[CatherineTorpey]

Hello bibliophiles :-).

Jacqui is preaching on Sunday. Her theme is “So Busy Working for the Kin-dom, Ain’t Got Time….”

You might recognize that she is referencing a wonderful African American Spiritual “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” which our fabulous Robert Hughes will be singing. Here’s one version.

We will also be treated to Natalie Maust singing “Gracias a la Vida” (Thank you to life) written by the great Chilean musician and musicologist Violeta Parra. This is one of the most beloved songs in Latin America. The most famous version is sung by Mercedes Sosa of Argentina. Here’s a video of her singing with English and Spanish subtitles.

Now to the Biblical passage: Luke 17:11-21

The event described in this scene happens while Jesus is going from Galilee (where he was born and where he began his ministry) to Jerusalem, where he will meet his fate.

The book of Luke is structured dramatically where the first 8 chapters tell of Jesus’ birth, his baptism by John, his testing in the wilderness, his calling of the disciples, and begins his ministry with healings and teachings. Then, in chapter 9, things get real. He sends his disciples out to evangelize, Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah, the Transfiguration takes place, and then Jesus “sets his face toward Jerusalem.”

The remainder of Luke happens as Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem, and then, in the final chapters, in Jerusalem during Passover.

So our pericope (short passage) takes place during this journey. Jesus was raised in Nazareth, in Galilee, which is the northern part of Israel. In order to get to Jerusalem in the south, one goes through Samaria. Here’s a map of Israel in Jesus’ day to orient you. Many of the old religious practices of the Israelites were maintained by Samaritans, and so there was a prejudice against Samaritans. As in the story of the Good Samaritan, we have another instance where the one who behaves with integrity is the one whom many Jews would have viewed with great prejudice.

The animosity between Samaritans and Jews is a bit like the animosity that used to exist (and hopefully is now mostly gone) between Catholics and Protestants. They were really the same religion, just with different practices. Samaritans worshiped Yahweh, but their form of worship was abhorrent to Jews. The Jewish people were heirs to the practices of the tribe of Judah (hence the name “Jew”). Our Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) were mostly written or compiled by those who practiced the Jewish way of worship, which claims Jerusalem as its holy city and the Temple there as the only holy site. The Samaritans never agreed, and maintained older holy sites in the north. Samaritans still exist and are recognized in modern-day Israel as a sect of Judaism.

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