October 14, 2007

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 17:11-19 & Ruth 1:8-9a

Trinity Episcopal, Seattle

The Rev. Paul Collins, Rector

This morning I would like us to examine our Old Testament story of Ruth and Naomi, as well as our Gospel story of the ten lepers.  Both of these need to be looked at using a phrase taken from the collect for purity we use each Sunday.  The important part this morning is the notion, the idea, of the “thoughts of our hearts.”

All of Ruth’s world, both economic and emotional, has been destroyed.  She must return to her clan far away and beg for help--Naomi could do the same thing with her own people.  But Ruth refuses to leave Naomi:  “Where you go, I go.”

This statement of love and devotion flies in the face of everything she has been taught.  This bond of emotion and dedication goes beyond all the usual boundaries of tribe, self interest and common sense.  Embedded in the midst of a very masculine Old Testament, this story of the attachment of these two women quietly stands out.

Even today, it would be remarkable.  Ruth listens to the thoughts of her heart and she obeys them.  This is not just pure emotion, or indeed, pure thinking.  It is the combination which is currently debated under the heading of “emotional intelligence.”  Just Google it and you will see lots and lots of entries.  It is the bringing together of emotion and thought which gives them such depth and power.

In a world of fighting and anger and over-competition, I would like to suggest that Ruth and Naomi represent an overlooked human survival strategy which we still desperately need.

Our ability to form bonds of affection across battle lines helps to define us as human and keeps us alive.

If Ruth and Naomi represent the best of our humanity, the tenth leper represents the best of our spirituality.  He also responds from the spontaneous “thought of his heart.”  His overwhelming gratitude for what he has been given should light a spark in all of us. 

It is too easy to see the glass as nine-tenths empty.  Bah, humbug!  How often have we all heard how bad things are and how they are getting worse.  But there is always the other tenth, even today.

Even in Palestine and Iraq we can see moments—just moments—of hatred dissolving and islands of hope appearing.

For some folks, being Christian is primarily about behavior and moral judgments--who is right and who is wrong.  It’s about success or failure, and accountability.

But for others, such focus is only secondary and derivative.  For these people, Christianity is about putting our heads and our hearts together and learning to listen carefully to what Jesus Christ living in our heart is telling us to do.  This may be the only way we can learn to ignore the nine-tenths of the world, and give thanks for tenth leper.

Last night, Kathie and I saw a presentation about Rwanda.  A wonderful person from Seattle was showing pictures from her work there.

It was mostly about her school for physically disabled children—many quite seriously affected.  In each picture, their grins and smiles kept leaping forward.  Given their terrible lives, how can they do this?  Ah, the secret of the tenth leper—a secret we would do well to learn.