Ordinary Time - Week 28c
Being grateful
(From Conversation with God, Fernandez Carvajal)On his final journey to Jerusalem Jesus was passing between Samaria and Galilee. Entering a village there He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance from Jesus and his followers. The Law forbade lepers from coming into close contact with other people. Among this group of lepers there was a Samaritan, although Jews and Samaritans normally avoided one another. Segregation and disgrace had brought traditional enemies together. They lifted up their voices in a petition that must have immediately moved the Heart of Jesus: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. They threw themselves at God's mercy. Christ took pity on them. He told them to go and show themselves to the local priests. The Law laid down that such cures had to be verified in this way. The lepers obeyed the Lord and went on their way, as if they had already been healed. Because of their faith and docility, they were freed from their infirmity.
The lepers are teachers of prayer. They had recourse to divine mercy, which is the source of all graces. They demonstrate the road to healing, a road which is open to all of us, no matter what kind of leprosy we may carry in our souls. The lesson is to have faith and to be docile to those who speak in the name of the Lord. We will hear Our Lord's voice especially through prayer.
And as they went they were cleansed. We can easily imagine their amazement and joy. In the midst of all this excitement, they forgot all about Jesus. Only one of the group, the Samaritan, turned back to where the Lord was with his disciples. He probably went back running. The Evangelist has him praising God with a loud voice. He fell at the feet of the Master to give thanks for the cure. What a beautiful and profoundly human reaction! What better words may we carry in our heart, pronounce with our mouth, write with a pen than the words, 'Thanks be to God'? There is no phrase that may be said so readily, that can be heard with greater joy, felt with more emotion or produced with greater effect. Gratitude is a wonderful virtue.
Surely the Lord was delighted by the gratitude of this Samaritan. At the same time, he was disappointed at the absence of the other nine. Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Jesus shows us his surprise at the turn of events: Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? How many times has Jesus asked this about us? Let us try to make up for all the times we have been remiss and ungrateful. Certainly our lives have been full of divine cures, invitations and encounters. St John Chrysostom wrote that the gifts we receive from God greatly exceed the grains of sand on the seashore.
It is only human that we should have a clearer sense of what we need over and above what we have received. Perhaps this would go some way to explaining why we typically do not appreciate what we have, and why our gratitude can be insufficient. Maybe we think that we are somehow owed a pleasant existence. We tend to forget the message St Augustine drew from today's Gospel narrative: ?What is our own but the sins which we have committed? What do you have that you did not receive??