"Health and Wholeness" - Luke 17:11-19- October 11, 1998

Victor Frankl, an eminent psychologist, died recently at the age of 9l. He was a prisoner in a concentration camp in World War II. During those dark days of his life, Frankl suffered from hunger, cold, brutality and the eminent possibility of being exterminated. His entire family perished in the camps, most of them in gas ovens. Frankl had no reason to live. He was stripped of his health, his livelihood, his humanness.

After his liberation from the death camp, Frankl was walking in the area of the camp. "One day, a few days after the liberation, I walked through the country, past flowering meadows, for miles and miles, toward the market town near the camp. Larks rose to the sky and I could hear their joyous song. There was no one to be seen for miles around; there was nothing but the wide earth and sky and the lark’s jubilation and the freedom of space. I stopped, looked around and up to the sky - and then I went down on my knees. At that moment there was very little I knew of myself or of the world - I had but one sentence in mind - always the same: ‘I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and he answered me in the freedom of space.’ How long I knelt there and repeated this sentence, memory can no longer recall. But I know that on that day, in that hour, my new life started. Step by step I progressed until I again became a human being."(Man’s Search for Meaning, New York; Simon and Schuster, l984)

"Frankl was released from the most leprous episode in history. And all he could do was kneel before his creator in a posture of overwhelming gratitude. From that point of thanksgiving he marked his renewal as a human being." (Homiletics, Sep/Oct l998)

Like the one leper in our story, "who fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, and gave thanks", Frankl knew that his wellness and wholeness was only possible through the grace of God. The lone leper, unlike his nine other constituents, was grateful for the newness in his life. When Jesus said to the lone leper, "your faith has made you well," he was equating faith with gratitude, and that God is the true source of all healing.

At a local hospital there is a plaque on the 2nd floor. It is on the wall adjacent to the elevator. A man by the name of Andrew Peoplemann gives thanks to all the staff during his stay in the hospital. He attributed his restored health to the kindness and compassion of the nurses and others who nursed him back to health.

Unfortunately, not all are like Andrew Peoplemann. Many are like the other nine lepers, who, after being healed were more concerned with their reinstatement in society than giving thanks to God for their new health. Being part of the clan was far more important than demonstrating faith. Being back as insiders was at the top of their list. No longer would they have to shout from a distance and live in an area which was outside of the community.

This story is not just about being healed. It is about wholeness. We can be healthy but not whole. We can be in great physical condition but still lack a sense of completeness and inner peace. One appraoches wholeness first from a sense of gratitude. But wholeness becomes a reality after our willingness to surrender.

The lone leper did not follow the pack. He stood alone. He did what no one else did, returned to Jesus and gave thanks. Once again, Jesus illustrates faith through a man who broke ranks with the norm. Imagine the comments people made when Victor Frankl gave thanks to God for his liberation rather than be filled with bitterness and resentment. Imagine those who talked behind his back, wondering how he could thank a God who allowed millions to perish. Imagine him walking, just a few yards away from where his family perished, seeing the buildings and fences that negated his personal dignity and freedom, only to pause and give thanks to the One who created him.

A few weeks ago I glanced at my back in a mirror after a shower. For the first time I saw the scar that is there from surgery I had about two years ago. I was diagnosed with skin cancer and they had to remove a piece of me to rid my body of any stray cancer cells. I was fortunate since there are no longer any signs of cancer. I am thankful for the doctors and others who helped me through that process. But, it has caused me to ask myself, just how gracious am I? Am I able to surrender to the fact that God was the source of my healing? Have I reached a state of wholeness like the lone leper or Victor Frankl so that Jesus could say to me, "Your faith has made you well?"

What happens when we are not healed? Does that mean we have no faith? This is a question we ask when we continue to be plagued by an illness or suffer from some debilitating health problem. Our story indicates that the ten lepers were healed. Whether or not it was permanent is not known. What is known that the one leper became whole after he acknowledged the source of his healing, (God), and surrendered.

Unless we find ourselves at a distance from society, like a member of a leper colony, or as one with Aids in today’s society, I’m not sure we can appreciate the true scope of this story. Not only was the lone leper an outsider to his own people because of his disease, he was an outsider to the people of faith because he was also a Samaritan. What gave him wholeness was the unconditional acceptance by God. "Even though this man is both a leper and a Samaritan, a double social outcast, his faith in Jesus brings about complete fulfillment of his quest and request for healing, wellness and salvation." (Homiletics, Sep/Oct 1998)

The lone leper in our story was healed and for that he was grateful. But what really mattered to him was being made whole. People who are "different" than us frequently suffer from discrimination, even oppression. Their physical disabilities and limitations keep them from the mainstream. The other nine lepers couldn't wait to get back in society, to put an end to alienation, verbal abuse and the feeling of being outsiders. I believe that their healing was something they believed they deserved. Why else would they not show their gratitude to God for their restored health?

The lone leper received something far greater than good health that day. He received wholeness. It didn't matter what others thought. It didn't matter that he was different. He knew that he was loved by God. Genuine faithfulness transcends all distinctions of gender, race or nationality. It makes no difference whether we are outside the gate or inside. Affiliations, place of origin, religion, or genealogy are no guarantee for faith. I believe that most of us are willing to give God thanks for the healing that takes place in our lives. When it comes to surrendering ourselves, however that demands a greater commitment. True wholeness encompasses our lives when we can reach an inner peace about who is ultimately responsible and surrendering completely to the Creator who in turn makes us whole.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio