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More than a Thank-You!
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Step Ten |
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
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Sermon/Reflection |
Jesus and his disciples are walking though a town, actually, they are walking along the border. Have you ever done that- Gone just to the edge of a place you're not supposed to be, and then just walk along the line, kind of staring over the line, kind of trying not to stare over the line... ya know what i mean?
This is Step 10 after all. We've moved into maintenance mode. We've made lists, made inventories and made amends; but now we need to learn to live in this new reality called sobriety. And right over the line we so carefully navigate, there are people - keeping their distance- but calling out. We remember what it was like to be among them. We remember the days we were the ones keeping our distance; we remember the pain, the shame, the hiding, the exclusion. It's heart wrenching to look at them, but scary too- because one step over the line and we could be right back among them, That's us of course. Jesus never pays attention to borders- he never stays in the lines. So when the ones in the margins cry out, "Have mercy on us!" Jesus sees, Jesus feels, Jesus heals. Ten were made well that day- ten were given a new start- ten an opportunity to see themselves differently. That's really what happens isn't it? When we come to believe that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity ("Jesus! Master!") , and we turn our will and lives over to that higher power (Jesus said "Go"... and they went), we are seen, and felt and healed. It's not that the addiction goes away- the disease never really leaves us- but the way in which we see ourselves, changes. 'Healing,' means we step out of the pain, the shame, the hiding- we don't have to be excluded anymore, because we understand our value- 'Someone or something greater than me cares enough to step over the line and love even me.' |
All ten were given the same opportunity- the same gift- and all of them were released to do with the gift what they wanted. For nine of them, being obedient to their liberator was sufficient- and that's fine. For some of us, it takes a while to recognize what just happened in our encounter with Christ. It takes us more than a minute to realize the implications of a face-to-face with the Almighty and the effect that might have on our lives.
But for one, there was a deeper understanding. As the one walked the road to the temple with the others, the one caught a glimpse of the way God saw them- whole- clean- new. And for the one... the world stops turning.
"C-c-could it be?" the one stutters... "that I am not who I thought I was- that I am not who I've been told I am- or convinced myself of- or resigned myself to- that... i am... ?' And the one blinks... and light fills one's soul, and the sun warms one's skin, and the sounds and smells of the earth fill one's ears and nostrils and the world tilts slightly on its axis, and begins to spin again. And the one runs back and falls flat at the feet of Jesus. "Thank you... thank you..."
"And he was a Samaritan," the text tells us.
A Samaritan?
*A quick aside about Samaritans- The Samaritans were a racially mixed society which came out of Judaism. Although they worshiped God as did the Jews, their religion was not mainstream Judaism. They were marginalized and ostracized by the Jews because they worshiped differently, and for intermarrying with Pagans.
So, the one is different after all. Aside from the present illness, which cause shame and self loathing, the one had an inherited self image- taught and held by the people of the one- that they were less than, second class, lowbrows. There was no sense of entitlement- no privilege, no internalized racial superiority. Samaritans knew their place as far as Jews went.
However, not being part of the rabbinical Jewish belief system, the one didn't believe God's presence was limited to the temple. The one had seen God in the face of the other- even in the pagan. The one knows that God is bigger than any box we can put God in.
One runs back to the healer, yes to say, 'thank-you' but also to rededicate, realign, and reorient everything one does- to view life and live life and give life with gratitude- with self awareness- with God awareness- with awareness of the other.
This is Step Ten! In "Step Ten... we continue to take personal inventory (self awareness) and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along..... We have entered the world of the Spirit. (God awareness) This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. (Awareness of the other) Love and tolerance of others is our code."
-A.A. Big Book, p. 84-
But it's only possible through gratitude- being truly thankful to the God who was compassionate enough to look across the line, to cross the border when we were screaming for mercy- and give us the opportunity for a brand new start.
Now there is one more verse in this text that we should look at. While the one is laying prostrate at the feet of the Almighty, Jesus says, "Where is everyone else I made clean?" And he tells the one, "Your faith has made you well, be on your way."
I appreciate this last line so much. Because if you notice, Jesus did't take anything away from the other nine who had been made clean. They still had everything that was given to the one. Equity. Fairness. Jesus equips all of us with everything we need to live into everything God has designed for us to be. The opportunity would remain with the nine, on the road, in front of the priests, in the temple, on their way back to community and for the rest of their lives.
The difference in the one who decided to live in gratitude, was that although the nine were made clean- the one was made well. And this goes back to what we believe about how God sees us. We can receive healing- we can see ourselves as acceptable- well, now that this big stain is gone in my life- and we can follow what Jesus tells us to do- and yes, Jesus loves us, and God accepts us- God always accepts us. And when we know we are clean, we can rest that we are "in."
But to be 'well' means that you become an active participant in God's Realm- because you're past the fear of following the rules, past the worry of whether or not God can use you, living life, as Jesus says "more abundantly." -John 10:10 Not just existing, but enjoying, and embracing, and enriching the world around you. That's being made well. That's living well.
And the beautiful part is that this cycle happens again and again!
-A.A. Big Book, p. 84-
But it's only possible through gratitude- being truly thankful to the God who was compassionate enough to look across the line, to cross the border when we were screaming for mercy- and give us the opportunity for a brand new start.
Now there is one more verse in this text that we should look at. While the one is laying prostrate at the feet of the Almighty, Jesus says, "Where is everyone else I made clean?" And he tells the one, "Your faith has made you well, be on your way."
I appreciate this last line so much. Because if you notice, Jesus did't take anything away from the other nine who had been made clean. They still had everything that was given to the one. Equity. Fairness. Jesus equips all of us with everything we need to live into everything God has designed for us to be. The opportunity would remain with the nine, on the road, in front of the priests, in the temple, on their way back to community and for the rest of their lives.
The difference in the one who decided to live in gratitude, was that although the nine were made clean- the one was made well. And this goes back to what we believe about how God sees us. We can receive healing- we can see ourselves as acceptable- well, now that this big stain is gone in my life- and we can follow what Jesus tells us to do- and yes, Jesus loves us, and God accepts us- God always accepts us. And when we know we are clean, we can rest that we are "in."
But to be 'well' means that you become an active participant in God's Realm- because you're past the fear of following the rules, past the worry of whether or not God can use you, living life, as Jesus says "more abundantly." -John 10:10 Not just existing, but enjoying, and embracing, and enriching the world around you. That's being made well. That's living well.
And the beautiful part is that this cycle happens again and again!
