Daily Lesson for November 16, 2016

Today's Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 17 verses 11 through 19:

11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus' feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

The community of the exiled is humble and desperate enough that all of the traditional boundaries that separate its people from one another. Jesus is on the border between the Samaritan and Jewish communities. Yet the line between Samaritan and Jew has no meaning for those living in the land of exile. Here there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, rich nor poor.  All there is is clean and unclean; sick and well.  Amongst the unclean and sick we find the community of the banished -- the fellowship of suffering exiles.

We can find this fellowship of suffering exiles even today. It is found in cancer centers, and senior living centers, and group homes, and memory care units, and AA meetings, divorce care communities and other little places all over where the sick and aged and socially unacceptable gather.  Here all other distinctions fall away. All past accomplishments are forgotten.  Here titles are stripped and the former things pass away. Here all that the suffering have left is their fellowship with one another.

And still to this day into that fellowship of exiles comes mercy and compassion.

And still to this day comes Jesus.