Because sinful man is evil, the world in which he lives is evil. And recently we’ve been reminded of just how evil: a Minneapolis man, in his hatred of Christians, turned his gun on children as they were praying and randomly shot at them through the windows of their church, killing two of them. A young woman, who ironically left Ukraine to escape the violence there, suffered a violent death here at the hands of a homeless man who brutally stabbed her while she sat on a commuter train. A young man with a wife and two small children was killed by a sniper’s bullet—not just for his political beliefs, but I believe even more so for his Christian beliefs. And just days ago, five policemen in Pennsylvania were shot, three of them killed, by a man who then took his own life.

It sickens us, but none of this should surprise us, as our Lord prophesied concerning these end times: “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of people will grow cold.”

But just as disgusting and disturbing is the way many in our country are reacting to these horrific events. Rather than finding ways to protect us from these acts of violence, our leaders are acting like immature children—blaming the other guys for their inflammatory speech while shamelessly using these evils to promote their own political agenda. More surprising is the way some justify, even celebrate, the murder of those whose opinions differ from theirs. And worst of all is the anti-Christian sentiment embraced by many in our country that mocks Christians for thinking that prayer is the solution to this lawlessness.

What these people do not understand—probably don’t want to understand—is that prayer is not a solution in and of itself, but a confession of faith in what God, who is the solution, has promised to do for us and for our salvation. He has promised to use these evils for our good. He has promised to give us strength to endure them when they come into our life. And he has promised to deliver us from every evil when he brings us safely into his heavenly kingdom. Believing this, we Christians pray that God will do what he has promised and in his mercy give us the help we desperately need in these last and evil days.

Which brings us to these ten lepers: they had contracted a disease which in those days inevitably led to a slow, lonely, and painful death. So when Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, entered their village, they met him and, with as loud a voice as they could muster under the circumstances, prayed, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” This they would not have done had they not believed that he could and, in his mercy, would help them.

And when Jesus, in answer to their prayer, said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests,” they went. This too was a confession of faith, as they were not yet cleansed. That, we are told, happened “on the way.”

But only one of the ten—and a Samaritan at that—when he saw that he was healed, returned to Jesus as a confession of an even better faith. He believed that Jesus was the priest to whom he really needed to go. For the sacrifice that the priest in Jerusalem would, in accordance with OT Law, offer on his behalf to declare him clean of leprosy was a mere shadow of the Sacrifice his Lord had come into the world to offer on behalf of all people: the Bloody Sacrifice of himself that would atone for sin. So, rather than continue on to Jerusalem to have a priest declare him clean of leprosy, this Samaritan returned to THE Priest to be cleansed of his sin.

“But were there not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?” Jesus asked. They’re on their way to Jerusalem. Because all they wanted from Jesus was a better earthly life, once he cleansed them of their leprosy, they no longer needed him. Their only concern was to have the priests at the temple declare them clean of leprosy so that they could get on with their life.

And sadly, it’s no different today. If everyone believed, as did this Samaritan, that forgiveness, life, and salvation—won by Christ—come freely from Christ through Word and Sacrament, there would not be an empty pew in any church regardless of when the Service is conducted: be it Sunday morning or on a weekday. But you can see for yourself that in this church alone there are far more empty pews than ones that are occupied; and it’s not just here. That’s the sad reality in most churches. For what was true of these nine is all too true of sinful men today. In their covetous desire for a better earthly life, they are all too willing to turn their backs on him who alone can give them eternal life.

But rather than ask, “Where are they?” a much better question to ask yourself is, “How much have I been like them?” Granted, you, in the fashion of this Samaritan, have returned to your Lord this day. Thanks be to God! But lest you hypocritically think yourself to be a better person than those who live only for this life, let me remind you that every time you sin—which is every day of your life—you also turn your back on Christ, who is your Life, in a foolish attempt to obtain what you think will give you a better earthly life.

But God has not turned his back on you. Instead, he in his mercy has blessed you, even as he did this Samaritan, with faith to see what others cannot. Others see only water in the Font, but when you pass by the water in our Font on your way into this Holy Place, your faith sees the Bath in which Christ washed and cleansed you of all your sins. Others see a sinful man standing up here in the Chancel, but your faith sees Christ absolving you of all your sins through the mouth of that sinful man. Others see only bread and wine on this Altar, but your faith sees Christ’s Body united to that Bread in a blessed communion and his Blood united to that wine also in a blessed communion—for you to eat and to drink, for the forgiveness of your sins.

And blessed with faith to see what others do not, even as this Samaritan saw what his nine companions could not, you, dear Christian, at the end of every Service receive from my mouth the same basic blessing which he received from Christ’s mouth here: “Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.”

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.