Sermon, Proper 23C, Luke 17:11-19

Where are we? If you've been following the Gospel readings, where are we? Or, to ask it another way: where are we going? In case you've forgotten, Luke reminds us at the beginning of this gospel passage: "On the way to Jerusalem . . ."

Long journeys can be trying at times. Sometimes we lose our enthusiasm for the trip. We might want to give up and turn around, not realizing how far we've come. Other times we totally forget where we are going and we ask ourselves, or others, "Why am I doing this?" But I think most times we simply drift.

Like a ship without a navigator or without a rudder, we lose sight of our destination or we get blown off course. Things begin to look the same. The journey becomes a grind. Other things catch our attention. And before we know it, we've somehow drifted off course, stranded somewhere that we never intended.

"If I could do it all over again . . ."

That's drift.

Sometimes we can drift so far off course that we find ourselves not just in a place we didn't expect, but totally lost. Have you ever been totally lost? I don't mean lost like I-forgot-the-map-and-don't-remember-what-street-to-turn-on lost, or honey-pull-over-and-ask-for-directions lost; but lost like there's-nobody-around-and-everything-looks-the-same-sick-to-your-stomach lost.

I've been there a couple of times. It's not fun. And you hope and pray that someone will find you or that you'll find a way out of your predicament. Now granted, it was only for a short time and I didn't have to saw my arm off with a Swiss Army knife or eat ants; but that sick feeling was still there.

These are the lepers today. Their circumstances have set them adrift. Pushed to the edges, lost to society, nobody looking for them, trying to be seen by others. These ten lost people see their chance in Jesus. "Master, have mercy on us!"

Jesus does something interesting here. He doesn't touch them. He doesn't ask them if they want to be healed. He simply tells them to go show themselves to the priests. He met them where they were. He didn't put any conditions on them. He treated them like normal and he allowed them to return to normal lives. He saved them from drifting and put them back on course.

That's what we really want when we are lost, isn't it? To be saved from drifting. To be put back on course. To be set straight so we can continue with our lives as planned. Sometimes being saved means we get on with our life. Sometimes being saved is a life-changing experience. We see both here.

Ten people had drifted away from normal life. Ten people cried out to Jesus for help. Ten people who had been lost were found. Ten people were set straight. Nine people returned to normal and got on with their lives.

Maybe they returned to their families. Maybe they got jobs. Regardless of their post-healing status, they were set straight and could continue on their journey. They are a lot like us. We go sailing through our lives, maybe with a plan, maybe not, and getting so caught up in our daily living that we fail to see when we're off course. Eventually we notice the problem and cry out for help. We get set straight and then we happily go on our way again.

Ten people were healed. Nine went on their way. One came back to joyfully praise God. And the one who came back wasn't part of the regular crowd; he was an outsider, a foreigner.

We are on a journey. We are on a journey of faith. We are on a journey of physicality. In our faith journey, my goal is to strengthen you, challenge you, and get you to a place you've never been. In our physical journey, my goal is the same; to strengthen, challenge and move this congregation to a place we've never been. That includes increasing our membership, improving our financial well-being, and getting our two assisted congregations to stand alone as unassisted congregations.

An ambitious undertaking to be sure, and a long journey. We won't get there tomorrow. But I believe we will eventually get there. And as we make that journey, there's no doubt in my mind that we will drift at times. We may get distracted by current events or storms that threaten to end our journey. Hopefully we can recognize when that happens. And when it does, I pray that we have the courage to cry out for help.

But here's the bigger prayer: that when we are straightened out, that when we are lost and then found, that when we get back to normal, that when we are saved, we do more than simply get on with our lives. I pray we will joyfully thank God for bringing us back and I pray that that joy is visible to everyone around us.

We are all on a journey. We all drift form time to time. We've all been saved. Are you here because it's just a normal part of your life? Or can you be like the Samaritan and joyfully give thanks to God for saving you? And if it's the latter, how does that joy manifest itself in you?

Yes, we are on a long journey, just like everyone else. Let's just not be normal about it.