The gospel lesson for this week brings back memories of what is quite possibly my most grievous 'left undone"; my long-lingering missed opportunity. At my field ed site I led a class for seekers. The church, God bless them, was so excited about it. Many long time people came to see who showed up. Some came to see how they could speak the language of a seeker. And only one seeker showed up. She was the product of a Catholic mother and a Zoroastrian father; to say she was a little confused is a gross understatement. Unfortunately we screwed up. She came only once and asked a simple question, one that sat heavy on her heart for a long time, one that I'm afraid still sits there, "how do I find faith?"
"Its a free gift, you don't need to find it, it is given freely," came the response from our knowledgeable group.
"Isn't that the arrogance of having it?" She replied, "I've been searching for it and it hasn't been offered to me as a free gift."
She never came back.
This story, with the tenth leper being sent off healed and whole because of his faith is hard for me. Its hard for me because faith is so easy for me; its been there for as long as I can remember. But what about those who never had it? What about those who had it, and when it didn't heal them or a person they loved, lost it? What does Jesus have to say to those people?
In our group this morning we came up with two great outlines for a sermon.
How can we know if we don't go and ask and then go and do?
AND
Jesus meets us where we are; he leads us as we ask, and he heals us as we act.
But I'm still left with the what if. For the people in the congregation who hear this lesson read and remember when something they wanted didn't happen will they hear the grace in this story or will they only know that their faith, in fact, had not made things right? Or what about the person who is having a hard time finding that free gift, will they hear, again, that they've failed to find what is so easy for so many. This is my trouble with the text. Here's where I will have to sit for a while, wondering if I need to address this, out of pastoral concerns, or can I just gloss over it as I walk with those lucky ones who have received the gift to find where the call to action is in this story.
If you have any thoughts or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!
1 comment:
This has been a struggle for me, also. And even when we have a glimmer of the answer it is not always easy to accept. I think, I believe that the very act of her seeking was a gift. Sometimes we go to the Temple and the priests because we have faith, and sometimes we find faith because we turn around to go the Temple. If faith is "the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things not seen," then it seems to me that the act of seeking is the firt step in that journey - it is the hoping for things not seen.
Somewhere in here is the fact that for so many Christians we have lost the joy of our faith. How can we be so gloomy if this really is good news?
Not many answers - just more questions....
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