Sunday 17 November 2013

The Ten Lepers

This is the sermon I preached at the midweek service at Saint Elisabeth's, Reddish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U74s8nFE7No


I was flattered when asked to lead this service this morning. And then I wondered, what can I, a Unitarian, say to you - Anglicans - about this reading from the Christian Gospels about Jesus curing the ten lepers?

In the synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark and Luke – there are some 13 stories of healings, ranging from Leprosy, Dropsy, Fever, a withered hand, a bent back, paralysis and a severed ear: Jesus mustve been pretty good with a needle and thread or had some superglue handy for that one! Even though we are not dealing with a literal or even a “Newspaper account,” or whether or not thhis story is factually true, this story show us today, in 2013, not only show us what Jesus’ early followers thoughthim a charismatic healer, but they can also offer us an insight in how to respond to the "other", to those "beyond the pale."