November 15, 2017
Wisdom 6:1-11; Luke 17:11-19
Scripture never says, look out for number one.
Scripture never says, crush the weak.
Scripture never says, ignore the cries of the poor.
There’s a pattern here, in the Old and the New Testament,
embodied and fulfilled in the life of Jesus,
who didn’t come down from the cross,
though he could have,
who didn’t reign down fire on the people,
though he could have,
but who humbled himself, who emptied himself,
as we should, too.
Scripture is unambiguous about the responsibility of our rulers:
“For those in power scrutiny impends.”
Scripture is unambiguous about our responsibility, too:
to fall at the feet of Jesus and to thank him,
like the leper Jesus heals and is always healing.
We are the leper,
not strong, not powerful.
We are the leper,
who was also a Samaritan, not a Jew,
despised and rejected as alien, as other.
We are nothing,
and only when we admit that are we free.
Only then is joy possible.
Prayer isn’t something we do,
Ruth Burrows says,
it’s something God does in us.
All we can do is throw ourselves down
at the feet of Jesus,
and beg him, and call on him,
and thank him.
Prayer isn’t something we do,
it’s something God does,
and he is doing it now, in us, here,
and in the Eucharist, in his very body,
not Lorded over us,
not imposed on us or forced on us,
not used to crush and exploit us,
but blessed, and broken, and given,
again and again and again.