Reach out and Touch Someone

October 14, 2007
20th Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Luke 17:11-19

Preacher: The Rev. R. Bruce Todd

Greg Anderson, in the book “Living Life on Purpose” tells a story about a man whose wife had left him. He was completely depressed. He had lost faith in himself, in other people, in God--he found no joy in living. One rainy morning this man went to a small neighborhood restaurant for breakfast. Although several people were at the diner, no one was speaking to anyone else. Our miserable friend hunched over the counter, stirring his coffee with a spoon.

In one of the small booths along the window there was a young mother with a little girl. They had just been served their food when the little girl broke the silence by almost shouting "Momma, why don't we say our prayers here?" The waitress who had just served their break-fast turned around and said, "Sure, honey, we can pray here. Will you say the prayer for us?" And she turned and looked at the rest of the people in the restaurant and said, "Bow your heads." Surprisingly, one by one, the heads went down. The little girl then bowed her head, folded her hands, and said, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food. Amen."

That prayer changed the entire atmosphere. People began to talk with one another. The waitress said, "We should do that every morning." "All of a sudden," said our formerly depressed friend, "my whole frame of mind started to improve. From that little girl's example,
I started to thank God for all that I did have and stopped dwelling on all that I didn't have. I started to be grateful."

We understand and appreciate the importance of showing gratitude. How it can radically change relationships. In fact, one of the first things we were taught and that we teach our children, is to express their gratitude. Some one gives them some candy and we say:
“Now what do you say?” And the child learns from an early age to answer “Thank you.” And we all know as adults that we appreciate being thanked. Yet, when it comes to giving thanks to our God, we often miss the mark.

And when it comes to giving our thanks to God, I don’t suppose there is any story in the Bible that is more appropriate than the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers. You have probably heard the story many times. It is also the appointed text for Thanksgiving Day. When I preach on this text at Thanksgiving, the emphasis the leper who returned to give thanks. Today’s emphasis however, is not on the action of the LEPER, but rather on the action of God.

It was believed that Leprosy was contagious, which it is not. But the Lepers in Jesus’ day were required to live in a colony all by themselves, and if a non leper was within earshot,

the Leper was required to yell, "Unclean! Unclean!" There are two instances of Jesus dealing with lepers mentioned in the Bible. One is in the 5th chapter of Luke where Jesus touches the Leper and heals him and tells him to go and tell no one. Of course, back then like now, people do just the opposite of what God asks, and the Leper went and told everyone.

In today's Gospel lesson Jesus simply commands it and they are cleaned. They are told to go to the priests, who were the Public Health Officials of the day, and be declared clean. This was a requirement by Jewish Law. But our Gospel lesson makes a point to tell that the
one who returns to Jesus is a Samaritan. He was not a Jew. The Jewish laws were not binding to him. He had no one to declare him clean. No one except this man called Jesus who accepted him even when he had Leprosy.
 

The significant action in this Gospel lesson is not the fact that the Leper returned to give thanks; instead, the important thing to note is that Jesus touched those who no one else would even talk to. He associated with the Untouchables. This might impress the people of Jesus' day, but to us it loses some of its impact, because Leprosy, in itself, is not a problem for most of us.

We are fortunate to live in a more technological society that is capable of controlling diseases like Leprosy. So if we take the story of the Lepers literally, we can not relate to it. However, if we take this story metaphorically we can find many connections to our lives. We are all afraid of becoming lepers. Our commercial world warns us not to be "unclean".

Thou shalt be sweet smelling, clean, and very appealing to others. That's why soap commercials promise that you will be fresh and clean smelling after you shower with their product. And if you should ever perspire or even sweat, there are shelves of antiperspirant to work wonders to fight body odor. Scope is on hand to clean your breath without leaving a mediciny taste and Ultra Brite is there to create instant sex appeal. There's Head and Shoulders for the hair, Cover Girl for the skin, and an endless line of perfumes and after shaves to make us more appealing to others. Our Commercial World warns us that without these products we would be as unclean as the Leper in today's Gospel. An exaggeration you might say? Would you really want to spend much time with someone who never washed, sprayed, brushed or gargled?

The Lepers had no soap to cure them, no deodorants to cover up the smells of ulcerating sores. Instead, they had Leprosy that affected their skin and their alienation, their loneliness from others. I don't know about you, but I would rather be told that I have ring around the
collar and bad breath, than to be a Leper with sores all over my body, and be cast out of my community, my church, and my family.

The kind of Lepers of Jesus' day may not be around much anymore, but we still have Lepers in our society. Alcoholics often feel like they are being cast out. People addicted to drugs, people in prisons, the street people who have no homes, anyone who does not fit into the normal mold, risks being treated like a leper, an outcast of society. No one likes to feel "Left out".

I think of the Peanuts comic strip when Charlie Brown is told by Lucy, "I'm having a party and I'm NOT inviting you." One thing Child psychologists have been discovering with some of these teens who cause mass destruction, such as the one that almost occurred at P/W High School is that they were often bullied and made to feel - left out! No one likes to feel left out. If we are to follow the example of Jesus, we have to reach out an touch someone. Maybe not literally, but Metaphorically. Leprosy is not contagious. If you help a Leper you won't catch Leprosy. If you help someone who is hungry you won't catch their hunger. If you have lunch with a person of another race, your skin color won't change. If you talk to a person who is Gay, your sexual preference won't be affected. If you share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a
non Christian you won't lose you Christianity, unless it's so weak that it is only as skin deep as the Leprosy itself.

The Lepers were overjoyed when Jesus took the time to touch them. The Lepers of our society would also appreciate it if instead of the Christians of the world turning their backs, we would be willing reach out and touch them. No one likes to feel left out!

One of the Gifts of the Spirit that dwells among us here at St. Peter’s is the gift of hospitality. We put it in writing that we welcome lepers. Well - the wording is a little different. In our Statement of Welcome that is printed on the back of today’s Bulletin, it states:
“We welcome all people regardless of characteristics which might cause exclusion or discrimination outside of St. Peter’s.” We welcome Lepers! We welcome those who are not welcomed out there. Why? Because we follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ!

There are some people who do not like the fact that St. Peter’s is open to all people. They have told me that they are leaving because we welcome people they feel should not be welcomed in the Church. I told them we will not be changing our policy and we will not be encouraging bigotry. When I asked them where they would like to transfer their membership, they said they needed time to think. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is at work within them.

Dale Carnegie's book, "How to win friends and influence people", written back in 1936 is still a best seller after 95 printings and almost 8 million copies sold. The book doesn't deliver what it promises, but the fact that it remains on the top lists attests to the fact that people have unsatisfied appetites for friends and companionship. Making friends and keeping friends is not the easiest thing to do. When we do meet someone who we would like to have as a friend, we don't always know how to handle the relationship. Sometimes we don't want to come on too strong, so we don't even let the person know we care for them. At other times, we come on a little too strong, and smother the relationship.

Albert Camus is a poet who wrote: “Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and just be my friend.” We need people who will feel comfortable walking at our side, not ahead of us or behind us, but walking with us at our side.

The German philosopher Schopenhauer, told the story of two porcupines huddled together on a cold winter's night. The temperature dropped and the animals moved closer together. As you might have guessed, there was a problem. Each kept getting stuck by the other's quills. Finally with much shifting and shuffling and changing positions, they managed to work out an equilibrium. Friends have something in common with the huddling porcupines.

They want to achieve and maintain a kind of equilibrium; An equilibrium that can become agonizing in a close relationship. Relationships require some shifting, shuffling and changing in positions before they can become close. Unless we are willing to do some of that shifting;
unless we are willing to talk to, and touch the lepers of our society, we will never be able to follow the example that Christ set for us.

Reach out and touch someone! Leprosy is not contagious. Neither are many of the other afflictions in our world such as hunger, poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, drug addiction, cancer, physical handicaps, mental handicaps, or many of the other things that cause us to treat people as though they were "unclean".

Jesus Christ reached out and touched the Lepers. Jesus Christ reached out to touch each one of us. He reached out while he was hanging on a cross. Our sin has made us unclean. Our sin makes us untouchable to God. But Jesus Christ was willing to touch us and remove that sinfulness so we can feel free to reach out to others.

Christ touched the Lepers of his day. He continues to touch the Lepers of our day. He continues to touch each one of us. If God is willing to get his hands dirty touching the sinners of our world, are we better than God. Reach out and touch someone in the name of God. Amen