Scripture: Luke 17:11-13
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”
Thought for the Day: This is one of my favorite stories in the Gospels. I love the many ways a person can interpret the response of the “ten men with skin diseases,” and Jesus’ reaction to the one who did return to give thanks. To me, it is fascinating, but today I want to focus on the word mercy. In the original Greek it is Eleeowhich is the verb version of the Greek noun for mercy. These individuals who have been marginalized and despised by society for their illness don’t want to learn about mercy or hear a lecture on the finer points of mercy. They want to see mercy demonstrated, and for them to be on the receiving end of such a gift. Have you ever been hurting, and what you received from someone else felt more like a well researched explanation of the thing for which you yearned. I wonder how often someone has come to the church looking for mercy, but they walked away with a pamphlet diagraming how God has shown mercy in Jesus Christ. If we are the body, shouldn’t we be the ones who move beyond definitions and explanations? Shouldn’t we be the ones who show the mercy they seek?
Prayer: As you have given mercy in abundance, O Lord of Life, may I see myself as a reservoir of the gift that is intended to be shared. Amen.
TODAY
Is Palm Sunday
Worship at 9 & 11
