Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Scripture: Luke 17.11-15
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!” When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice.
Devotion:
Last weekend, I dropped a very heavy wooden lid to our living room ottoman on my left big toe. It was excruciatingly painful, though it did not swell or bruise. It was sore for a few days, and I was very gentle in using it: I avoided running on it or putting too much pressure on the toe while walking. This morning, as I was walking, I noticed a soreness in my toe and silently cursed the ottoman for the umpteenth time. Then I realized…it was my right foot that hurt today. I wiggled the previously injured toes on my left foot and realized that I had been healed. My right foot was only hurting because I’d been too ginger on my left foot. It took me a minute to realize that I had been healed.
The language in today’s healing story from Luke is always a bit surprising to me. “One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God.” When he saw that he had been healed. This phrase seems to imply that perhaps he went on begging and complaining with the others before realizing that his skin condition had gone away by the grace of God. It also implies this incredible moment when the brain catches up with reality, when your mind staggers for a second at the truth of the world, that you’re healed. Like that amazing moment when you hold your child for the first time and then all of a sudden it hits you that this being is relying on you to stay alive. Like the first day of retirement, I imagine, when your mind takes inventory on your life’s grand accomplishment.
This week, we will be kicking off the stewardship campaign by spending some time considering what we, like this healed person, can be thankful for. When we stop, what might we realize has been cured for us? What gifts might we notice when we stop and see the Lord ahead of us? Join us on Sunday at 10am for more conversation.
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!” When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice.
Devotion:
Last weekend, I dropped a very heavy wooden lid to our living room ottoman on my left big toe. It was excruciatingly painful, though it did not swell or bruise. It was sore for a few days, and I was very gentle in using it: I avoided running on it or putting too much pressure on the toe while walking. This morning, as I was walking, I noticed a soreness in my toe and silently cursed the ottoman for the umpteenth time. Then I realized…it was my right foot that hurt today. I wiggled the previously injured toes on my left foot and realized that I had been healed. My right foot was only hurting because I’d been too ginger on my left foot. It took me a minute to realize that I had been healed.
The language in today’s healing story from Luke is always a bit surprising to me. “One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God.” When he saw that he had been healed. This phrase seems to imply that perhaps he went on begging and complaining with the others before realizing that his skin condition had gone away by the grace of God. It also implies this incredible moment when the brain catches up with reality, when your mind staggers for a second at the truth of the world, that you’re healed. Like that amazing moment when you hold your child for the first time and then all of a sudden it hits you that this being is relying on you to stay alive. Like the first day of retirement, I imagine, when your mind takes inventory on your life’s grand accomplishment.
This week, we will be kicking off the stewardship campaign by spending some time considering what we, like this healed person, can be thankful for. When we stop, what might we realize has been cured for us? What gifts might we notice when we stop and see the Lord ahead of us? Join us on Sunday at 10am for more conversation.