Healing starts when we are truly seen, known, and loved without conditions or tests of worthiness. Jesus, traveling the borderlands between Samaria and Galilee, encounters ten people with a skin disease who have been exiled from their families and communities. He does not ask for their credentials, beliefs, or purity—He simply sees them as people of value. This act of seeing and knowing is the first step toward healing for all of us, reminding us that God’s love is not based on conformity but on our inherent worth as God’s creation. [32:48]
Luke 17:11-19 (First Nations Version)
As Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was on his way to Village of Peace (Jerusalem), he traveled along the border between the High Place (Samaria) and the Circle of Nations (Galilee). As he was going into a village, ten men with a skin disease met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Creator Sets Free, Honored One, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the holy men.” As they went, they were made clean. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising Creator with a loud voice. He threw himself at Creator Sets Free’s feet and thanked him—and he was a person from the High Place (a Samaritan). Creator Sets Free asked, “Were not all ten made clean? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to Creator except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
Reflection: When have you felt truly seen and accepted for who you are? How can you offer that same healing presence to someone on the margins today?
God’s love is not limited by the lines and borders that people draw—whether of culture, religion, or belonging. Jesus heals those who have been pushed to the edges, and the story of the Samaritan leper shows that God’s mercy extends to those labeled as outsiders. The gospel challenges the idea that holiness looks like sameness and instead proclaims that unity does not require uniformity. You are loved just as God made you, and God’s love is not reserved for those who fit a certain mold. [36:31]
Galatians 3:28 (ESV)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Reflection: What “borders” or lines have you drawn in your own heart about who belongs? How can you cross those lines in love this week?
Gratitude is more than a feeling—it is a radical act of resistance against fear, shame, and exclusion. The healed Samaritan not only receives healing but recognizes it, returns, and gives thanks. In doing so, he refuses to let the world’s labels define him and instead claims his belovedness. For all who have been told they are on the wrong side of the border, thanksgiving becomes a way to remember who you are and to resist the forces that try to erase your identity. [41:02]
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Reflection: What is one area of your life where gratitude could help you resist shame or fear? How can you practice thanksgiving as an act of healing today?
Jesus’ words to the healed Samaritan—“Stand up. Be on your way. Your faith has made you well.”—are not just a blessing but a commissioning. You are already healed and called to go out, share your healing, and extend love to others. Like the Samaritan, you are sent as a living witness that God’s mercy crosses every line, and you are invited to become a storyteller, a truth-teller, and a border walker who brings healing and hope to others. [42:39]
Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Reflection: Who in your life needs to hear a word of healing or hope from you? What is one concrete way you can share God’s love with them this week?
God calls us not to conformity but to true belonging—where each person is welcomed as their authentic self. The gospel invites us to turn away from exclusion, colonial arrogance, and shame, and to turn toward gratitude, humility, and joy. Jesus is still present in the borderlands, calling us to be healed, to be whole, and to be free. As a community, we are called to erase the lines that divide, to bring healing, and to invite others into the wholeness and freedom that God offers. [44:27]
Romans 12:4-5 (ESV)
For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Reflection: In what ways have you felt pressure to conform rather than belong? How can you help create a community where everyone is welcomed as their true self?
Today’s gathering was a celebration of God’s radical, border-crossing love—a love that sees, knows, and heals us just as we are. We began by holding space for the joys and sorrows in our community, lifting up prayers for those recovering from surgery, those mourning loss, and those affected by violence and injustice both near and far. We remembered those who are struggling to make ends meet, those without shelter, and all who feel the weight of the world’s brokenness. In all these things, we trust in God’s healing presence and steadfast love.
As we marked Indigenous Peoples Day and reflected on National Coming Out Day, we turned to the story of Jesus healing the ten people with leprosy in the borderlands between Samaria and Galilee. This “no man’s land” is a place where society draws lines—deciding who belongs and who does not. Yet, Jesus meets people there, not asking for credentials or conformity, but simply seeing them as beloved. Healing begins when we are truly seen and known, not when we pass a test or fit a mold.
The story challenges the Church’s history of confusing unity with uniformity, of blessing conquest and erasing identities in the name of salvation. But Jesus’ healing in the borderland shows that God’s love is not about sameness. The one who returns to give thanks—the outsider, the Samaritan—reminds us that those on the margins often see God’s grace most clearly. Gratitude, in this context, becomes an act of resistance against shame, exclusion, and the demands of empire—whether governmental or ecclesial.
We are called to be “border walkers” with Jesus: to erase dividing lines, to tell the truth about our shared story, to bring healing, and to live out gratitude as a radical act. God’s table is open to all, without barriers. We are commissioned not just to receive healing, but to share it, to invite others into wholeness, and to embody the peace and belonging that Christ offers. As we go forth, may we recognize our own healing, honor the diversity of God’s creation, and stand in solidarity with all who have been told they do not belong.
Luke 17:11-19 (ESV) — 11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance
13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;
16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
You see, Jesus sees these people. He sees them and he knows them. And I'm going to submit to you that that is the first place that healing starts to begin. It's when you are seen, when you are known, when you are loved without question, when there's not any test to make sure you're in or you're out. You are just loved from the beginning. And that is the beginning of healing for all of us. [00:32:22] (33 seconds) #ChurchOnTheBorderlands
``Jesus heals in the borderland. He honors the Samaritan. We didn't know that there was a Samaritan among them until later in the story. Healing just took place. The one who was despised by religious insiders wasn't even named until later in the story. After the healing, after the blessing, after the go and show the holy man that you have been healed. When this healed man returns to give thanks, Jesus lifts him up and says, you, faith has made you well. Not your conformity, not your citizenship, not your ability to fit in your faith. Your trust in the Creator's goodness has saved you. [00:33:57] (60 seconds) #UnityInDiversity
For centuries, the dominant church has confused unity with uniformity. And they are not the same thing. You don't have to be uniform to be unified. You get to be you, just as God made you. You don't have to fit in a certain box. You don't have to be like everybody else. You get to be you. And here's the news. Breaking news, right? God loves you just like God made you. All day, every day, all day, every day. [00:35:07] (55 seconds) #UndoingColonialHoliness
The gospel is making a bold claim that those who are labeled outsiders may see God more clearly than the rest of us do who think we are insiders. Maybe because we're insiders, we don't think we need God as much as maybe because we're insiders, we think that we've got a lock on God already and we don't have to. But those who are welcomed in, those who have lived on the outside, who have lived in the borderland, who have been pushed out, maybe they see God more clearly because it wasn't readily available to them. [00:37:23] (44 seconds) #AuthenticHealing
When someone dares to come out, they're stepping into a truth, often at a great cost. And Jesus, who's walking on the border, who heals those declared unclean, also welcomes all the outsiders. Jesus is there saying, stand up. Be on your way. Your faith has made you well. [00:39:43] (26 seconds) #GratitudeAsResistance
Gratitude becomes resistance. Gratitude Refuses to let fear or shame define the story. For indigenous peoples, for queer folks, for all who've been told you're on the wrong side of the border, Thanksgiving is a radical act. It's saying the Great Spirit. It's saying that God has already called me beloved, and I will not forget who I am. [00:41:24] (36 seconds) #MercyCrossesLines
Jesus. Final words were stand up. Stand up. Be on your way. Trust. Trust that you're already healed. Trust that you are already healed. It's not just a blessing. It's not just a blessing. It's a commissioning. You are already healed. Be on your way. Go. Share your healing with others. Share your love with others. Share with others. You have been commissioned to do this. [00:42:01] (43 seconds) #ReturnToGratitude
The Samaritan is sent out as a living witness that God's mercy crosses every line that any bit of humanity can draw. The Samaritan becomes a storyteller. He becomes a truth teller. He becomes a border walker. And maybe, just maybe, that's what discipleship looks like in today's world, too. That we erase the lines that divide us, that we bring healing, that we tell the truth, and that we are giving thanks and refusing to conform to the empire's demands. [00:42:43] (44 seconds) #HealingInTheLiminal
The gospel calls us to return, to turn back toward gratitude, to turn back from colonial arrogance, turn to humility, to turn back from exclusion and to turn toward belonging, to turn back from shame and to turn toward joy. [00:43:44] (20 seconds) #BorderlandCalling
Friends, Jesus is still out there between Samaria and Galilee, between the colonizer and the colonized, between the closet and the church, between calling us to get out, get up, and calling us to go be healed, to be whole and to be free. God is already there in that liminal space with us, with us, calling us to be healed. [00:44:05] (38 seconds)
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