Trinity 14: A Devotional Commentary

Proverbs 4:10-23 Listen, my son, and receive my sayings. The years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom. I have led you in straight paths. When you go, your steps will not be hampered. When you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction. Don’t let her go. Keep her, for she is your life. Don’t enter into the path of the wicked. Don’t walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, and don’t pass by it. Turn from it, and pass on. For they don’t sleep, unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the dawning light, that shines more and more until the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness. They don’t know what they stumble over. My son, attend to my words. Turn your ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and health to their whole body. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it is the wellspring of life.

Galatians 5:16-22 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith...

Luke 17:11-19 It happened as he was on his way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” It happened that as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this stranger?” Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”

Is the Gospel reading just there to remind us that we better say thank you? Absolutely not. The Gospel reading shows us that we are dead in our sins and that Jesus is our only hope. All ten lepers received physical healing from Jesus but only one of them was given faith to see his own deadness. The others just wanted a Messiah to come along and help them out when things got bad. They want the kind of Jesus we all want at times--the kind that will get you a new job when you get fired or heal your sick relative. But the tenth was given faith. By faith he was able to see his own deadness and by faith he was able to see that he needed resurrection, not a dermatologist. By faith he saw that Jesus is God and that only Jesus can resurrect him. The other nine looked alot better but they were dead. They received an excellent embalming but they were still dead. Through faith we see our deadness. Through faith we see that Jesus has done so much more than rescue us from our temporal sufferings. Through faith we see that Jesus gives Himself for us. We are buried with Christ in baptism and so we will be partakers in His resurrection.