Dear Friends,

How do you read today’s Gospel? How do you hear it? Is it simply the well-known story of the “Ten Lepers” that we learned about in school? Or is it the story of the “Nine Ungrateful, albeit Cured, Lepers;” or is it a story about the “One Grateful Samaritan Leper?” Allow me to suggest that the story isn’t simply about physical leprosy; but, also about sin (spiritual leprosy) that slowly eats away our souls and destroys our life with God. Furthermore, it is one of the great stories that teach each one of us about the grateful acceptance of reality as it is and not the obstinate rejection of reality because it is not what I think it should be or feel it could be.

The Gospel presents 10 individuals who have an incurable (at the time) disease. We do not know how they contracted it. Nonetheless, they were individuals who were marginalized by society because of a physical and contagious disease and found themselves in a rather hopeless situation, with death as the only escape. According to the story as it unfolds, Jesus is journeying to Jerusalem; and, while keeping their distance, the lepers shout out: “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” The details are sparse. Jesus doesn’t approach, doesn’t touch them … He simply shouts back: “Go show yourself to the priests!” Inasmuch as we know the outcome of the story, this sounds hopeful, even great … Jesus exhorts them to perform the prescribed action for those who are cured. With all this shouting, however, I’m compelled to say: “Wait, What? Is that all you got?“… but, let’s get back to the Lepers.

How did they think about our Lord’s response in that moment? How did they feel about what could have been interpreted as a lack of interest in them? Did they feel like Naaman in the First Reading and thought that Jesus didn’t want to get involved? Seriously, what is described in the Scriptures is a rather impersonal and almost cold encounter … no physical contact, maybe not even eye contact just an exchange of words across a distance. St. Luke continues: “As they were going …” Going where? They probably felt rejected because Jesus didn’t “do” anything. Why would they have been on their way to the priests to show themselves … if they were not healed? We assume that this healing happened almost immediately after the encounter with Jesus, but why? It doesn’t say that in the Scriptures. On some level, it logically couldn’t have happened that way. If it did happen immediately why wouldn’t all ten say “thank you.” Not only would it have been convenient, but it would have been good form. And from a peer pressure perspective, why would nine Jews allow themselves to be outdone in gratitude to God and a Jewish teacher by a Samaritan? It seems that at some point as they were going (on with their own lives) they were cleansed. We do not know if any of them showed themselves to the priests, as Jesus exhorted. All we know is that after that first seemingly impersonal encounter, only one of the ten “realizing he had been healed,” took the time, endured the inconvenience, and committed himself to the task of finding Jesus again “glorifying God in a loud voice” and falling “at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him.”

What about you and me? After we encounter Jesus and hear His word, even in a seemingly impersonal way … do we go away never to return because our feelings were hurt or because our expectations weren’t met? Or, maybe because Jesus didn’t make us feel good about ourselves, didn’t remove all our pain or just give us something? Or, are we mature enough to realize that our feelings or expectations are not objective truth; and our faith makes us realize that, despite our unworthiness, Jesus acknowledges us and loves us enough to challenge us with the Truth of His words? How many of us are as courageous as the healed man, after realizing that we have been healed, that our prayer has been answered after all; take the time, no matter how long it has taken, to endure the inconvenience, and commit ourselves to the task of finding Jesus again to glorify God in a loud voice and to fall at the feet of Jesus and thank Him?

Be of good cheer and have a blessed week!

Msgr. Grous