In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.
Through no righteousness of my own I am close to the Lord. I have heard the Gospel, I have received the laver of regeneration through baptism, I have witnessed the Resurrection and been granted the Bread of Life: all has been granted to me. But when I hear the Word speak I think His words for other people, “Repent,” says He, “for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand,” (Matthew 4:17) echoing the cry of the Forerunner, (see Matthew 3:2) and I condescend to agree with Him: “Yes, they should repent.” I stand close to the Lord but in reality I am afar off, I count Him as my Lord but only when it is convenient to me, when He agrees with me, when He benefits me.
And lo! Some sinners lift up their voices and cry out from a distance, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” And even from afar I can see their hideousness, their deformed nature, their sin. I see them and I am disgusted, I conclude that it must have been both these men and their parents who sinned to produce such vile persons. (compare John 9:2–3) Yet my disgust is mostly that they remind me of who I am, a sinner and repulsive to behold, but whereas I cover myself to pretend I am not who I am, they accept reality and truth. I need only whisper my salvation to the Lord and He will grant it, they have boldness to draw attention to themselves from far off and cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
The Psalmist tells us,
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
Psalm 144:18 lxx
To all who call upon Him in truth.
Indeed, while these men are afar off, the Lord is near to them for they call upon Him in Truth. And He brings salvation to them. And I am brought a little happiness, not because salvation has been granted to them but that the Lord has sent them away to the priests. And I want things to return to how they were, being close to the Lord as I look down on others around me. But unexpectedly, to me at least, one returns and walks up to the Lord, praising Him with a loud voice, and falls down at His feet. And what truly raises my ire is that he is no longer hideous, the beauty he had in the Garden has been restored. I am faking it—though, in truth, no one else is convinced and I recognise my inability to hide my sin—but he is restored in reality and truth.
And the Lord turns towards me in love and compassion. He turns towards me and I am ashamed, He turns towards me and I am filled with despondency, He turns towards me and says to me, “Do you desire the same for yourself?” Despite my proximity to Him I am the one afar off, yet He—the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Master over all things—offers to me, the greatest of sinners, a path to salvation. He does not compel me but He asks me, “Do you desire the same for yourself?”
And, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, He offers the same to you. Whatever our state, whatever we have done, God offers to you and He offers to me a path back to Him: we only need to take it, to grab hold of it, to make it our own and we too may worship Him and be granted the Kingdom. Let us then, dear brothers and sisters, take this offer of the Kingdom of God and make it our own by rejoicing continually at the feet of the Lord that we may receive eternal Life.
That we may offer true praise, glory and worship to our God and Saviour Jesus Christ who offers us freely the Kingdom of God, together with His unoriginate Father and the All-holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit. Amen
Brethren, remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their lives, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings; for it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents. We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go forth to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
— Hebrews 13:7–16
At that time, as Jesus entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’s feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him: “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
— Luke 17:12–19