Jesu Juva
St. Luke 17:11-19
October 12, 2025
Proper 23C
Dear saints of our Savior~
As Jesus entered a village, He was met by ten lepers. With just that single sentence from Saint Luke, most of us know exactly what’s coming. We know this account like the back of our hand. Even Sunday school drop-outs know at least a little about leprosy—a debilitating skin disease. And whenever Jesus encounters diseased people, there’s a fairly good chance that He will heal them. The only surprise twist in this account is when just one of the healed men returns to give thanks to Jesus. It’s all so predictable.
But what if the lepers had kept quiet? You have to admit that this entire account would be vastly different if the lepers had not voiced their collective cry for mercy. What if they were too depressed to pray? What if they figured that Jesus already knew what they needed, so why go to the trouble of spelling it out? What difference would it make? What if they didn’t think Jesus would receive their prayer or even acknowledge them? (They were unclean, quarantined outcasts, after all.) Safe to say, if the lepers had not voiced their prayer for mercy, there would have been no healing, no cleansing, no praise or thanksgiving.
This account teaches us, first of all, the importance of prayer. It’s unthinkable that those desperate lepers might have kept quiet. Yet, we do it all the time. We fail to pray. We refuse to lift up our voices to the Lord Jesus Christ and simply pray. I don’t think it’s unfair to say that we Christians often spend more time talking about prayer than we spend actually praying. Prayer is a gift. Prayer is a privilege. But prayer is also commanded. Martin Luther in his Large Catechism reminds us that God requires us to pray; He hasn’t left it to our choice. Prayer is our duty and obligation. If you are not praying daily, if you have no time scheduled or set aside to speak to God, then you are failing at one of the most fundamental duties of the Christian life.
But so that you might not fail to pray—so that you might be encouraged and drawn into a life of prayer—God gave ten lepers to lead us in this prayer: Jesus, have mercy on us.
The lepers’ prayer is something of a surprise. They don’t specifically ask to be cured of their leprosy. They don’t specifically ask for healing, but for mercy. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy. That is what you pray when you’re helpless and powerless. Lord, have mercy. It’s what we pray here in this place at every service. We may pray those words thoughtlessly or carelessly at times. But there was nothing careless about this prayer as it was shouted from the lips of lepers.
When you pray “Lord, have mercy,” you’re asking for God’s help. But like the lepers, you’re leaving the details of your deliverance in God’s hands. You’re leaving the specifics up to the Lord. You’re trusting Him for help; but you’re leaving the methods and the timing in His hands. Lord, have mercy is no puny prayer request. For whenever we pray, “Lord, have mercy,” we are aligning ourselves with lepers—helpless and wounded with sin.
Jesus will not ignore this prayer. When Jesus heard their prayer He stopped and said but one sentence to the ten: Go and show yourselves to the priests. Okay. (But on the surface that doesn’t sound like much.) Notice that there were no explicit promises from Jesus. No encouraging words, no “fear not,” no special effects. Jesus just says some words. Go and show yourselves to the priests.
In the book of Leviticus it says that you’re supposed to show yourself to the priest after you have been cleansed of leprosy. The priests would verify your healing and offer a sacrifice to mark the occasion. Jesus’ words make perfectly good sense for someone who had already been cleansed of leprosy. Only these ten men had not been cleansed of leprosy. Their skin was still festering! They were still outcasts! Nothing had changed! The only difference was that now they had the words of Jesus ringing in their ears.
And it’s just at this point that St. Luke takes us to the heart of the miracle. Luke writes: And as they went they were cleansed. Let me read it again: As they went they were cleansed.
If I had been one of those lepers, I think I would have needed to see at least some evidence of healing before I set off. “Seeing is believing,” or so they say. But not these lucky lepers. All they had were the words of Jesus—and they were good to go. And as they went they were healed.
This is a great illustration of the Christian life. We’re just like the lepers. We’re helpless and hopeless and so sick with sin that it’s killing us and cutting us off from those we love. Our situation is dire and desperate. But every so often a loving Savior passes our way (right here!); and we can’t do much except lift up our voices and pray the prayer of those desperate lepers: Kyrie Eleison. Lord, have mercy.
That loving Savior then puts His words into our ears. “Go,” He says. Go and love me above all other things. Go and serve your neighbor. Go and love your spouse; honor your parents. Go and forgive those who sin against you. Go and pray without ceasing. Go and take up your cross and follow me. And as you go, Jesus gives healing and cleansing. Along life’s way, as you place one foot before the other, Jesus promises help and healing and the forgiveness we so desperately need.
The question is, “Will you go?” Do you believe it? Will you walk with the lepers and step out in faith—even though you have no evidence of deliverance—even though your life is still festering with sin? Will you go? Will you step into the future with confidence and faith, expecting and believing that Jesus will fulfill every promise—even though right now, at this moment, things look grim?
Our Lord knows what it’s like when things look grim. His own journey led to death by crucifixion. He was sacrificed as your substitute. The One who laid down His life for you is the same One who will carry you through this life in faith—all the way to the life of the world to come.
If those lepers had decided not to go—if they had stayed stuck in their despair—if they had decided to do the safe thing and stay put—this story would have ended far differently. The promises were from Jesus. The healing was from Jesus. The miracle was from Jesus. But it was the faith of the lepers that enabled them to receive that promised healing. Your faith has made you well.
That’s the same faith God gave to you way back when you were cleansed in the splash of your baptism. That baptism is the reason you can indeed go when your God says “go.” That baptism means that you have cleansing and healing from every sin. That baptism means that Jesus’ perfect, sinless life counts for you. It means that He’s already died your death, so that the life you live today—you live for Him, and in Him.
Hear again this simple sentence about the lepers: And as they went then were cleansed. They moved forward in faith. Today, your feet have carried you forward in faith to this place. Your feet will carry you in faith to this altar. And as you go—as you walk this way—the Savior will feed you with His body and blood. And by that holy food you will be cleansed. You will be healed. You will receive forgiveness of sins, and the strength to keep going in faith.
As you come and go from this place—with the words of Jesus ringing in your ears—you are being cleansed. Oh, your life is probably messy and complicated, riddled with anxiety and weariness, but don’t miss what’s really happening. You are being cleansed by Jesus. You are being healed. You are being saved and delivered from death. This is how your God operates. He cares for you more than you can know. No detail of your life is too small or insignificant. You are holy and precious to Him—as precious as the blood of His Son and as holy as the perfect life of Jesus, our Savior.
This is why we pray, praise, and give thanks. Your faith has made you well. And this is why—every day—we join in the litany of the lepers: Lord, have mercy on us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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