Sermon - 10-9-22

20 min•0 پلے•0 پسندیدہ

Religion

تفصیل

We have heard a great deal about boundaries over the past few years. And, while I believe some boundaries are necessary, very needed, and extremely healthy, I also believe that far too often we impose boundaries and build walls that not only keep others out of our lives, but also fence us in, isolating us from others and the world. And, quite frankly, too often, as we have seen in our current political climate, we simply draw a line in the sand, create unreasonable boundaries, and then refuse to cross those lines to seek common ground. When we meet up with Jesus today, he is continuing his journey to Jerusalem, his journey toward the cross. As he and his disciples continue that cross-bound journey, they move into a border area, the boundary between Samaria and Galilee. This boundary was a scary and uncomfortable place. It was a boundary the Jewish people did not like to cross because it took you into that place where those hated and despised Samaritans lived. And, look who Jesus meets at that border – ten lepers who raise their voices and cry out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” These lepers, knowing they are unclean, keep their distance from Jesus, because that is what the law stipulates. By law, they are not to go near those who do not have leprosy. Enduring the labels of “outcast” and “unclean” they are required to live apart from the rest of society. They are required to live within yet a different kind of boundary, one that keeps them totally estranged from all others. Considered ritually unclean, they were quarantined and treated as objects of revulsion and fear on the part of their neighbors. So, as these ten lepers cry for mercy, not one of them breaks the social conventions that surround their disease as they cry to Jesus from a distance. The writer of Luke’s gospel tells us Jesus sees these lepers and tells them to go show themselves to the priests. This was also required by la

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OscarStar

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