Drawing Water with Joy
Weren't ten cleansed?
Isaiah 12 | Luke 17:11-19
Reading through Isaiah during Advent: Isaiah 16-20
Isaiah, like many of the prophets, is a “rising and falling” read. One of the reasons many people are drawn to the prophets is because of their honesty about the difficulty of a situation and yet a hope possible therein (though it doesn’t always feel that way).
It’s completely resonant with the life and ministry of Jesus, particularly his suffering and death on the cross. Going with God is not all daisies and roses all the time. But it is the faith-full hope of resolution and life by the end.
Isaiah 12
You will say on that day:
“I thank you, Lord.
Though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away and you comforted me.
God is indeed my salvation;
I will trust and won’t be afraid.
Yah, the Lord, is my strength and my shield;
he has become my salvation.”
You will draw water with joy from the springs of salvation.
And you will say on that day:
“Thank the Lord; call on God’s name;
proclaim God’s deeds among the peoples;
declare that God’s name is exalted.
Sing to the Lord, who has done glorious things;
proclaim this throughout all the earth.”
Shout and sing for joy, city of Zion,
because the holy one of Israel is great among you.
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”
When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus replied, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? No one returned to praise God except this foreigner?” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
Prayer
God,
Sometimes we’re just not feeling it. It’s the honest truth and I know that you want the truth. It’s my belief that you’d rather my honestly about not feeling “it” than for me to fake it like I am. (Thank you for the psalmist, prophets, and Jesus…all of whom demonstrate this in example to me.)
So today, I say with the psalmist, “I will yet again (sometime) give you thanks, my saving presence and my God.”
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.