Sunday Homily - October 13th, 2019 - It is Well With My Soul

The Healing of the 10 Lepers Icon

I.

Has anyone here heard the hymn, "It is Well With My Soul"?

Growing up in the Baptist Church,
 this was one of the hymns that was played the most,
  at least in my young memory.

And the lyrics to the first verse were always in my memory:

   When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
   When sorrows like sea billows roll
   Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
   It is well, it is well, with my soul

And, of course,
 the chorus of the song was simply a repetition of that last line,
  with melody and harmony echoing in the background.

   It is well (it is well),
   With my soul (with my soul),
   It is well, it is well with my soul.

There is always a story behind the songs we sing in church, friends,
 and the writing of "It is Well With My Soul"
  was written in the middle of a heart-wrenching tragedy.

The author of the hymn text is a man named Horatio G. Spafford,
 a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago with a lovely family,
  living in the mid to late 1800s.

This family had been through tragedy before.
 One of their young sons died with pneumonia in 1871,
  and in that same year, much of their business was lost in the great Chicago fire.
   Yet, God in His mercy and kindness allowed the business to flourish once more.

On Nov. 21, 1873, there was a French ocean liner crossing the Atlantic from the U.S. to Europe
 with 313 passengers on board.
  Among the passengers were Horatio's wife, Anna Spafford, and their four daughters.
   Although Horatio had planned to go with his family, Horatio needed to stay behind
    to work on a problem that had arisen in one of his businesses.

About four days into the crossing of the Atlantic,
 the ship carrying Horatio's wife and children collided with Scottish ship,
  and both ships sank beneath the dark waters of the Atlantic,
   killing 226 of the passengers including all four of Horatio children.
    Only Anna survived.

Hearing of the soul-crushing tragedy, Horatio booked passage on the next available ship
 and left to join his grieving wife.
  With the ship about four days out, the captain called Spafford to his cabin
   and told him they were over the place where his children went down.

And that is when Horatio Spafford wrote the first lines of the now famous hymn
 "It is Well With My Soul."
  [https://www.staugustine.com/article/20141016/LIFESTYLE/310169936]

Listen to it again:

  When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
  When sorrows like sea billows roll
  Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
   It is well, it is well, with my soul.

You probably heard that first line a little differently this time, right?

How can a man who lost literally every single child in his family
 pen a song and sing, "It is Well With My Soul"?

I'm not really sure, friends.
 I don't think I could do it.
  But, I think a key to this whole thing
   is that there is a difference between being cured
    and being made well.

There is a difference between what we see on the outside,
 and what is happening on the inside.

A difference between the sickness of losing those we love
 and the sickness of soul that can follow.

So also, there is a difference between simply being cured of an ailment of the body
 and the holy healing of the soul by the Holy Spirit.

II.

Two people were made well in today's readings from Holy Scripture:
 Naaman, the Aramean commander in the Old Testament,
  and the Samaritan in the New Testament.

But wait, weren't there 10 lepers who were made clean in the Gospel passage?
 Doesn't that put the number up a slight bit higher?
  Yes, yes, I know,
   but, before you accuse me of failing math class,
    let's think more closely about the Old Testament and Gospel accounts.

Naaman, who by the way was the commander of Aram,
 an enemy of the people of Israel and Judah.
  And through a faithful Israelite girl, taken as a slave, who had compassion on Naaman,
   found out that the prophet Elisha could heal him of his leprosy.

Now, Naaman expected to be greeted with a royal audience,
 and brought a huge amount of gifts in his caravan.
  But he was met with a messenger from Elisha telling him to go wash in the Jordan River,
   which, if you have ever been to the Jordan River, you would know its basically a mud pit.

Naaman is affronted by not being treated royally.
 Yet, once again, Naaman's slaves convince him to actually do
  what Elisha told him to do.

And when Naaman does it,
 he is not just cured.
  It is abundantly clear that Naaman was made well.

Naaman returns, probably in astonishment,
 and declares, "I now know that there is no god except in Israel."
  Naaman met the Lord Most High, who not only cured him of his disease,
   but who actually made his inward soul well,
    and that is where the thanksgiving came from,
     with Naaman returning to give thanks to Elisha and to God Almighty.

So also,
 in our Gospel passage,
  10 lepers cry out to Jesus,
   "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

And Jesus's response is to simply send them on their way,
 no pomp and circumstance and no fireworks going off,
  but just to go show themselves to the priest
   which was commanded by the Law
    [Leviticus 13.49; 14:2]

As the went they were made clean.
 Note the wording carefully.
  "As they went, they were" what? "Made clean."

But the Samaritan had a different response than the others.
 The Samaritan noticed that he was made clean,
  that he was cured,
   and returned to give thanks.

And Jesus responds with the following words:

"Were not ten made clean?
 But the other nine, where are they?
  Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"
   Then [Jesus] said to him, "Get up and go on your way;
    your faith has made you well."
     [Luke 17:17-19]

The Samaritan, being made well,
 returns in thanksgiving,
  having the wellness of soul just as Naaman had.

III.

To say in the midst of disease,

 in the midst of tragedy,

  "it is well with my soul"

   is not just a sign of contentment:

    it is a sign of someone who has been made well.

So also, friends, 

 God teaches us through the Scripture that cures for disease come and go.

  But the most important part is being made well

   by God's healing of our souls.

And a sign of that healing is giving thanks. 

Giving thanks to God for the good gifts we have been given,

 no matter what the circumstances.

Giving thanks is one of the most powerful things 

 that we do as Christians,

  especially when things are falling apart in our lives

   and in the world around us. 

For us, the ones made well by Jesus,

 we give thanks even when our health is poor,

  because God gave us life to begin with.

We give thanks even when we walk through tragedy,

 because we know that God came among us

  suffered with us,

   died for us,

    and rose again for us

     so that we will also rise again with Christ. 

      The changes and chances of the world, although very real and very painful,

       cannot separate us from the love of God any longer. 

We give thanks because we know we serve a just and merciful Lord and Savior

 who is Lord even over our world where wars and rumors or war

  constantly churn and burn in the fires of our daily news. 

   Yet, Jesus is still Lord.

    And we give thanks for that even in the face of the evils of the world. 

So you also, friends,

 join in doing the most powerful things we as Christians can do:

  give thanks. 

For your kids, even when they get on your nerves: Give thanks.

 For your parents, yes even your goofy and irritating parents, Give thanks.

  For your health, whether it be good or poor: Give thanks.

   For the food on your table, whether it be in abundance or whether it be meager: Give thanks. 

Give thanks always, friends.

 Because giving thanks is not just about being cured.

  It is about being made well by God who loves you.

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.