OUR DAILY VITAMIN FOR THE SOUL... Wednesday, November 12. The Cleansing of Ten Lepers - Lk 17:11-19 11As [Jesus] continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was entering a village, ten lepers met [him]. They stood at a distance from him 13and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” 14And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. 15And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; 16and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. 17Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? 18Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” 19Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” REFLECTION & CHALLENGE: RETURNED, GLORIFYING GOD IN A LOUD VOICE. A leper is an outcast of Jewish society, exiled from family and community, enjoined to warn other people of his approach, banned from temple and synagogue worship, and deemed punished by God. Jesus heals ten lepers, giving them new life and restoring them to family and community. At the least, they will be grateful. Instead, only one returns to give thanks to God. Perhaps the nine are complying with Jesus’ instruction that they show themselves to the priests. The prescriptions of the law regarding leprosy are complicated and severe (Lv 13—14). The nine Jewish lepers made clean may be busy attending to the demands of purification. Afterwards, perhaps they rush home, thrilled to share the good news with family and friends, to hug and kiss their children, and to celebrate. The Samaritan, who is not burdened by Jewish ritual prescriptions, returns and gives thanks. He is not only healed but also saved. He realizes what the other nine have missed—the gift of faith and of a deeper life: God loves him and Jesus is the concrete sign of that love and acceptance. To be honest, we are often as guilty as the nine because it is so easy to take God’s many blessings for granted: the gift of life and a new day, of work and play, of family and friends. “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present” (Alice Morse Earle). For this gift of the present, let us give thanks to the Lord our God. WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, may I never fail to recognize your loving kindness and mercy. Fill my heart with compassion and thanksgiving, and free me from ingratitude and discontentment. Help me to count my blessings with a grateful heart and to give thanks in all circumstances. AMEN. (365 days journey with our Saviour, Jesus Christ)
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 00:40:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015