MICAH 6.8

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed,
turned back, praising God with a loud voice.

Twenty-Eighth Sunday In Ordinary Time ☩ Proper 23 ☩ Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
October 9, 2022

A Liturgy For Worship and Meditation

CALL TO WORSHIP
Life Giver—we come because you are the One in whom there is life.
Where else would we go, it is You that have the words of life.
All praise and glory be yours, O God.
For You alone are worthy of such praise.

SONG Let All Things Now Living
(Click Here For Music)
Author: Katherine Davis (1939)
Tune: ASH GROVE
Let all things now living
a song of thanksgiving
to God our Creator
triumphantly raise;
Who fashioned and made us,
protected and stayed us,
by guiding us onto the end of our days,
His banners are o'er us,
his light goes before us,
a pillar of fire shining forth in the night:
Till shadows have vanished
and darkness is banished,
as forward we travel from light into light.

His law he enforces,
the stars in their courses,
the sun in its orbit
obediently shine,
The hills and the mountains,
the rivers and fountains,
the depths of the ocean
proclaim God divine.
We too, should be voicing
our love and rejoicing
with glad adoration,
a song let us raise:
Till all things now living
unite in thanksgiving,
to God in the highest,
hosanna and praise.

PRAYER FOR WORSHIP
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your Holy Name. Amen.

WORDS OF CENTERING
At this meeting of our lives, may the love that is shown, the concerns expressed, the worship offered and fellowship shared be acceptable to you, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustaing God. Holy, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, be our mercy and compassion.
(—A Brief Silence Is Kept—) Living God, may all selfish concerns be put to rest, that we may ever live for you; may our faith in you endure all things, that we may ever reign with you; may we boldly proclaim your holy name, that we may ever testify to you; for your faith is perfect when ours is not, indeed, you are always true.

PRAYER OF BROKENNESS
God of grace, we bring to you our ingratitude for all that you have done for us; our impatience when answers to prayer are delayed; our selfishness when prompted to give or share; our unfaithfulness when wandering from your way. We ask for your forgiveness, through Jesus Christ who gave all that we might learn to do likewise. By your Spirit, may our lives become more fruitful and our hearts reflect nothing but you.

WORDS OF ASSURANCE AND PARDON
Those who praise God will be saved, and their faith will make them well. Those who remember God’s awesome deeds will be kept from falling. May you endure in your faith in the mercy of the Almighty One, obtain salvation in the Holy One, and attain the eternal glory in the Almighty One. Trust in God, and do not doubt God’s forgiveness and good will toward you.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
Gracious and merciful God, You who pour out abundant blessings upon us, we give thanks for all your great works. Your righteousness endures forever; You nourish the faithful; you make justice; You uphold your covenant. Holy is your name. Receive our worship today As we offer the prayers of our hearts And the songs of our lips, For we are your grateful children.
—Drescher, John. Invocations and Benedictions for the Revised Common Lectionary. Abingdon Press.

READING FOR THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
29:1 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
29:4 Thus says the God of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
29:5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
29:6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.
29:7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to God on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

PSALMODY FROM THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
Psalm 66:1-12
66:1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
66:2 sing the glory of God's name; give to God glorious praise.
66:3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
66:4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name." Selah
66:5 Come and see what God has done: God is awesome in God's deeds among mortals.
66:6 God turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in God,
66:7 who rules by might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations--let the rebellious not exalt themselves. Selah
66:8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of God's praise be heard,
66:9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
66:10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
66:11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
66:12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

READING FROM THE RENEWED COVENANT
2 Timothy 2:8-15
2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David--that is my gospel,
2:9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained.
2:10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
2:11 The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
2:12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us;
2:13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful-- for he cannot deny himself.
2:14 Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.
2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

SONG Let the Whole Creation Cry
(Click Here For Music)
Author: Stopford A. Brooke (1881)
TUNE: SALZBURG, Jakob Hintze, 1622-1702
Let the whole creation cry,
"Glory to the Lord on high!"
Heav'n and earth, awake and sing,
Gacious is our almighty King!"
Praise Him, angel hosts above,
ever bright and fair in love;
sun and moon, lift up your voice,
night and stars, in God rejoice!

Servants striving for the Lord,
prophets burning with His Word,
those to whom the arts belong,

add their voices to the song.
Pow'rs of knowledge and of law,
to the glorious circle draw;
all who work and all who wait,
sing, "The Lord is good and great!"

Men and women, young and old,
raise the anthem manifold,
and let children's happy hearts
in this worship bear their parts;
from the north to southern pole
let the mighty chorus roll:
“Holy, holy, holy One,
glory be to God alone!”

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Praise Him all creatures here below.
Praise God above ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen.

READING FROM THE GOSPELS
Luke 17:11-19
17:11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.
17:12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance,
17:13 they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
17:14 When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean.
17:15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.
17:16 He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan.
17:17 Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?
17:18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"
17:19 Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."

Were there not ten? Where are the other nine? Only one turned back to praise me and be thankful?

To be clear, the nine who left without returning were not bad people who were disobedient to Jesus. No, in fact there are following his command to the letter. They were on their way to the religious authorities and civil leaders to show themselves as being clean. It was to reenter society, to once again become a member of the community. Quite possibly, to be reunited with their family. They followed the word of Jesus perfectly, doing exactly what he told them to do.

Leprosy was a disease within its own category of being feared and to stay clear off. Lepers lost their identify, they became nobodies, they were relagated to life outside of family, community. synagouge, temple, and society as a whole. They were basically dead men walking.

Yet, there is something that differeniates the one who returned and the other nine. We know this by the way Jesus describes the experience. Jesus notes that only this one of the ten returned to give him the thanks he deserved and to praise God who the healing that had happened and all that would now mean to them. It is as if while the other nine did nothing wrong, but the one who returned to Jesus is identified as being different. He was a Samaritan.

As a Samaritan there was not a place for him to go. We was not bound or loosed by the religious authority of the Hebrew people. He was not part of their faith community. He was very alone. Perhaps that is why he returned to lay prostate at Jesus feet. He was not only healed. He was now known and connected to a community — the community of those who followed Jesus . The outsider Samaritan leper has no one to go to except Jesus. He praises God and recognizes his utter dependence on God for his well-being. He has no status and yet Jesus treats him as a spiritual equal.

God has a way of bringing people together. God heals not only body and soul, but relationships and community as well. At least, this is what that one, now healed, leper discovered and seems to understand deeply.

Perhaps there is another distinction that we might find in this narrative. There is a difference between Orthodoxy vs Orthopraxis. Orthodoxy has to do with having the correct beliefs while Orthopraxis is about following, practicing one's life journey, following in the way of Jesus. It is not as if one is good and the other is bad. Both are needed. Yet, it seems to me that we grow too comfortable with theology and neglecting discipleship. It is, I would suggest, an easier path to focus on doctrine that to be out there in the world doing what we are called to do.

Could it be that the one who returned to Jesus chose not to be simply doctrinally correct? Afterall, a Samaritan would not be conceived as being theologically faultless — but desired to be to be flawless in following. And, it is the outsider, the one without proper religion, that seems to get what we so often miss.

PRAYER OF RESPONSE
God in whom we find life: may we always be thankful for your constant love and everlasting compassion. In you there is wholeness and peace.

INTERCESSIONS
God of mercy and healing,
you who hear the cries of those in need,
receive these petitions of your people
that all who are troubled
may know peace, comfort, and courage. ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ For all the people that turn to you in prayer that we may hear your invitation to life and enter wholeheartedly into the way that you have prepared for us . . .