In the archives of Northwestern University there is a story of a man named Edward Spencer. Let me share it with you…

Edward Spencer was born in 1835 in Stephenson, Illinois. He was the first child born in this frontier town, which later became Rock Island, Illinois. He attended Garrett Biblical Institute with the intention of becoming a minister.

In the early hours of September 8, 1860, the steamboat Lady Elgin collided with the schooner Augusta on Lake Michigan. Spencer was among a group of students from Garrett and other volunteers who worked to rescue survivors of the shipwreck. In total, he rescued 17 people from drowning. Spencer never fully recovered physically from his efforts. His physical condition led him to leave school and return home to Rock Island, where he ran a stove and hardware store and acted as secretary of the Rock Island County Bible Society. He later moved to California and lived on a farm. He died in California in February 1917.

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Now we know that there were others out there saving lives, but for some reason this story of Spencer Edwards has stood the test of time. But to the point of this sermon, it is said that he was asked years later, if there was any particular memory he wished to share and he said “Only this, of the sixteen or seventeen people I saved, not one thanked me.”

I suspect this wasn’t because there were not grateful. But in the moment, I would think that most people, including ourselves, are not able to fully comprehend all that has happened to them and those around them when it is a time of fear, hope, joy, anxiety, or any mix of emotions and circumstances.

More than once I have heard people say, I wish I could find that person again, or have an opportunity to say thank you. I just wasn’t thinking about it at the time, I was so overwhelmed with emotion or deep into the situation. Some people are able to seek out those they wish to thank, but I think it is more often that to trace back to a person who has helped can be more difficult than one might anticipate. So, it may not be surprising that in the story of the healing of ten lepers only one turns back and goes to thank Jesus.

Imagine this scene. You are an outcast in society. Whatever skin disease you have has caused you to be considered “unclean.” Meaning you can’t live with your family; you are outside the normal functioning of the community. You live with others, but all of you are in the same boat, unable to participate the normal activity of daily living in and with family, friends, work, or social events. Then you hear that Jesus is entering your town. His reputation for healing has gone before him and instead of shouting the warning to stay away from them, as was required so that others would not become unclean, they call out him, in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

And Jesus simply says, go and show yourself to the priest. You may wonder at that statement, but it was a requirement in the time, that, should you find yourself healed, the priest had to vouch for it so that you could once again join family and friends as part of the community. So of course they head off, trusting that this guy is healing them as he has done for so many others. It is only as they are going on their way that they are healed or as we read, cleansed.

Can you imagine what that must have felt like?

I often speak to people who come to the door of the church and they just want healing in their lives, but like the lepers, they are seen as the fringe of society, they are not integrated. We make wide circles around them to avoid the possibility that somehow their troubles and uncleanness might touch us and make us unclean too.

I suspect that are those of us who in some way also feel that there is something about us that is unclean. Maybe it is anger that seeps into your relationships, maybe it is your attitude that hurts rather than brings wholeness. Maybe it is addiction that has separated you from community. For some it is having been molested or some sexual misconduct they have participated in or another has taken upon them that has made them feel unclean.

I understand that one, as I was one who was molested by various individuals in my young life. Few of them were connected to each other and I began to think that I was the one that was unclean. That there was something in me that made boys and men think that they could do these things to me. Healing from those thoughts, emotions and triggers has taken decades and it is something that I continue to deal with.

So when those ten men have the hope and knowledge and experience that they are healed, their emotions, like a wave, get them moving on to the priest, healing as they go, knowing that they are going to get to be with their loved ones, living with them, participating in the world around them once again, and they just go. They do as Jesus says and as their own laws would have expected.

So why is this one man singled out as doing something to take notice of? What about his actions made a difference for Jesus?

I think there are a couple of things to note here. First, it was a Samaritan that turned to come back and thank Jesus. This was someone that was viewed as unworthy, other than, those who were accepted. Jesus in telling this story is saying there is something to learn from unexpected people in unexpected places.

I think there is also more to consider about why this story resonates for the Gospel writer and for us. I wonder if it is the fact that the man saw himself healed and then realized that it was because of this one man, Jesus, that he would live in fullness of life again. He had the presence of mind to stop and pay attention to the why and the who of this miracle he was experiencing…this life saving act. In that moment he stopped, turned around and went back to Jesus, praised God in a loud voice, and prostrated himself in thanksgiving before Jesus.

Before we start to think that this is the way all things should be, it may be important to remember that in the stories of Jesus there were many responses, many ways that people recognized Jesus and the difference he made in their lives. Yet, this is the one before us today and it may be that it gives us opportunity to reflect on how belief in Jesus, trusting in God, and relying on the work of the Holy Spirit in us makes a difference, then give thanks.

Maybe we have responded to God grace and healing in the moment, or maybe we are only recognizing the gifts of God in our lives right now. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is seeing how God is working in our lives, the lives of people we love, and in the world. In a time when the world seems to be going headlong into strife and struggle, it may be the very time to give thanks.

However, you may have noticed that the story didn’t end with thanksgiving, it ended with Jesus saying, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” To give thanks, to recognize healing and wholeness, to see Jesus at work means to rise and go. Rise and go to be light and salt in the world. Rise and go to love others participating in the life of those around you in ways that also bring healing and wholeness. Rise and go to show others how God has changed the way you see and experience the world.

Rise and go with thanksgiving, hope, grace, love, and faith. Faith that sees Jesus in our lives and God working in others. Faith that sees that justice and mercy are part of God’s desire for the world. Faith that sees the other in need of healing and wholeness.

Rise and go. Rise and live!

In Christ with Christ and through Christ. Amen.

[1] Spencer, Edward, 1835-1917 | Archival and Manuscript Collections. Accessed October 11, 2026.