Luke 17: The Way Back to Say Thank You

Introduction

That Sunday, several communities gather for a thanksgiving service in Strasbourg: French-speaking, Cambodian, Chinese and Korean brothers and sisters, each with their own song. Byeong Koan Lee jokes as he opens the service: "I thought I was in Korea."

He first invites the congregation to say aloud a word from Psalm 46: "Stop, and recognize that I am God." The first thing God asks is that we stop: stop thinking, stop running, stop scattering ourselves in every direction. Then comes what he calls "the bonus," from Psalm 34: "Taste and see how good the LORD is." His wish for this morning: that hearts be filled with the goodness of God.

When the message begins, he warns that he will be "very short," because the congregation has already received many words. He opens the Gospel of Luke at chapter 17 and stops on the ten lepers. His guiding thread comes down to one word: thank you.

Outline of the Message

1. It All Depends on How You Look

To introduce the message, Byeong Koan Lee tells the story of a man ("it could be a woman too") who wonders whether he is under a curse.
His parents are ill and he has had to take them into his home. The wall of his garden has collapsed. His car, even though it was under warranty, has broken down three times in a few months. His savings have lost 30% in one year. He works hard, but he did not get the promotion he hoped for.
One day he meets a neighbor, a young foreigner who has come to thank him for helping him find his internship. This young man lost his parents during the war. He has no house, no car, no savings, and only a precarious job.
Suddenly the man realizes that what made him believe he was cursed was actually blessings: he has parents, a house, a car, savings and a job.
"It all depends on how we look. We are so blinded by what we do not have. We completely forget what we have."

2. Ten Lepers at the Entrance of the Village

Jesus goes up toward Jerusalem and passes between Samaria and Galilee. At the entrance of a village, a "strange welcoming committee" is waiting for him: ten lepers.
The scene is shocking. According to the law of Moses, lepers were considered unclean and contagious, and condemned to total isolation. They knew it perfectly well, and yet they were there.
Jesus' visit to their village was a chance not to be missed. Despite the crowd, despite the risk of being despised and rejected, they cried out: "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
This cry stops Jesus. He turns toward them. Since they cannot come near him, it is Jesus who comes near.

3. An Absurd Word, an Obedience That Heals

Jesus tells them: "Go and show yourselves to the priests." The lepers do not understand.
They had already been to see the priests, who had confirmed their illness and declared them unclean. Still sick, they had no reason to go back. "That word was absurd."
Yet they obeyed, and it was on the road that they were healed.
Everyone is overjoyed and starts running. But only one, seeing that he is healed, recognizes that this healing comes from God. He turns around to cry out: "Thank you, thank you and thank you."

4. The Story of What Comes After the Healing

For Byeong Koan Lee, this story is not necessarily about the healing. It is about what follows: how the sick respond to their healing.
That is why Jesus' question is so poignant: "Weren't the ten cleansed? But where are the nine?"
"They went elsewhere. They kept going on their way in their immense joy. They completely forgot God."
You can receive God's blessing and forget the one who gave it.

5. Only One Comes Back, and He Is the Foreigner

"Here, I am going to press very hard on the word foreigner." The preacher invites all the foreigners in the congregation to say it with him.
This Samaritan knew contempt and rejection in his daily life. He understood. He comes back to Jesus to cry out thank you.
It was his second cry. The first was: "Jesus, have mercy on us." The second is the act of gratitude.
In the Samaritan, God's blessing was not forgotten.

6. From Healing to Salvation: The Way Back

Jesus says to the Samaritan: "Get up and go your way. Your faith has saved you."
Byeong Koan Lee calls this the way back. It is what makes "the enormous difference between healing and salvation."
All ten were healed. The one who comes back to say thank you hears a word of salvation.

7. What Have You Done With Your Healings?

The preacher ends with questions: "What have you done with your healings? Have you ever been sick? More or less seriously?"
"If we are here, it is because we have been healed. What have we done with our healings?"
Who do we look like? The Samaritan who makes the way back to say thank you with a grateful heart, or the other nine who kept going on their way in joy, forgetting God, the source of the miracle?
He concludes with Psalm 103, which the congregation finishes with him: "Praise Yahweh, my soul, and don't forget all his benefits!"
His closing prayer: "Lord, forgive us for all the times we have completely forgotten all your blessings. In spite of our forgetfulness, you keep showing your grace. Help us to make this way back continually, faithfully. Open our eyes so that we can see your greatness, your blessings."

Key Takeaways

It all depends on how you look: what you take for a curse may, in reality, be a list of blessings.
The ten lepers cried out to Jesus despite the crowd and the rejection. Their cry stopped Jesus, and he was the one who came near.
Jesus' word seemed absurd, but it was by obeying, on the road, that the lepers were healed.
The story is above all about what comes after the healing: nine forgot God, and only one, the foreigner, came back to say thank you.
The way back to Jesus makes the difference between healing and salvation.

Personal Application

What have you done with your healings, your deliverances, the prayers answered in your life?
In which area are you blinded by what you do not have, to the point of forgetting what you have?
Is there a word of Jesus that seems absurd to you today, and that he is nevertheless asking you to obey?
This week, who do you look like: the Samaritan who comes back, or the nine who keep going on their way?
Which of God's blessings can you name today so that you, too, make the way back and say thank you to him?

Verses Quoted

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the story of the ten lepers in Luke 17 really about?

For Byeong Koan Lee, this story is not first of all about the healing, but about what comes after: how the sick respond to their healing. All ten are cleansed on the way, but only one comes back to give thanks to Jesus.

Why does Jesus send the lepers to show themselves to the priests?

According to the law of Moses, it was the priest who confirmed leprosy or healing. The lepers, still sick, had no reason to go back, and the word seemed absurd. Yet they obeyed, and it was on the road that they were healed.

What is the difference between healing and salvation in this story?

All ten were healed, but it is to the Samaritan who came back to say thank you that Jesus says: "Get up and go your way. Your faith has saved you." The preacher calls this return to Jesus the way back: it is what makes the difference between healing and salvation.