Luke 17:11-19
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Faith can turn up in the most surprising of places. Here Jesus discovers faith in a Gentile, someone outside of God’s People and until this moment outside of society too, living on the edge, unacceptable, feared and avoided, and yet he was the one who recognised what Jesus had done for him and came back to say thank you. I find this a reminder to be open to those outside of the church showing signs of faith, although it may well be dressed up or expressed in the language and manner I’m used to. In fact, I find this an encouragement to go looking for signs of faith where I wouldn’t expect to find it, so that I can both draw those who express it closer to knowing Jesus more fully and enjoying his family, and so that I might learn from those who are coming at faith from a completely different place than me – they might appreciate aspects of God that I might be blind to.
Spirit, as I go about my daily life today, help me to be open to see your work in the people around me.
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