I was stunned at the homily one weekend a few years ago going over Luke 17: 11-19, the story about the ten lepers and the one who came back to thank Jesus for cleansing them.
The priest (whose cell phone inevitably goes off during any homily he gives) used the story to bring in a spin on abortion. He called us a diseased society, repeating over and over again the word “disease” and using the story to try to connect the killing of innocence to the lepers in the story.
He said that we, like the lepers, can only cry out: “Have mercy on us.”
The Catholic version of the story uses the word “pity” instead of mercy, and also changed the last line from “thy faith made thee whole” to “your faith has saved you.”
Words mean things, and changing them changes the meaning of the word AND the story.
One of the reasons I prefer King James version is because the translation is closer to what the words really were. If you are going to interpret things, you should try to get as close to the original as possible, don’t you agree?
Manipulation of language like this, and bending the story to meet some inner need to make us all feel like crap, is one of the reasons people leave the Church. If you’re going to address the root cause of abortion, address it; don’t dance around it by trying to connect Jesus curing lepers.
I keep going back to Church to verify my observations, but I’m inclined increasingly to stop wasting my time (though it gives me a lot to write about!). Besides, I’m in a new parish these days which focuses on positive stories about having faith (but still doesn’t do deep dives into situations that cry out for guidance).
Are We All Lepers?
Leprosy is a serious disease, but it has nothing to do with committing abortion. Committing abortion is a conscious decision to commit murder. Getting leprosy, well, it happens. And while you can say killing a baby happens, the root cause of leprosy is very different than the root cause of killing a baby.
This story is actually a continuation of the prior week’s passage from Luke 17, which was where the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. Besides the story he told in those passages, the leper story is simply a continuation of the disciples’ training exercises.
Let’s examine it to figure out what the message really is, shall we? As always, the King James version is at the end of this essay for your reference.
Verses 11-12 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off.
Analysis. The first and second sentence set the stage for the story. Jesus, going to Jerusalem, passes through a couple of places. Samaria according to sources was the name used for the central region of Israel bordered by Galilee to the north and Judaea to the south. Galilee was part of the geography of the time.
Jesus entered a “certain” village and met ten men who were also lepers. The word “certain” is used throughout Luke and the other writers without being specific. It gives it a certain “universal” feel that it could be any village, anywhere. We assume because of the prior narrative that the apostles are with Him. The story continues.
Verse 13: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
Analysis. Asking Jesus for mercy goes on extensively in the New Testament. Mercy is “compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.” In other words, the relationship is between master and servant: the master, with the power to punish or harm, and the servant, who is on the receiving end. When you get pulled over for a traffic violation, you can ask the officer to “have mercy” because he has the power to give you the ticket. Likewise, if your child misbehaves, they can ask you for mercy. Mercy has always been an interesting word.
Being a leper, asking Jesus for mercy as these ten men all asked is because they believe, perhaps, he has that power. They do address Him as “Master.”
And, if we look at the definition of mercy carefully, we see that mercy is sought from the person who has the power to cause punishment or harm. Is Luke suggesting Jesus is responsible for the condition of the lepers? Or, is the suggestion that Jesus, as Jesus, has the power to have compassion or forgiveness for being a leper? Can you forgive someone for being a leper? You certainly can have compassion.
The number ten (10) is used a lot in the Bible[1]. Like all writers, Luke uses language carefully, even though as we have seen usage is sometimes confusing (i.e., with double negatives, etc.).
Verse 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
Analysis. Why does he tell them to show themselves to the priests? It’s interesting because as they leave to do so, “they were cleansed.” Cleansing is an interesting concept, too. It’s used hundreds of times in the Bible, with cleaning of beasts, men, etc. LEVITICUS is full of rules about what is and is not clean. Psalm 52: 2 “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” is as good as any quote you might think of.
Showing the priests what He could do might be what Jesus is aiming at. In Matthew 23:25-26, for example, we read: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.”
Cleaning your “inside” is more important than cleaning your “outside,” but “outside” is what people see, and lepers were really avoided and despised as “unclean.”
So, Jesus shows them mercy by “cleansing” them. But clearly, they never showed themselves to the priests. “As they went” implies that as they were going there as instructed. Did they arrive?
It’s not important to Luke’s story to know if they did or didn’t. What’s important is that Jesus showed them “mercy” by cleansing them. Cleansing is the merciful act. Remember: He was sending them to the priests as lepers! If they were to have arrived as lepers, what would the priests have done? The ten were all too happy to go to the priests as commanded by Jesus!
Verse 15-16. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
Analysis. So here is the key to this passage: that only one of the ten glorified God in a loud voice. He falls down on his face at Jesus’ feet and gave him thanks. He was a Samaritan. Now why this is important and the key?
First, the story says that one of them did this; does that mean the others didn’t? Or was this one so grateful – and being a Samaritan, a non-believer – really so grateful he has to show his expression of thanks more than the others?
We can’t say. We only know that one in ten does express thankfulness – not a great percentage. So how does Jesus react?
Verse 17-19. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
Analysis. Don’t forget: he is teaching his disciples what they are in for. He “cures” all ten, but only one gives Him thanks. Jesus is not the business of needing thanks.
He showed in this story an important lesson to his disciples: to do good, period. Jesus calls the one who returned “this stranger.” That may mean the other nine are not strangers, and it probably does mean that. Jesus, furthermore, tells “the stranger” to go because “thy faith” made you whole. Don’t forget the prior story was all about the mustard size faith you need to move a tree. Jesus, who is Faith, can cleanse ten lepers.
Do you have faith? What is faith? If you have leprosy or thinking about killing a baby, will your faith step in? I’m reminded for Father Zosima from Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, and I’m paraphrasing: “All we can do is throw ourselves on the ground and ask for forgiveness.” Maybe that’s what the priest was trying to say after all. But maybe not. Maybe the “disease” of abortion is really not understanding what faith is, or having it, which is very different than getting leprosy or a COVID.
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KING JAMES VERSION
LUKE 17: 11-19
11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
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[1] Besides the ten commandments themselves or Joseph having ten brothers, there are the following that I call to your attention: Genesis {8:5} And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth [month,] on the first [day] of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. {16:3} And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy [it] for ten’s sake. Exodus{26:1} Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle [with] ten curtains [of] fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: [with] cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. Job {19:1} Then Job answered and said, {19:2} How long will ye vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? {19:3} These ten times have ye reproached me: ye are not ashamed [that] ye make yourselves strange to me.