Living in the Spirit

October 8, 2022

Scripture Reading: Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

My first thought when I read this scripture was that there is no region between Samaria and Galilee. And, yes, I agree that is a strange thing to get hung up on when reading the Bible. Not wanting to depend on my memory I pulled up a map and, indeed, much of Samaria and Galilee share a border. On the eastern boundary, however, there is an area between Samaria and Galilee which is an extension of the Decapolis that consisted of several Hellenistic cities*. Samaritans and Jews had a long history of disagreement and avoided each other as much as possible. Jesus did not avoid anyone. He wandered not only through Sumara but also through the Hellenistic cities of the Decapolis. He modeled for us that there are no borders in the Kingdom of God.

Why are borders so important to us? Social scientists call it ethnocentricity, which means we are inclined to regard one’s own race or social group as the center of culture**.  As we interact with “the other” we often discover that they may have customs that are more practical or easier than ours and they may learn from some of our practices. We only hurt ourselves by bordering off “the others” who are our neighbors.

Prayer: Lord, help us to see the worth in each person and culture we encounter. Amen.

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapolis

**https://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/ethnocentricity

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.