lepers, healing, and thinking we know what's in the hearts of others

Luke 17

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] 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.”

I’ve never had leprosy, but before I got sober, I did live in a 2 bedroom apartment with 8 people. We didn't spend a great deal of time outdoors. We didn’t bathe as often as we should have. Only some of us had work, mostly we lived off of what little we could make selling things that weren’t legal to buy. Some had part time jobs for minimum wage but never managed to hold on to the work for long.  And while we often hurt ourselves and hurt each other, at least we weren’t alone. We shared our food and our drugs and we laughed a lot. But when we left that basement apartment, the world felt overwhelming. The sun was too bright and the normal people going about their lives felt like complete aliens to us. I can only imagine what they thought of us.

I thought of that time in my life recently, when I realized that in everything I’ve ever read about the 10 lepers, in bible studies and commentaries and sermons, the 10 lepers are just stage dressing, or background props for a story about gratitude.  They never seem to be treated as actual people. 

In fact, 9 of the 10 are usually portrayed as ingrates even though we don't know that for sure. I mean we know they asked for healing and Jesus said go show yourselves to the priest and as they went on their way they were healed. But we don't know their hearts. We just know that one of them saw he was healed and went back praising God and then we use that info to make assumptions about why the other 9 didn't do the same.

We do that, we fill in the blank all the time when it comes to other people. But I’m pretty sure that what we assume about other people says more about us than it does about them. 

See, when the disciples saw 10 leave and only one return and then Jesus says “where are the other 9?”  I imagine the disciples didn't think “I bet the other 9 were praising God in the temple instead – or I bet the other 9 were preaching to other lepers and that’s why they didn't return. No, I’d bet money they thought “The other 9 didn't return because they are entitled ingrates” 

Social psychologists have a name for this by the way- they call it the Fundamental Attribution Error. 

The Fundamental attribution error is a form of bias in which we tend to attribute the bad things that happen to other people as being a result of their character or personality and the bad things that happen to us as being a result of forces beyond our control.  If my colleague gets fired it’s because everyone knows she isn’t very good at her job but if I get fired it’s because the boss is sexist. But studies have shown that we don't just do this when bad things happen but also when good things happen – meaning if I get a promotion it’s because I am a hard worker but if he gets a promotion it’s because he’s always kissing the boss’s ass. 

Theologians also have a name for this, by the way. We just call it sin.

I’ve actually started to wonder if, as a society, our drug of choice right now is knowing who we’re better than. 

Which makes the 8th commandment a bit difficult to obey fully – see, In the small catechism when Luther explains the 8th commandment You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. I always thought if I didn't lie in court about someone, I was good to go.

But Luther says it means that yes, we should not tell lies about our neighbor, betray, slander them, or hurt their reputation, but defend them, speak well of them, and (here’s the kicker) explain their actions in the kindest way possible. I’m not sure I’ve ever done that, even once.

This means that when one leper turns back and praises God, and Jesus says to the disciples where are the other 9 the correct answer is: either a) none of our business or b) doing something equally beautiful somewhere else.

But here’s the thing: when Jesus traps the disciples in a fundamental attribution error, it’s not to trap them - really it’s to free them. To free us.

Free us from the bondage of taking other people’s character inventory to know who we are better than. Free us to be healed and whole without giving a care for the thoughts of other people, systems or institutions. Without giving a care about the thoughts of Roman soldiers or bystanders or Jesus’ disciples. But also, it’s to free us from the designations others may have put on us.

So as an exercise this week, and because it is entirely against, my character to do so, I spent some time being curious about who the 10 lepers were as people and who they were as a community. 

Like, since there were 10 of them – 10 who formed their own little family, I wonder if the roman soldiers who patrolled their city considered them a gang. I wonder if there were laws against them congregating like that in public. I know for a fact that non-lepers must have feared them. Maybe not unlike the way I fear the large groups of homeless folks at 23rd and Welton. As if poverty is a contagion.

Those around them may have seen them only as their designation as lepers but I like to think that they shared meals with each other, took care of each other, even loved each other. Maybe to the non-leper community they were only their designation of “unclean” and were not permitted the dignity of being more than one thing. And maybe that was because the so-called healthy people needed to assume that lepers became lepers because of bad choices in their lives, it was their own fault. Then the so-called healthy people could avoid feeling vulnerable to illness. If I can look at people experiencing homelessness and attribute their situation to bad choices and not societal factors, then I get to be assured that it will never happen to me because I have the good character to make good choices.  See, it’s so simple! Nothing to worry about.

 But to each other, I think maybe the 10 lepers weren’t just a group of people who had such bad character that they brought on their illness, to each other, they were actual people – they were Susan who was funny and Francesca who had two daughters and Steve who was the best at changing bandages and Tyrone whose prayers were so beautiful. Maybe to the outside world they were only their disease but to each other they were so much more, they were people with their own stories and families and humor and heart and skill.

All I know is that a shared alienation can bond people like a shared privilege can never do.

So maybe it was their unity, their – we are in this together – their -we are all we have - that allowed them to cry out and be heard. I’ve read that leprosy impacts the voice. But maybe together they could be heard. Like collective bargaining.

“Jesus, Master, have mercy on us” they yelled. Us. Not me. Us. I kind of love them, the 10 lepers.

Jesus said “go show yourselves to the priest” And on their way they were made clean. Then one sees that he is healed turns back praising God. To which Jesus says

your faith has made you well.

But when Jesus said your faith has made you well, that’s different than saying your faith is the price you pay if you want to be well. The 10 lepers were healed with or without attributing it to God. They were healed with or without seeing it. They were healed with or without an expression of gratitude. 

What I am saying is that faith is optional. It really is. Just like gratitude, faith is not an obligation, it’s an invitation. It’s not the cost, it’s the gift. 

And it’s such a beautiful invitation. And such a beautiful gift. Because to trust that God is God and we are not, means we are free from the bondage of having to fill in the blank when it comes to other people. That’s some healing right there. Knowing that you are not the labels put onto you by those who want to feel good about themselves and only know how to do that in relation to others. Healing is knowing that you are God’s image bearer, but so is every asshole who wants to say you’re not so that they can feel that they are.  Healing is not having to attribute character traits to other people. My friend James says that faith is relaxing. Relaxing in the presence of God in the way we do when we are in the presence of someone we are certain is fond of us. Perhaps that is true praise of God, trusting that there is no extra credit to be had. No ranking to be jostled for. No worthiness to be earned. No one to vote off the island so that I have a place. We can all relax, and have our actions explained in the kindest way possible. Thanks be to God, Amen.  

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