Luke
17:14 – “…Go show yourselves to the priests…”
As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, ten
lepers had stood at a distance down the road and cried out for much-needed mercy.
Consider the terrible circumstances that these poor men lived in; the sense of
worthlessness and rejection upon being forced out of their family and friends.
Perhaps the most horrific thing about being a leper was remembering a time when
you were not. At one time all of these men were active members of their
communities. They had the love of spouses and families. They had meaningful
work and the satisfaction of providing for their own. They enjoyed friends and
social gatherings and they even had the hope of future good when gathering
together for worship. But all of that was lost when the leprosy was discovered.
They became, as the Law demanded, outcasts; they were to be separated and
segregated; they were immediately torn away from all that they knew and all
that they loved. The Law had spoken and mercy stood silent in the background.
After crying out to Jesus for mercy, the
first word they heard was; go. It is a strange thing that all of us hear things
through our own inner filters. Sometimes even kindly spoken words are not
received as such because they come through our tainted ears into our wounded
memories and become part of our distorted conclusions. They might have felt
like this was another in a long string of rejections, but we know that Jesus
was indeed answering their cry with an instruction designed to urge them
forward. Go. Don’t stay in this place. Your leprosy has immobilized you and
kept you in a hopeless and helpless state. Now, make a decision and choose to
act even if you do not fully understand. Don’t hesitate or try and reason this
out. You must do this because no one else can do it for you.
Go and show yourselves to the priests.
Stand before the authority of the priests and don’t hide anything, don’t try to
cover anything up. Be completely open, defenseless and vulnerable. This takes a
tremendous amount of trust and a great deal of humility, because it is in our
human nature to hide from being analyzed, scrutinized and examined.
One writer has said that the self that we
send out to meet God is almost always a false self. And not only with regard to
God but, also in our relationship to others, it is very easy to wear a mask and
not be completely genuine. Life itself seems to teach us to be guarded and not
to be open and sincere. Jesus said that we must become like children if we want
to truly experience the kingdom of God. Children, in their innocence, are
absolutely real; they have no preconceived ideas or biases and they do not
understand the word; false. These ten lepers were instructed to show themselves
to the priests. They were not told to build a case for why they should be
treated with mercy. They were not told to describe in detail their painful
history or how they had been mistreated. They were not told to present their
credentials or their educational diplomas. No, they were told to show
themselves to the priests. In reality, all we actually have is ourselves; our
inner being; our spirit; our soul. One day we shall each stand before the Lord
completely alone; without a made-up facade; without sparkling accessories; without
props for support; simply our exposed self.
Jesus responded to their cry for mercy by giving them the same instruction that the Law of Moses prescribed to all who were thought to be lepers and to
all those who claimed to be cleansed of their leprosy; they were to go stand before
a panel of priests. We can only imagine how this must have made them feel. What
images were derived in their minds? The last time they had stood before the
priests they were found to be unclean and the sentence was harsh and final.
Some of us may have had to stand before one judge in a court of law but how many of
us have had to stand before a panel of judges? This would, no doubt, be
extremely intimidating and they might have asked themselves why would Jesus
send us to the priests? We are not healed yet. There is no change in our
circumstances, however, Jesus has told us to do this, so we must obey.
The Law of their religion had removed them
and isolated them and even made them feel non-human. That is what the Law of
strict religion still does; it does not create an atmosphere of mercy. These
ten men, who were labelled as outcasts, met Jesus who is Mercy manifested in
the flesh. They instinctively cried out for the only answer for their desperate
situation. They wanted mercy and it seemed like Jesus was giving them law,
however they trusted the words of mercy; they were willing to throw themselves
on the mercy of the court, so to speak. Jesus had said to go and submit to the
Law; trust what Mercy has said and the scripture tells us that as they went
they were cleansed. Mercy had spoken, it was no longer silent and they
responded in faith, trusting in the Merciful One. On that day those men
received mercy and this day that we live in, is still the day of mercy. Today,
no matter what we may face, we can cry out for mercy and, as always, mercy will
eternally triumph over judgement! Thank God for His mercy!
