Abide - Luke 17

Podcast Transcript

Welcome to Abide. I'm so delighted that you're here and you've made this choice to pull away to spend time with God. It says in Matthew chapter six, verse six, “But when you pray, go into your room and close the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.”

And so, we all are coming into our spaces of solitude, of quiet. We're closing the door to spend time with this unseen God and yet He is all around us and in us. And in these 30 minutes and beyond, and the practice of prayer in this way, we are rewarded in body and soul and in mind.

And so, if you haven't already, find that posture of prayer that suits you - whether you're sitting upright, whether you're lying down. And just begin to notice your breathing, breathing in deeply and breathing out slowly. Just repeat this a few times, just noticing the breath.

Wonderful. And I ask you, as we begin this prayer time, why are you here? What is your intention or your desire in being here in this prayer practice? What are you seeking? As your body begins to quiet and things begin to slow down, allow that to come forward to Jesus, just letting him know what you're- what's on your heart; what you desire to receive from this time of closing your door and spending time with Him. Such a wonderful thing, that we get to be ourselves with God - just tell Him what we'd like; that He's here, that He's listening.

Today's gratitude practice will be in two parts. And so the first part is I invite you to think of a recent experience when someone thanked you for something that you did or you gave. Maybe this person wrote you a letter. Maybe this person sent you a text message or maybe they said it to your face. But I want you to spend a minute now returning back to that moment when this person is thanking you, and what are they thanking you for? And what is it like to be in connection with them, with their gratitude for you? And so, I give you a moment to think about a time when someone was grateful for you.

And now I invite you to think of a time that you thanked someone, that you showed gratitude for someone in what they did or what they said to you. Maybe you wrote this person a letter or wrote them a message or called them up on the phone or set it face to face but recall a time where you had gratitude for someone, and relive that moment with that person. Relive what was offered. And I give you this minute to think on this: when did someone tell you thank you?

These times that we have together, in gratitude, we get to deepen our awareness of our need for one another and the flow of giving and receiving, of receiving and giving. So, thank you for these moments to really take in where you have given and where you have received as of late.

Today's passage that we are going to spend time in together is quite beautiful and is going to flow in well with our practice today. And the passage is Luke chapter 17, verses 11 to 19:

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. And as he was going into a village, 10 men who had leprosy met him, and they stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”

“When he saw them, he said, “Go and show yourself to the priest.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice, and he threw himself at Jesus's feet, and he thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all 10 cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God, except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.”

Listen for the leading of the Spirit.

Here we are joining Jesus on his way to Jerusalem, and as we move through the Gospel of Luke, we are getting closer and closer to his death, his- this journey of his is toward suffering and toward death. That is the route he is taking and choosing to take. And as he moves toward Jerusalem, 10 lepers are looking at him and he sees them. Because as we know, Jesus sees the outcast. Jesus sees the one with the messed-up life, with the broken heart, with the dirty body, with the bad reputation. Jesus’ eyes are keenly aware of this people group and he includes them on his journey.

I wonder if today you feel full of weaknesses, or full of failures, discouragements, and you just feel covered in it all. Just know that just as these lepers feel on the outside of society and community, they look to Jesus, and Jesus sees them and longs to make them well.

So, in this time of quiet as we're in our rooms with the door closed, allow God to look upon you in all of your weakness, and all your frailty, and your suffering. May you know that He includes you in his journey, and his eyes are drawn to you.
I'll read this passage a second time, and I wonder if you can imagine what the life or the lives of the lepers has been like, being cast aside from society, their families, their places of work - and there is desperation. And so, as I read this again, may your eyes see their faces and hear their voices.

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. And as he was going into a village, 10 men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and they called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!

“When he saw them, he said, “Go and show yourself to the priest.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice, and he threw himself at Jesus's feet, and he thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all 10 cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God, except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.”

As we gaze on the scene, it's so fascinating how Jesus heals people differently. He touches them or speaks to them or gives them an action to do or- there's just so many ways in which He heals. The way He speaks to people, it's so creative and endless. And in this story, He follows the- the laws of the rituals of the time, where you would go to the priests. And as these men are traveling, one notices he's healed. And I can't imagine, you know, being healed of something you've had for so long. You want to hurry and return to life, return to what you've been missing out on, see your family and get back into the society you loved and there's just no time to lose! And yet this man notices that he's healed and he stops, he pauses, and he turns around and goes backwards. He goes back to Jesus.

In adoration, he throws himself at his feet and he thanks him. And not only is this guy a leper, but he's a Samaritan. Jews don't really like him; nobody really likes him. And yet here we see another outcast being awake and aware of Jesus.

You know this story, it's that story of ‘it's good to be thankful’ and ‘mind your manners’, ‘write your thank you notes’. But you know what? Gratitude is something that radically changes a life. As we see this man stop, pause, turn around, take notice of- he is given an intimate moment with Jesus. His tears, he's fallen at the feet, Jesus speaks to him. And it's almost as if in the returning and in the gratitude, Jesus says rise and go, your faith has made you well. That your return to me has not even- not only healed you physically, but healed you emotionally. You've been able to see what life is truly about.

It's so interesting that our gratitude toward God, it doesn't change the way He heals and what He does because ten men were healed, and one said thank you. And so, we are given a life of grace, of privilege, of healing, of joy, of sustenance, and it's truly up to us how we respond to the life that we've been given.

I confess that having gratitude takes- it takes time; it takes slowing down when there's so many things to do in a day and accomplish. Saying thank you seems to waste my time. But really, is it a waste of time? Or is it worth every moment of my time? Seems we're all seeking affirmation out in the world, out in what we're striving for, what we're doing, what we're accomplishing, and yet we miss all the affirmation and love that's being given to us right in front of our noses.

I'm so humbled by this passage, by this man who stops, who turns around and makes time for the ‘thank you, Jesus’. I think this little word, ‘thank you’, can radically change our lives. And we have to do it if we want to grow. It’s something to practice daily, moment by moment, in that it might be woven into the fabric of our life. And it might actually save our life, to turn moment by moment and acknowledge God in our midst, in the people that we are surrounded by, in the graces that are offered.

When we stop and we give thanks to God, we fundamentally shift the focus away from just myself and we’re brought into a spacious humble space where we get a greater perspective of what life really is about. And when we get a taste of this practice of returning, of turning around and looking at these people and our lives in the eye and thanking them, we get to experience the intimacy of that exchange, we will want to return over and over in our lives throughout the day, to this practice.

We're not forced to do this act because God will heal, He will give, He is generous and He is the sustainer and giver of all life. And our gratitude is not dependent on this. But wow, what could we participate in, if this becomes an integral part of our everyday lives? When giving thanks becomes habit, we get to experience a huge mind shift. Not to appreciate or admire the artwork of God, which is life, we might miss it. We might miss out on life.

Gratitude creates space so we can move from fretting about everything about how hard life is, into trusting that God is deeply in all things. And you know what? You don't have to be thankful for everything in life because there's a lot of challenging things to work with, in a day. But you know, we can hold a disappointment and a gratitude, and a sorrow, and a thank you all in one hour.

And so, Lord, we as brothers and sisters, we as your children afresh today want to notice and admire you. We want to notice and admire all that you are bringing to us each and every day. And so, Lord, deepen this ability in us to show gratitude to the people around us – very small, very simple – show gratitude and appreciation to you, Lord.

And it will be mixed. We will always carry mixed emotions around life and how it's going. But Lord, grow this practice in us of gratitude, so that we might participate and admire this wonder, this wondrous world, this wondrous life. I'm going to read the passage one more time for us, as we see Jesus moving toward those ones on the outsides. And as we see the sick desiring healing, and as we notice Jesus as healer, and as we watch 10 men be so overjoyed with what God has done, may somehow this story be integrated into our very souls today.

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. And as he was going into a village, 10 men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and they called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!

“When he saw them, he said, “Go and show yourself to the priest.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice, and he threw himself at Jesus's feet, and he thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, “Were not all 10 cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God, except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go, your faith has made you well.”

As we transition into closing this time of prayer and moving into the rest of our day, may we practice pausing, turning around, slowing down, and showing gratitude - for the big, for the small. And over time this will transform our lives, the lives of our communities, and this world. And so, Lord, we offer ourselves to you. We pray all these things in the name of the Father, and into the Son, and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, as it is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.

Go in gratitude.

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