Say Her Name

Let’s return this morning to that story of Jesus centering the margins in Luke 17, and zoom in on the one leper who responds differently than the others.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well. - vv. 15-19

The “othering” this man has experienced has come from two different directions - he’s marginalized as a leper and also as a Samaritan, “foreign” to the neighboring Jewish culture.  This phenomena where different forms of oppression overlap and make the risk and injury more intense is called intersectionality.

Jesus gives a special blessing to this intersectional leper-foreigner: “Your faith has made you whole.”  How might we join Jesus in giving special attention to those in double or triple jeopardy amongst us? Would you consider giving an extra 15 minutes of your time today to watch this short TED talk and learn more?  Perhaps you’d join in “saying her name” at the end as an act of devotion - a prayerful commitment that just as God sees his daughters, we will see and care, too.