Date: September 17, 2023 

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

Sermon Title: “Rise and Go!” Sermon Series on Loneliness #2 “Illness and Loneliness” 

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Bob Jon

You can also listen on Podcast from iTunes and Spotify. Search for “Podcasting from Rev. Bob Jon.”

When I was young, I grew up in the countryside. Our church was surrounded by rice fields and vegetable gardens. Growing up as a kid, we did not have any sports leagues at the school. So, our church parking lot became the center of entertainment for many kids in the town. When I was in elementary school, I brought my classmates and played baseball. Oh, I cannot count how many windows of the church we broke. I remember throwing a ball in the wrong direction, and the ball went right through the new window that the trustee just installed the week before. It was in the middle of worship. Two or three men came out trying to catch the culprit. And I shouted, “Run!” 

It was a small countryside church. But our youth group was vibrant with over forty children. These young people gathered to worship every Saturday evening. We often shared a meal together at the church. Sometimes, we would hear a rumor someone was dating someone. But there was a young boy, a year younger than me, who lived right next to the church but always seemed at a distance. He was always alone, playing by himself. One day, I saw him going into the woods with an air rifle, trying to shoot some quails. It was rather unusual that a teenager would be allowed an air rifle. I asked my parents about the boy. And they said, “He has leukemia.” He often missed the school and had no one to hang out with. 

I wonder if you experienced loneliness when you were ill. We might think that when someone is ill, they are automatically surrounded by people who care about them. But no, when people are sick, it is strange that they often feel more lonely than ever. The Fault in Our Stars is a novel that tells a story about Hazel Grace, a 16-year-old girl with thyroid cancer that has spread to her lungs. She is not alone, as she is cared for by her parents and doctors, and often sits at the coffee shop. But she is alone as she feels that no one knows what she is going through. Her life is all about doctor’s appointments, 8 prescription drugs three times per day, reality shows. The worst? To go to a support group. 

I had a Bible study this past Thursday. And some women expressed their loneliness when they had their babies. Of course, our children are a blessing. We are supposed to rejoice in the blessing and new addition to our family. But women often feel left alone as their husbands go to work, and they stay home to nurse and stay with their children. They cry, asking for milk, asking to change diapers, or sometimes they are sick. Struggling with lack of sleep, leading to chronic fatigue, many mothers feel alone, often wrestling with postpartum depression. Their body is still recovering from giving a birth. They feel sad, anxious, and tired. And worst of all, they often feel lonely, feeling abandoned. 

The Gospel of Luke tells us that there was a group of people who felt deeply lonely. These people had leprosy, a skin disease. A month ago, there was some concern about a growing number of patients with leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, in Florida. I wonder if some of you thought, “Leprosy? In the 21^stcentury?” Thankfully, the health organization tells us that it is not something to worry, as it is more like endemic, confined to a certain region. Biblical scholars tell us that the leprosy in the biblical time is not the same as leprosy today. The leprosy mentioned in the Bible often occurred in fabrics and houses, displaying green or red spots. People with leprosy suffered a wide variety of skin disease. 

Once people were found to have leprosy, they were considered not only physically sick but also ritually unclean. Anyone who came in contact with them were also considered unclean. According to Leviticus, God gave a certain instruction regarding leprosy. The fabrics infected with leprosy should be burned. Building materials should be discarded outside the habitation. Anyone who entered a leprous house had to bathe. But a person with leprosy was driven out of their houses and their community. They were excluded so that they would not spread their sickness to others. But they were also cast out because leprosy was considered as a punishment for their sin against God. 

Imagine not just the physical pain but also the pain of being separated from their family, friends, and neighbors. As you know, my family had Covid this past January. Daniel came home from school, and he had a fever, complaining pain. So, I brought him to the clinic to be seen by a doctor, being suspicious that he had covid. We were both wearing our masks. And he would lean toward me and say, “Daddy, please hug me. I am not feeling well.” So, what should I do? Should I say, “Daniel, you might have the virus. Stay away from me!” Without thinking twice, I held him in my arms, trying to comfort him, saying, “It is going to be ok, Daniel.” And a couple of days later, I was diagnosed with COVID-19. 

But for these lepers, they had no choice but to walk out of their town and live with other lepers. Since they could not work, they had to rely on the mercy of others. So, they often sat on the side of the road begging for help at a distance. As Leviticus describes, they had to wear torn clothes and shave all the hair on their head. They had to cover their upper lip and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” Just like the covid virus did not care whether we were white or black, rich or poor, men or women, leprosy spread among people regardless of who they were. In 2 Chronicles, King Uzziah became king of Judah when he was only 16 years old.  He was later struck with leprosy and lived in a separate house until he died. 

These past three years, many of us have learned what it is like to be stuck in our room, not being able to interact with others, except when we are on Zoom. If we felt lonely, that is what people with chronic illnesses often experience in their daily lives. Alone, no one able to understand what you are going through. Or patients could be the ones who build a wall around them because they feel vulnerable to some harsh words of blaming them for the cause of their illness and misery. Richard Friedman, a medical doctor, recounts a story of meeting a patient, a man in his early 30s, who suffered from depression since he was young. He was weeping at Friedman’s office because his therapist accused him that he was the one who did not want to get better, making him feel like he was worthless.^[1]

What were these lepers wrestling with everyday in their lives? Were they missing their families? Their children? Were they concerned about their aging parents wondering if they would be able to see them before they die? Were they worried if they could not pay for the mortgage, the banks would come after their family and sell them into slavery? Worst of all, just like the three friends of Job who accused him that he must have done something wrong in the sight of God to cause all his misery, were they also cursing and blaming themselves saying that it was God who was punishing them? What hope did they have? And the only hope they could turn to was Jesus who was passing by their village. 

So, they came to the public, probably shouting, “Unclean! Unclean!” They were yelling at others so others could stay away from them. And they called out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” As Jesus heard their plea, he was moved in his heart. And he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” Jesus said these words because the lepers were supposed to show their bodies to the priests to make sure that they were clean and safe to go back to their community. Upon hearing these words of Jesus, these lepers show incredible faith by walking toward their hometown. 

As they were walking, they realized that they were clean. What did they do? The Bible does not specify, but I imagine that their walking turned to running. Running to their children, their spouse, their parents, and their friends. But one of these ten lepers turned around. And he went back to see Jesus, praising God with a loud voice. And he prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. Jesus said, “Hey, weren’t there ten of you guys and everyone was made clean? Where are the other nine?” Jesus looked at him and he was a Samaritan, the mixed blood between Jewish and Gentiles. People who had a different place for worship. People who were considered to be outside the salvation. 

Someone who was already cast out and downtrodden even before his illness. But this foreigner is the one who turned around to come back and gave thanks to God. Jesus said, “Rise and go! Your faith has made you well.” Jesus does not condemn the other nine who did not return and cancel their healing. “You ungrateful jerk. You certainly do not deserve to be healed from leprosy.” Jesus did not say that. But Jesus told this Samaritan that his faith has made him well. Healing and restoration are not just physical. They are also relational, being grateful to God and grateful to those who love and care for us. Henri Nouwen says that gratitude is the “effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love.”^[2]

Back in January 2021, I was planning to visit Kay, 90-year-old woman from my former church. But that morning, I was informed that she was not feeling well and not up to a visitation. So, I called her the following week. She said, “Oh, I owe you a pastoral visit. My doctor saw the new X-ray and told me that he thinks that I have a cancer. I was at first angry and confused. But I am at peace now. I have had a good life. I have such a wonderful family. I have many friends like Martha, Pat, and Sara who call me all the time. I have such a wonderful church family. I am grateful.” Gratitude was what defined her life. When she was at the hospital, I went to see her and asked her how she was doing. She would say, “Oh, the nurses and doctors here are the great. And the food? They are the top-notch!” 

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Paul does not say that we need to give thanks for everything. We cannot be thankful for the pandemic that has claimed countless lives. We cannot be thankful for war and hunger. We cannot be thankful for a cancer. But we can still find a reason to be grateful and give thanks to God in all circumstances. It is because our relationship with God is not founded on the instability of our lives or volatility of this world. Instead, our relationship with God is grounded what God has done for us through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ; the love of God raised Christ from the death. 

 Dearly beloved. Are you feeling lonely? Do you feel separated from others because of your pain, pain that others cannot understand? Or do you feel exhausted and alone, as you provide care for your family or friends who is ill today? We all come to Christ this morning and say, “Jesus, have mercy on us.” And we are assured of God’s ongoing presence in us. God is not done with us. And we open out hearts to the Holy Spirit who fills us with joy and gratitude. Grateful that we are not alone. As John Wesley said while drawing his last breath, the best of all is God is with us. And we are not alone. We have an extended family in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

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^[1] Richard Friedman, “When All Else Fails Blaming the Patient Often Comes Next” in New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/health/21mind.html (accessed on September 8, 2023)

^[2] Henry Nouwen, “The Choice of Gratitude” in Henri Nouwen Society, https://henrinouwen.org/meditations/the-choice-of-gratitude/(Accessed on September 8, 2023)