Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then Jesus asked, ‘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?’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, March 16, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
I suffer from entitlement. There. I admitted it. Simply by virtue of my position in society (white, straight, cisgender, college-educated, Christian, etc. etc. etc.) I enjoy ridiculous privilege when compared to others who are different than me in even one of the aforementioned categories. Were I to have a disease like leprosy and were Jesus to have cured me, would I remember to stop and say “thanks?” When I have an annual physical exam, do I think, “Wow! I am so incredibly grateful to have access to basic medical care!” Hah! More likely I think, “Wow, our medical system in the United States is a disaster. I can’t believe what I’m paying for this. Blah blah blah blah.”
But if I weren’t someone who was so privileged and entitled, and I received a thorough annual physical, tests, vaccines, etc., might I be aware of what great gift I had been given?
Perhaps that’s what’s happening in this story. The Jewish recipients of Jesus’ healing might have thought, “Well, of course God would heal us. We are God’s chosen people after all.” Whereas the Samaritan, a foreigner hated by the Jews because they didn’t worship God in the correct place (among other things), might have been truly blown away by the compassion of this celebrated Jewish rabbi. Maybe that’s why he came back praising God. Let that be a lesson to me.
Healing God, cure me of my sense of entitlement, that I would always remember to praise you for your presence in my life. Amen.
