St Clement Church
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity Community Service
Good morning
The ten lepers – it’s just a story, isn’t It? But is anything about our Lord, just a story?
I think ‘this story’ is just as relevant today, if we really think about it.
Would I have been one of the nine or the one?
That is the question!
My love to you all
Liz
We meet as a family in the presence of our heavenly Father. We meet as brothers and sisters in Christ accepting the responsibility that this places upon us – to love one another as you have loved us. We meet as your lights in this dark world, and pray that through our words and our lives others may be drawn into your family, and accept you as their Saviour and Lord. Amen
We say together:
In the meeting of our lives, be the focus of all that we are.
In the singing of the hymns, the prayers that we shall make, the reading of your Word and the preaching of the same.
Speak to us, encourage and forgive us.
In the meeting of our lives, Lord, be the focus of all that we are.
Amen
Hymn: 200 Great is Thy faithfulness
Prayer of Confession
Lord God, we have sinned against you; we have done evil in your sight.
We are sorry and repent.
Have mercy on us according to your love.
Wash away our wrongdoing and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit within us and restore us to the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
The Collect
Almighty God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you: pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself, and so bring us at last to your heavenly city where we shall see you face to face; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Readings:
2 Kings 5. 1 – 3, 7 – 15b
2 Timothy 2. 8 - 15
Hymn: 435 Lord Jesus Christ, You have come to us
Gospel: Luke 17. 11 - 19
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’
When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’
And as they went, they were made clean.
Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.
He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? Where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?
Then he said to the Samaritan, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’
(This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)
Reflection
A lady, I know, said to me, ‘I just can’t get comfortable in my own skin.’ She went on to describe her life. She described comparison and competition with others to be enough. She spoke of expectations that she could never meet. She revealed that loneliness isolated her in her family, with friends, and even at church. She was describing skin-level life. She was looking all around her, at the people and circumstances of her life but she was either unwilling or unable to look within herself. She wanted what the nine lepers wanted. She wanted new skin. She wanted to be accepted and approved of by others. She wanted the priests of her life – all those people to whom she gave power and authority over herself – to declare her to be clean, to be enough.
If today’s gospel statistics are any indication, then ninety percent of us live life at skin level. That is, we live on the surface. It is a ‘what you see is what you get’ attitude. We assume that there is nothing else. At skin level our view of life is most determined by whether life is going our way and whether we get what we want. Life is very much exteriorized. That’s not to suggest that skin-level is easy or pain free. To the contrary, life at that level feels mostly like day-to-day survival, is rarely peaceful, and leaves us feeling as if something is missing. More than anything else, skin-level life seeks to be more comfortable, physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and financially. There is nothing wrong with being comfortable until we choose to settle for being comfortable rather than moving to a deeper place, a deeper way of seeing, relating, and living. Sometimes comfort can insulate us from the reality of life and the presence of God. It seems that only ten per cent, one in ten lepers, are willing to move in a new direction, to seek a wholeness that can’t be found in mere comfort.
For most of us when life gets uncomfortable, when things don’t go our way, and we don’t get what we want or expect, then we begin seeking relief. We want the pain to stop and the situation to change or go away. Too often we look for quick, easy solutions, something that will make us comfortable again; something that will allow us to go back to life the way it was before. That is the life of a leper. That is life at skin-level. One day you are clean. Life is as expected. You have work, friends, family. You are part of the faith community. The next day everything changes. The next day you are unclean.
For the ten lepers in our gospel reading that means no family, no friends except each other, no work, no temple. They are physically shunned, excluded. They are kept at the farthest edges of society. They have to wear shabby rags for clothes. Their hair is a mess and left uncombed. If anyone starts coming close, the leper must cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ That’s how it is when you are a leper. They want to go back to the way it was before, when they were clean, but they would settle for comfort.
From a distance they cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” We can only imagine what they want. Maybe they hope for a piece of bread, some water, a blanket. Maybe they simply want to be seen and, if only for a moment, feel real, feel alive, feel like a human being. There is nothing comfortable about their lives. At skin-level each day of life is spent searching for some relief. I know that search and I bet you do too.
Regardless of our skin condition, we know what it is like to be a leper. We may not have lived under the same conditions as the lepers of Jesus’ time but we could each tell a story about a time when we just could not get comfortable in our own skin. That is the leprosy of today. Today’s leprosy is not a medical condition or a legal status. It is, rather, a spiritual condition. It is leprosy of the heart. Its symptoms have nothing to do with our skin. Instead, they are things like, perfectionism, gluttony, sadness, anger, pride, boredom, gossip, the need for control or approval, fear, being judgemental, restlessness, excessive busyness, grudges, prejudice, jealousy, condemnation, indifference, addiction. Leprosy distorts how we see and relate to God, the world, others, and even ourselves. Leprosy keeps life at a superficial level. These symptoms, what the early church mothers and fathers called ‘passions,’ reveal a deep discomfort. As long as we deal with them at the level of skin, seeking cleanness rather than wholeness, we can never truly be made well.
Leprosy even convinces us that the most we can hope for is a declaration of cleanness. SO, we settle for being comfortable rather than being changed. We seek relief rather than wholeness. We desire something from Jesus more than we desire Jesus himself. That is life at skin-level. That is where we tend to live. It is where the lepers in today’s gospel live. Nine out of ten lepers will settle for a declaration of cleanness. But there is always that one, that one who is able to look below the surface, to see more than new skin. One leper, the Samaritan, looks past the exterior illusions of new skin. He sees a deeper reality and understands that healing is an interior condition. It is about the heart more than the skin. If he wants the healing and wholeness that Jesus offers, he will have to turn around and go in a direction different from the other nine. And he does.
While nine lepers celebrate new skin, one leper celebrates the creator and restorer of new skin. While nine lepers hear the priests say, “You are clean,” one leper hears the God-Man say, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
If today’s gospel statistics are any indication, then ninety percent of us live at skin-level. Jesus offers more. He desires more for us than we often desire for ourselves. What Jesus does for the one He offers to all. “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
It is not a rebuke. It is an invitation.
Amen
Let us declare our faith in God
We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.
We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high.
We believe in one God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Amen
Hymn: 396 Just as I am, without one plea
Our Intercessions
Dear Lord, as we gather our thoughts to offer You our prayers, we thank You for the opportunity to be still, to let our thoughts wander, to open our hearts to You and to listen for Your voice.
Dear Lord, in the calm and peace of this time, we bring before You all those around the world who are suffering through man’s inhumanity to man. We ask Your blessing on all those who cannot live in peace and harmony; those who are constantly in fear of violence in all its forms; those who are suffering through hunger and lack of medical care; those who are tortured for their beliefs or just for the satisfaction of their tormentors.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for the people of Gaza and Israel that a long-lasting and final peace, and the return of so many to their families on both sides, may see an end to the hostilities that have spanned so many centuries. May the conflict between Russia and Ukraine stop, and may both nations agree to live peacefully within their own borders
Dear Lord, we pray that all those in authority may always seek the good of the people that they represent and not their own importance and dominance. We pray that ideology should never be at the expense of the welfare of ordinary families.
We pray that, in this country, we may all be willing to live together in friendship, acknowledging and celebrating our differences, and willing to work for the common good.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, forgive us when we waste our lives by being too busy to enjoy Your creation. Teach us to make spaces in the day to do the things we most enjoy; just as You rested from Your work. Help us to practise the discipline of recreation and help us to become Your hands and feet in our streets so that our neighbours will one day ask us to tell them more about You.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, help us to see and understand that it is only through Your grace that we receive Your justice which is over and above what we deserve. You called the children to You. Help us to be more child-like not only in our faith but also in true childlike humility in how we put our trust in You. May we follow the Samaritan leper in truly acknowledging and thanking You for all that You do for us, and in so doing, acknowledge our true love and faith in You.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we bring before you all those who are suffering or struggling in any way, whether in body, mind, or spirit. Enfold them in your loving arms so that they know that they never have to face things alone. We especially bring before You:
Reverend Diane, Ken, Brian, May, Susan, Tony, Jan, Lynda, Dot, Maureen, Pam and David, Sandra, Roger, Michael and Patricia, Rob and Alison, Mary, Jeremy, Anita and Stephen, Callum and Elaine, Sue and Martin, Margaret and John, Barry, Felicity, Coral and Paul, Barbara, Simone, Dinah, Daphne and David, Stanley , Carol, all those known to us and all who have no one to pray for them.
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Lord, we remember in Your presence all those who have died, and particularly those we have known and loved. Thank You for them and thank You for Your promise of eternal life and peace.
Be close to those who are recently bereaved - strengthen them with the knowledge that You are always there to lean on, and if things get really hard, that You will carry them through the difficult times.
And in our years mind, we remember:
Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we do not always live our lives as we should; we do not always treat others as we would be treated; we do not follow in Your way as we should. We ask Your blessing on each, and every one of us; lead us along the paths You would have us follow; stretch forth Your hand when we falter, and may we feel Your presence, at all times.
Dear Lord, we believe, help our unbelief. We listen, please help us to hear. We look, please help us to see, and in so doing, let us be true and faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Andrew, St Allen and St Clement and all Christian people to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
We say together:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
The Ten Lepers by Rosanna Eleanor Leprohon
‘Neath the olives of Samaria, in far-famed Galilee,
Where dark green vines are mirrored in a placid silver sea,
Mid scenes of tranquil beauty, glowing sun-sets, rosy dawn,
The Master and disciples to the city journeyed on.
And, as they neared a valley where a sheltered hamlet lay,
A strange, portentous wailing made them pause along their way –
Voices fraught with anguish, telling of aching heart and brow,
Which kept moaning: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us now!”
Softly raised the gentle Saviour His eyes like midnight star,
And His mournful gaze soon rested on ten lepers, who, afar,
Stood motionless and suppliant, in sackcloth rudely clothed,
Poor Pariahs! By their nearest, their dearest, shunned and loathed.
Not unto Him prayed vainly those sore afflicted ten,
No! He yearned too fondly over the erring sons of men,
Even sharing in their sorrows, though He joined not in their feasts, -
So He kindly told the lepers: “Show yourselves into the priests.”
When, miracle of mercy! As they turned them to obey,
And towards the Holy Temple quickly took their hopeful way,
Lo! The hideous scales fell off them, health’s fountains were unsealed,
Their skin grew soft as infant’s - their leprosy was healed.
O man! So oft an ingrate, to thy thankless nature true,
Thyself see in those Lepers, who did as thou dost do;
Nine went on their way rejoicing, healed in body – glad in soul –
Nor once thought of returning thanks to Him who made them whole.
One only, a Samaritan, a stranger to God’s word,
Felt his joyous, panting bosom, with gratitude deep stirred,
And without delay he hastened, in the dust, at Jesus’ feet,
To cast himself in worship, in thanksgiving, warm and meet.
Slowly questioned him the Saviour, with majesty divine -
“Ten were cleansed from their leprosy – where are the other nine?
Is there none but this one stranger – unlearned in God’s ways,
His name and mighty power, to give word of thanks and praise?”
The sunbeams’ quivering glories softly touched the God-like head,
The olives blooming round Him sweet shade and fragrance shed, While o’er His sacred features a tender sadness stole:
“Rise, go thy way,” He murmured, “thy faith hath made thee whole!”
The Peace
Jesus said: ‘Love one another. As I have loved you, so you are to love one another.’
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Hymn: 708 To God be the glory
The Blessing
As we take our worship, praise and prayer from this place and into our daily lives, may our lives be sustained through the love of our Heavenly Father. May we feel the presence of our Saviour walking beside us, and know the power of the Spirit in both our actions and our deeds. Amen