LUKE 7:11 - 19 - The healing of the ten lepers and the one who returned and gave thanks.
This gospel got me sent to the Principal’s
office in 4th grade.
Sr. Joseph Anina asked us to illustrate the gospel. All of my classmates had the one
grateful leper kneeling before Jesus.
I did not even have Jesus in my picture. Scandalous?
Apparently so, judging from my teacher’s reaction!
In the first panel, I drew the lepers, on their
way to the priests, engaged in conversation. One was sad that even Jesus would not touch him. Another was complaining about how the
people in the synagogue or temple always looked down on him. Another was hopeful that by the time
they reached the priests, maybe they would be healed. The Samaritan, whom I dressed differently than the rest,
started to notice that his skin was looking strangely clear, and maybe Jesus
had helped them after all.
In the 2nd panel, all the lepers were
now clean and yelling excitedly. A
few got to the priests, a few were so excited they skipped the priest and just
went home. The Samaritan thanked
the priest and then, in a thought bubble, decided he wanted to find Jesus to
say thanks.
I thought I had a great imagination. Sr. Joseph Anina thought I missed the
whole point of the story.
Maybe I did miss what she thought was important,
but looking back through much older eyes and a lifetime of experiences, I think
I learned much from this story.
First, I am impressed by the lepers’ request of
Jesus to have pity on them. Surely
they had heard of His other miracles, and were bold enough to ask for the same
consideration. They had to shout
their request because they were unclean and therefore not allowed near other
people. They remind me of
Benedict’s directive, “Never lose hope in God’s mercy.”
When Jesus directed them to go the priests, they
did not question Him. They went on
their way. This echoes Benedict’s
chapter on obedience where he speaks of obedience as listening and responding
as a single step.
It’s interesting that the gospel says that the
one who returned to Jesus “realized that he had been healed.” If a leper no longer has leprosy, that
would be immediately noticeable, so the healing must be more than
skin-deep. A leper, now cured,
would also have to let go of the bitterness and suffering experienced by being
ostracized from the community… a healing of emotions, spirit and psyche.
I think it is THAT insight that compels the
Samaritan to find Jesus and thank Him.
Don’t we all have moments like that in our
lives? Times that, in retrospect,
we realize that we have been gifted or healed or helped in some way? Do we give thanks to God for that good
fortune? Do we make the effort to
thank the people who were involved in our transformation?
Before I made first vows here, I spent a lot of
time looking at the path that brought me here and realized that my former
community had been very influential in my spiritual growth. With that insight, I was able to let go
of the hurt of being turned down for final vows and my heart was massaged and
softened to the point where I was overwhelmed with gratitude for all they had
taught me… the easy lessons as well as the ones that were painful and
challenging. I wrote a brief thank
you note, and was pleasantly surprised when the first 2 cards I received for
profession were from my Marianist sisters. No hard feelings, no regrets, just prayers and blessings for
the journey.
So, perhaps this gospel is about recognizing our
woundedness, recognizing those who bring us healing, and being grateful for the
faith that is the thread holding everything together.
Perhaps Jesus knew, as Bishop Tobin said, that
“gratitude is the attitude that will make ministry (and, my own insertion, the Reign of God) credible.”
May we be people with grateful hearts today and
always.
