The season of Lent is essential in Christian tradition, and is made up of the forty days (not including Sundays) that lead up to Easter Sunday. This Lent, we focus on the Gospel of Luke, and are guided by the book Luke: Jesus and the Outsiders, Outcasts, and Outlaws by Rev. Adam Hamilton.
This week’s text shows Jesus interacting with a particular marginalized community. Skin diseases like the one described in the text below had special rules in the Jewish community, and in general were thought to be highly communicable. Jesus shows a refusal to give in to the fear inherent in these rules and culture, and instead lifts up these persons who have been pushed to the margins.
Luke 17:11-19 (CEB)
11 On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, 13 they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”
14 When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice. 16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus replied, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 No one returned to praise God except this foreigner?” 19 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
Consider these questions:
- How do you understand the rules surrounding people with skin diseases in first-century Palestine? (You may be more familiar with earlier translations that name these persons “lepers.”)
- Why did Jesus tell them to show themselves to the priests?
- What do you think it meant for these men to be healed? How might this change their lives? Would change be small or would it be significant?
- When you think about people who live on the margins today, what groups or which persons come to mind? Have you had any interaction with these people or groups? What was the experience like?
- What moral assumptions are commonly made about those who live on the margins today? Do you agree or disagree with these assumptions?