Luke 17:11-19; Galatians 5:16-24; Proverbs 4:10-23
In the Name
of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“What must I
do to inherit eternal life?” That was the question a lawyer asked Jesus in last
Sunday’s Gospel. The lawyer wanted a quick fix to his problem, just like you.
He didn’t want some open-ended, ongoing regimen or discipline for the rest of
his life, but he wanted something he could do, check off his list, and then get
on with his life – just like you. Because of this, many Christians think that
once they’re baptized, that’s it, there’s nothing more to do, and they’re in
like flint. Others rationalize a “once saved, always saved” doctrine in which,
once they’ve “given their heart to Jesus,” He’ll never let you fall away. Then,
they go on their merry way, placing their trust in “eternal security” rather
than in a lifelong, ongoing relationship with Jesus.
And so, there
were ten lepers who pleaded with Jesus, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And,
Jesus had mercy on them. He told them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
And as they went they were cleansed. They each got what they wanted. They got a
quick fix and were healed. All they had to do was show themselves to the
priests. Check! Done! Fini! Then, they were off on their merry way, having nary
a thought about Jesus – save one. One leper turned back to return thanks to
Jesus. This thankful leper knew that Jesus had done something precious and
miraculous for him. He also knew that Jesus didn’t have to do it, but that it
was an act of mercy, just as he and the others had pleaded for. However, the
thankful leper did not only thank Jesus, but he fell down at Jesus’ feet and he
worshipped Him. And, to place the thankful leper in even more stark contrast to
the others, St. Luke tells us that he was not a Jew like the others, but he was,
once again, a Samaritan.
The thankful
Samaritan leper was a changed man. No longer was he a leper, and no longer was
he a foreigner. Now he had a relationship, a family, and a life as a follower
of Jesus. For, no one has an encounter with the Lord Jesus and walks away
unscathed. You either receive Him in faith to your great blessing, or you
reject Him in unbelief to your judgment and condemnation. There is no gray
area, there is no fence-straddling, and there is no lukewarm faith when it
comes to Jesus. He who is not with Him is against Him, and He who does not
gather with Him scatters.
You see, the
Christian faith and life is not a “one and done” sort of thing, but it is an
ongoing relationship with Jesus and with His body the Church. It is a walking
together in Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life. Your Holy Baptism
was not a deed, but it was a birth; you were literally born again of water and
the Spirit to a new life that will never die. Your new life must be fed and
nourished, protected and kept in and with Jesus, in His body the Church. If God
will be your Father, then the Church, the Bride of Christ, must be your Mother,
for in the Church is found the womb of the font from which you were born, the
breasts of the Word and Supper from which you feed and are nourished, and the
Holy Spirit of God working through these means, joining you together as a
family of faith in koinonia, in fellowship, with the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit and with each other.
So, where
does your “eternal security” lie? It lays in koinonia, in fellowship, with
Jesus and with His Bride, the Church. To boast in your salvation by grace,
through faith in Jesus Christ and to neglect His Church, Confession and
Absolution, His Word, and His Supper is, at the very least, to cut yourself off
from the spiritual food and life and divine protection your faith and new
spiritual life require in order to survive. And, if prolonged, your neglect of koinonia
and fellowship with Jesus and with His body the Church will lead to apathy and
disdain, not only for the Holy Things, but also for the Holy One Himself – and
then there will be no hope for you. The thankful Samaritan leper understood
this, and so he returned to the source of his healing, his life, and his
salvation, and he offered thanks and he worshipped Jesus.
Leprosy was a
disease of the flesh that made you unclean and cut you off from koinonia, from fellowship
with God and the temple, the family of faith, the Church. You and I and all
people suffer a spiritual leprosy of the flesh, sin and sinful rebellion, which
serves to cut us off from koinonia with God and with the Church. Merciful Jesus
has washed you clean in His holy, innocent shed blood. You have been born again
of water and the Spirit to a new life that cannot die. Will you live it with
Jesus, the giver and source of your new life? Or, will you go your own way, the
way of your flesh and the world that leads only to life apart from koinonia,
fellowship, with God and the Church.
It is in this
regard St. Paul exhorts you today to, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the
Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are
opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” Just
as the leprous man could not free himself from the effects of his leprous
flesh, so too you cannot free yourself from the temptations and the weakness of
your sinful and rebellious flesh. While you have been cleansed by the cleansing
blood of Jesus in Holy Baptism, your flesh cannot be cleansed but must die and
be raised anew. And, the only way that you will be able to resist the
corruption of the flesh is by remaining in the way, the truth, and the life of
Jesus in koinonia with Him and with His body the Church. St. Paul exhorts you
to beware of the sins of the flesh, “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,
divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these,” with the warning
that “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” This means
that you cannot willfully pursue such things and hope to be saved, even though
you may be baptized and receive the Sacraments every now and then. Yes, by
confessing your sins and being absolved, and by receiving the Sacraments
faithfully and regularly, Jesus blood cleanses you from all sin, however, to
willfully pursue and practice such sins of the flesh is to break koinonia with
Jesus and with His Church. It is to despise the Lord and His grace and mercy
and to go your own way, the way of sin and death apart from God.
In contrast, however,
St. Paul proclaims, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things
there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh
with its passions and desires.” You see, there’s no going back. The way of the
forgiven is the way of the Spirit. The way of the cleansed leper is the way of
Jesus, the way of humility, peace, and thanksgiving. The way of forgiveness is
not a quick fix or a “one-and-done,” “once saved, always saved,” work, but it
is a new life and a new way of living. It is a life lived in, and upon, Jesus
Christ and His gifts. It is a life that is first and foremost receiving, and
then giving thanks, and then giving to others as you have received. Now, rinse
and repeat every day, every Lord’s Day, and every Feast and Festival day for
the rest of your earthly life with your brothers and sisters in Christ, your
new family of faith enjoying koinonia, fellowship, in the Word and water, body
and blood of Jesus in His body and Bride the Church.
For, just as
you were born into a family and a community, having a father and a mother,
grandparents, and likely siblings, uncles and aunts and cousins, etc., so were
you born again into a family, a community, a body, and a koinonia, a
fellowship. You are not an island, and you are not alone, but you are a member
of the body of Christ, the Church, and you draw your life in Her from Christ
through Word and Sacrament. Your life is His life lived in and through you.
Apart from Him you cannot live. But, with Christ, in Christ, and through Christ
you are alive with a life that cannot die. Come, eat and be strengthened. Come,
drink and be forgiven. Come, with your brothers and sisters in holy koinonia
with Jesus and be His holy, spotless, sinless, and beloved Bride. Receive and
believe, give thanks, and live – not as you once lived, but live in Christ, in
humility and service to your neighbor, bearing the fruits of His life in your
life to the glory of God.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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