21 Pentecost, Cp23, October 9, 2016
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 Ps.66:1-11
2 Tim. 2:8-15 Luke 17:11-19
The writer of the Gospel of Luke also wrote a companion book, the Acts of the Apostles. Luke was an educated man and he was a physician. In the Acts of the Apostles, it is recorded the spread of the Gospel mission into Samaria, so we can assume that there were early Samaritan churches. Luke as a Gospel writer was one who recorded the message presentation of the early churches to their members. Luke was one who believed that in Christ, there was no Jew and no Samaritan. And that was quite a contrary view in first century Palestine.
The Samaritan religion was a rival faith community to the Jews. They had their own Torah based religion. They believed that Mount Gerizim was the holy place and not Jerusalem. They traced their history to the time of Joshua, Eli the priest and to several of the northern tribes of Israel. Since they had inter-married with the Assyrians they were not regarded to be pure in their heritage by the Jews. They had compromised with the Greeks conquerors to survive and the Jewish military leader John Hyrcanus had destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim in 125 BCE. There was no love lost between the Jews and the Samaritans. They were enemies with a history even though they shared common roots in the Mosaic tradition. In 2015, Wikipedia reports that there were still 777 members of the Samaritan community living today.
The Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, the Samaritans, the community of John the Baptist and the followers of Jesus of Nazareth had all received the Abrahamic, Mosaic and prophetic traditions. But each of these communities were doing something different with the Abrahamic, Mosaic and prophetic traditions. The Zealots wanted a revolt against the Romans. The Sadducees wanted to retain the safety of the Temple for the continued offering of the animal sacrifices. The Pharisees wanted to retain the synagogue traditions which had developed in the Exile with their expanded acceptance of the other writings of the Hebrew Scriptures. The community of John the Baptist promoted more of an individual experience of Judaism rather than the automatic group identity of simply being born a Jew. One had to authenticate one's religion by repentance. After the Roman armies crushed Jerusalem and the surrounding areas in the year 70, all of the groups which inherited the Abrahamic, Mosaic and prophetic traditions had to scramble to maintain their very existence. The early churches were followers of Jesus who preached Christ-centered Judaism but adapted it to the acceptance in people who were not members of the synagogues. Converts to the message of Christ included Samaritans, who were enemies to Judaism and also Gentiles who lived impure lives bereft of the benefit of the ritual purity life style code of Judaism.
Luke as a physician was interested in health. But New Testament health is not just about physical health. Luke as a writer brought to the narrative about Jesus the addition of the reality of the Christian churches in the last quarter of the first century. What is the reality? The reality is that Christ-centered Judaism had moved beyond the synagogue and the ritual purity practices of Judaism. The Christian movement was making an appeal to Samaritans, Pharisees, Sadducees, followers of John the Baptist, Zealots and to Gentiles. Paul and Peter and other early Christian leaders had to make a decision in the last half of the first century. They believed that something new had happened which brought about the possibility for people of diverse backgrounds to become members of a new community of faith. What happens when diversity is embraced? The groups which cannot tolerate the diversity have to reject the new diversity and inclusive movement.
This Gospel story today is a mirror of what was happening within the early churches. The Samaritan, a hated enemy of the Jews is presented as the one who offers thanksgiving to Jesus for his restoration to health. The other 9 Jews are presented as those who did not offer thanksgiving.
Jesus is shown to approach lepers in contradiction of the quarantine required by the ritual purity codes of Judaism. Jesus was shown to be one who could show lepers to be whole and healthy. Jesus is seen as the one who welcomes the outsider and the quarantined.
What happened in the early churches? The churches included former enemies of Judaism, the Samaritans and the Gentiles who gave thanks for the salvation, the health of the soul offered by Jesus.
What was the message of St. Paul? How was one saved? In the view of St. Paul, one was not saved by adherence to the Judaic law or the purity code; one was saved by having faith in God's grace.
How did the message of Paul sound as it was presented by Luke through the words of Jesus? Jesus said to the thankful Samaritan: "Your faith has made you well." Faith is the evidence of one's salvation.
You and I are the inheritors of this inclusive tradition of Jesus Christ. It was the presentation of the Risen Christ as including anyone who wanted the salvation of Jesus Christ known through the presence of the Holy Spirit. We know that in the history of Christianity, many Christian groups have made Christ very exclusive to their own practices. But let us be reminded today by the thanksgiving and faith of the Samaritan: It is the inclusive invitation to saving faith which is the genius of the message of Jesus Christ. Let us be those who offer this saving faith to all. Amen.
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