Canton, Ohio. Cleveland, Ohio. Cooperstown, Pennsylvania. Eveleth, Minnesota. What do those four cities have in common? They all have a “Hall of Fame” located in them. Canton, Ohio is the home of the Football Hall of Fame. You will find the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Baseball fans know that Cooperstown, Pennsylvania is the home of their sport’s hall of fame. And what hockey fan in Minnesota doesn’t know that Eveleth is the location of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame?
So what is it that qualifies a person to be honored in one of these places? Those enshrined at Canton, Ohio were among the best of the best on the football field. For a musician to be inducted into the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame he or she would have to reach a high level of popularity and record a certain number of hit songs. It is skill on the baseball field, perhaps in pitching, batting, or fielding, which earns a player the right to be listed among the elite at Cooperstown. And finally, a player’s skills and achievements on the ice qualify him or her for a place in the hall of fame up in Eveleth.
Now imagine for a moment if we were to make a “Hall of Faith” instead of a hall of fame. Whose pictures and biographies would we hang on the walls? What criteria would we require of a person to be listed among the greats in the area of faith in God? In order to do something like that we would have to define faith and identify the things that go along with a great faith. We would look for people who trusted God’s promises and showed their faith in God by the way they lived.
Some candidates for our “Hall of Faith” immediately come to mind. As we consider the believers mentioned in the Bible names like: Noah. Abraham, Issac, and Jacob pop out at us. Joseph, Moses, and Joshua would also seem like individuals who showed great faith. And although he had his failings, we would certainly list King David among those with great faith. But one of the amazing things about the Bible is that many of the people who had a strong faith and showed it aren’t even named. In the Word of God that we will consider in our sermon today we have just such an example of an unnamed person that models great faith for us. May God the Holy Spirit work great faith in us through the Gospel Lesson for this Sunday from Luke 17:11-19. (Read text.) Through this portion of Scripture you and I are invited to:
“MODEL THE FAITH OF A FORMER LEPER”
I. A Confident faith
II. An Obedient faith
III. A Thankful faith
Before we look at the faith of this former leper it would be helpful to know something about what his life as a leper would have been like. First, there were the physical affects of the disease. Modern research has revealed that leprosy is caused by a slow-growing bacterium. Following infection, skin lesions usually appear. Over time the infection also affects the nerves and mucous membranes. As the disease progresses (usually over a period of several years) the skin lesions may increase in number or spread. Sometimes they discolor a person’s skin. In other cases they may cause the skin to thicken. As leprosy progresses it leads to nerve damage and muscle damage. Physical deformities and crippling often follow either from the disease or from injuries caused because a person has the disease. Then there were the social consequences of leprosy. These ten lepers mentioned in our Gospel Lesson would have had to live in isolation. They couldn’t interact with any others except those who shared their disease. And wherever they went they had to warn others to stay a safe distance away from them.
I.
And yet one day a glimmer of hope walked into their miserable existence. Jesus, the one that many thought to be the Messiah and the one who had done many miracles, came within shouting distance of their diseased bodies. Luke tells us, “11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Joining their ten voices gave volume to a request which expressed their shared desire. They wanted Jesus to have pity on them. Although Jesus would later speak about the faith of one of the ten lepers they all obviously had some faith in him. They obviously hoped he would heal them. And given their response to Jesus’ command to go show themselves to the priests they must have believed he had the power to heal them.
So, should these ten nameless lepers be given the honor of being in our hypothetical Hall of Faith? Well, consider the kind of faith that they showed in Jesus. They demanded nothing from him. And yet they came with confidence and asked Jesus for help. Although we could debate what makes a person’s faith great certainly the ten lepers show us one of the standards by which faith can be judged. Faith in God carries with it confidence that he is a God of mercy, love, and power.
So, what about our faith? Do we model the faith of these lepers? Do we come to Jesus with similar confidence in his pity toward us and in his power to help us? One can’t help but see a picture of our sinful condition in the lives of these lepers. We are by nature covered with the leprosy of sin. Because of the deadly disease of disobedience we should be driven out of God’s presence forever. We deserve to be isolated in the leper colony of those condemned to hell. Like the ten lepers we should walk around yelling, “Unclean, unclean. I am a sinner stay away from me.” Just as leprosy often made a person a hideous sight because of physical deformities so our sins have made us hideous in the eyes of a holy God. Thankfully our Savior has created faith in our hearts. That faith enables us to say with confidence, “Jesus, Master, have pity on me!” And in faith we believe he has had pity on us and will continue to shower us with his mercy. He has cured the leprosy of sin that covered us.
And our confidence in Jesus extends beyond our desire for spiritual healing. When we model the faith of these lepers, we turn to him in the big things and the little things of life. We have confidence that he can and will help us no matter what we are facing. As we call out to him in prayer we seek his help in our helplessness.
One of the challenges to faith that we face and one that the lepers didn’t face is trying to fix our problems ourselves. At that time there was no cure for leprosy. The ten lepers literally had no hope. They could do nothing to make themselves better. In their situation they were totally at Jesus’ mercy. At times we may have the knowledge and resources to overcome the problems we face. And so we may not always show the same kind of faith as the lepers. But ultimately we are just fooling ourselves when we act that way. Our life is as out of our control as the lives of the ten lepers were beyond their control. What the future holds for us and those we love is all in God’s hands. So as we are led to model the faith of these lepers may we go to Jesus believing he alone is our rock and our salvation. With confident faith may we always call out to our Savior, “Jesus, master, have pity on us.”
II.
As we continue to examine the faith of the ten lepers we are led to see another facet of faith that makes it worthy of a “Hall of Faith.” Faith goes beyond just coming to Jesus for help. It also works willing obedience in a believer to do what Jesus says. Luke said it so simply in our Gospel Lesson, “14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.” Jesus didn’t touch them or even tell them that he would heal them. He simply said, “Go.”
In faith the lepers obeyed Jesus and headed off to be seen by one of the priests. At that time only the priests could declare that a person was not infected with leprosy and that he or she could return to a normal life. So the lepers connected the dots and figured out what Jesus was saying to them. In other words he was telling them that by the time they got to the priests they would be healed. But they were not healed when they left. So going where they were sent showed great faith—obedient faith. They may have had other expectations concerning what Jesus would do. But ultimately they set aside their thoughts and their plans and let Jesus do what was best for them according to his plan for them.
Once again we see a model of faith to follow and reminder of one weakness we so often show in our faith. Our Lord Jesus calls for the same obedient faith in us. When it comes to our salvation he says, “Go, go back to my cross and believe your sins are forgiven. Go, and receive my body and blood with a bite of bread and a sip of wine to assure that your leprosy of sin has been healed.” And from time to time he tells us to go forward each day leaving everything to his direction and protection. We hear Jesus say, “Go down this path of sorrow and suffering because I know what is best for you.”
Unfortunately so often we don’t model the faith of the ten lepers. We may challenge his directions and commands. “Why don’t you do things my way?” we ask Jesus. Unlike the lepers we may leave disappointed and disobedient when we go to Jesus for help and we don’t think he is helping us. Instead of listening to Jesus’ answers to our problems and trusting in the help he offers we give up or go looking somewhere else for help.
So how can we model the obedient faith of the former lepers? Such a faith can only be worked in us as we hear God’s Word and put it into practice in our lives. Again and again we need to hear our Savior’s voice through Scriptures. His voice strengthens our faith and builds our trust in him.
So have we added to our understanding of what faith is and how it works? Have we seen in these lepers a standard of faith that would land them in a “Hall of Faith”? Their obedience to Jesus’ command is a sign of great faith. They took Jesus at his word. May our Lord give us such faith as we model the faith of these former lepers.
III.
From the faith of ten lepers we must now focus on the faith of one. From modeling the faith of ten lepers the Word of God before us would have us focus on modeling the faith of one particular leper. Luke continues his record of what happened that day, “15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” How could nine of the lepers have been so ungrateful? Some have pointed out the fact that a priest could only examine one of them at a time. So obviously whichever leper got to the priest first would be declared healed first. The rest would have to wait their turn. We can understand why they raced off with that thought in mind. In reality nine of the lepers showed a common human trait. Once an emergency is past or once a need has been met we forget to say thanks.
And yet the faith of one of the lepers shines more brightly than the others. The faith of the Samaritan leper had more depth to it we could say. Not only was his faith confident and obedient. It was also thankful. It moved him to go back and show his appreciation for what Jesus had done for him. Jesus’ last words in our gospel lesson remind us of the depth of the leper’s faith. Jesus said, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Modeling the former leper’s faith will always be challenge for us. Like the other nine lepers we so often are off running after Jesus helps us. But his Word will work and attitude of gratitude in us.
Although no one has yet built a “Hall of Faith.” There is a chapter of the Bible where we can look for a listing of believers that would be candidates for the hall of faith. Hebrews 11 has been called by some a Hall of Faith. There we find Abel, Enoch, and Noah listed. There the faith Abraham, Issac, and Jacob is praised. And toward the end of the chapter a group of nameless believers is mentioned. And yet what did the have in coming? What gave them a place in “Hall of Faith?” They had faith like the former Samaritan leper. He showed his faith in Jesus to be a confident faith, an obedient faith, and a thankful faith. May God give us such a faith as theirs and may it change our lives. May we model the faith a former leper.
Lord, give us such a faith as this,
And then, whate’er may come,
We’ll taste e’en now the hallowed bliss
Of an eternal home. Amen.
