritually.  He has been healed of his sickness and sets out into the world, sharing his praise of God.  I hope that this moment and the message he receives from Jesus, that his faith has made him well, become the catalyst by which this man pursues a life of spreading faith in the community and that this spiritual awakening leads him to better understand his own life as God would want him to lead it  - issues he might not have considered when he was sick.

I think about those last words from Jesus in this reading.  “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”  The leper upon being healed might have expressed himself in a number of different ways, many of which might have honored and reflected his faith, but he chose to really embrace the strength of the moment that had just transpired and took that out with him and he shared it.  This made me think about people out in the world today who often declare – and we’ve all heard this – that if you have faith – and that maybe it’s enough to just have faith, good things will just happen for you.  I tend to think that’s probably mostly correct.  Faith is a central and core part of our lives as Christians, but I also think that God expects more from us than passive participation.

I don’t think God intends for us to merely HAVE faith.  I believe that God has instilled in each of us a sense of responsibility to ACT with faith.