I believe that God calls us to be the best version of who we are created to be . . . which, of course, if we are to believe the scriptures, would be the image of God. As followers of Jesus, we have him as a model . . . he shows us the way. His way, again according to his words is to love the Lord with all our being and to love others as we have been loved by the Lord. The journey through life is a journey of fulfilment of becoming who God created us to be.
In the existence of humanity . . . since its beginning . . . the goal of being human is to reach one’s full potential and thrive. In 1943, psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a “hierarchy of needs” to explain the five levels every human being must progress through to come to what he called “self-actualization”. Defined, “self-actualization” is coming into the morality, creativity, spontaneity, acceptance, purpose, and meaning of who one is . . . of becoming who God created that person to be.
In Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” there are five basic needs. These are diagrammed in the shape of a triangle with the most basic need at the base and the higher needs towards the top at the apex of the triangle. At the foundation is “physiological needs” like food, shelter, and clothing—the physical necessities. Going up to the apex of the triangle “safety and security” is the next need. Third is “love and belonging”. This is defined by “friendships, family, intimacy, and a sense of connection—of belonging”. Fourth is “self-esteem” which is the “confidence that comes from others acknowledging the uniqueness of the other”. And, lastly, is “self-actualization”—the coming in and acceptance of who one has been created to be as a child of God. According to Maslow and decades of research to back it up, if any of the lower needs are not achieved then the final goal of being who one is cannot be accomplished.
Simply put . . . all of us . . . all humans . . . desired to be seen, acknowledged, accepted, and loved for who God created us to be. None of us desires to be left out.
At the Yellowstone Art Museum there is a new exhibit by Billings artist Jane Waggoner Deschner titled Remember Me. The display looks like a well-lived in room filled with all sorts of things of every day life . . . souvenirs, mementos, photographs, memories. Central to the display are the photographs—portraits of hundreds of people. The display is supposed to feel like a domestic place . . . a place where one feels comfortable like one’s own living room.
On each of the photographs the artist has stitched statements that she has taken from thousands of obituaries about people. Phrases about the deceased and who they were. Remember that obituaries are not about death but life. They document the living, preserve it so it never fully leaves.
In its totality the display is about the mementos of life. They are evidence that these people once existed, right here in the same world that we all inhabit. The goal of the exhibition is to remember . . . to acknowledge. After all, we all want to be loved, acknowledged, and ultimately remembered. That is God’s desire for creation, and we are all a part of that creation.
Which brings us to our scripture reading this morning. Jesus has begun his journey to Jerusalem with the disciples. They are on the road between Samaria and Galilee. As they are going into a village, they are approached by ten men afflicted with leprosy. From a distance they plea to Jesus to “have pity” on them. Basically, they are asking to be healed. With a simple phrase Jesus sends them on their way and they are “cleansed”. They are to present themselves to the priests to be acknowledged as being healed and it is on that walk to the priests that they are healed. Afterwards only one returns to thank Jesus—a Samaritan.
This little story has a lot of interesting nuances. As one reads or hears the story there is a supple hint of God’s grace at work. I’m not sure if the writer of the Gospel of Luke knew what he was doing, but he makes a major shift in understanding . . . especially understanding people. In verse 12 the writer writes: “As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him.”
Did you hear it?
It was the phrase “. . . ten men who had leprosy . . .” The writer did not say “ten lepers”. No, the writer said, “men who had leprosy”. With this simple phrase the writer shifts how these ten men are recognized and understood. Here the writer acknowledges that they are human beings . . . uniquely created by God as individuals. The writer does not define them by their affliction . . . they are not solely lepers. They are people who happened to have leprosy. They have names . . . families . . . stories . . . they are children of God. They are acknowledged for who they are.
Too often in life those who are not deemed acceptable, or worthy are shoved to the darkness . . . shoved out of sight. Those who are different . . . those with disabilities, the poor, the uneducated, of different races, genders, and religions. Out of sight, out of mind. And yet, they too, are children of God created in God’s own image. As much as they are shoved into the darkness, they constantly stand in the shadows longing to be seen . . . to be accepted . . . to be loved . . . to be welcomed to their place at the table of God. As we read and hear this story, we see the writer moving in this direction of seeing God’s children in the shadows.
Another supple movement we come across is the acknowledgement of the ten as “acceptable and welcomed”. The ten are sent to the priests where their healing will be confirmed . . . where they will be presented to the community as healed and whole to be welcomed back into the community. It is here that they are acknowledged and remembered. It is here that they are getting the necessary needs being met towards being who God created them to be. They have been invited out of the shadows. They have discovered “love and belonging” as declared by the priests. This builds their self-esteem. It gives them the courage to make the journey towards discovering and living who God created them to be.
But they don’t all succeed.
Only one—a Samaritan—succeeds. The other nine fail. How is this possible, you ask? Because only one recognizes the gift and the need to acknowledge the one who shared it . . . the one who made it all possible. The one, a Samaritan, has come the farthest out of the shadows. Not only was he a person afflicted with leprosy, but he was also a Samaritan. Samaritans were not well received by the Jews due to many differences of opinion over the understanding and practice of their faith. Thus, they were ostracized . . . shoved into the darkness and made to lurk in the shadow. Of the ten he is the only one who understood. Jesus acknowledges the man’s understanding and lets him know that he has gotten it right. He has reached the apex of the triangle of human need . . . of fulfilling God’s desire . . . or being who God created him to be. Jesus tells him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Whether we want to admit it or not, we all want to be seen . . . to be acknowledged . . . to be accepted as we are . . . to be loved. We all want to be remembered. All of us have had our moments when we felt as if we were hiding in the shadows. We all long for that invitation to step out of the shadows to be seen. It feels good to be acknowledged . . . to be accepted . . . and told that we are loved.
Jesus skirted the edge of the shadows inviting those others rejected to come and join in the dance of life . . . to take their place at the Lord’s table. He did it for you . . . he did it for me . . . and he especially does it for those whom the world had relegated to the darkness of the shadows. Jesus understood the power of being remembered.
God loves us. God wants us to love ourselves. And God wants us to help others to love too. Through Jesus God shows us the way that this is to be done. We are the children of God . . . plain and simple. We all have a place in the family . . . a place at the table. Let us move out of the shadows and invite others to join us. In this way, like the man who acknowledged his invitation and gave thanks to the one who invited him, we can make a difference in our lives and the lives of others. In such a way we discover our “wholeness” . . . our “holiness”. We discover who God created us to be. Amen.
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