Lord! Help my Unbelief
2 Kig 5:14-17; 2
Tim 2:8-13; Lk 17:11-19 (28/C)
“Who shall
climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place?”
The
central theme of today’s readings is gratitude. God expects gratitude from us
for the many blessings we receive from him. So often, once one gets what they
want, they never come back. Today’s stories of lepers in the Old Testament and
the leper in the Gospel remind us that faith and healing are closely intertwined. It
demonstrates an unconditional love of God for all people. In the world of
Jesus, leprosy meant more than physical suffering. It meant exclusion — being
cut off from worship, from community, and even from hope. The book of Leviticus
tells us that lepers must live outside the camp and cry, “Unclean!” (Lev
13:45). Only a priest could declare a leper clean again. The 10 lepers in the
Gospel stood at a distance and cried out: “Jesus, Master, pity us!” It is a cry
from the margins, a plea that pierces the heart of God. And Jesus, full of
compassion, tells them: “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” On their way,
they are cleansed. But the story takes a surprising turn — only one of them,
realizing he has been healed, returns. He falls at the feet of Jesus, praising
God with a loud voice and thanking him. And Luke adds the remarkable detail:
“He was a Samaritan.”
Why
does the evangelist Luke tell us that the one who returned was a Samaritan?
Because Samaritan was not expected to understand the ways of God. The Jews and
Samaritans despised each other. Yet, in this story, the foreigner becomes the
model of true faith. The Samaritan recognizes the grace he has received, and
his gratitude becomes worship. Jesus said to them, “Your faith has saved you.”
All ten were healed in body, but only one was healed in soul. The others
received a gift, but Samaritan entered into a relationship. Gratitude is not
just good manners — it is the response of a heart that truly believes, as St.
Augustine said, “Nine rejoiced in their bodies, but only one rejoiced in the
Lord.” We are called to rejoice only in the Lord (Ph 4:4).
The
Fathers of the Church note three parallels between the Samaritan leper story
and the story of Naaman, the Gentile who was healed of leprosy (2 kg 5:14-17). First,
both Naaman and the Samaritan leper were foreigners who sought healing from a
Divine Jew, Jesus. Second, both were ordered to perform a small, seemingly
irrelevant action. Elisha told Naaman to bathe in the Jordan River seven times.
Jesus told the ten lepers to show themselves to the priest, who could certify a
healing. In both stories, healing took place only after they left the presence
of the Divine Jew to obey. Third, both Naaman and the Samaritan returned,
praising God, to the one who had commanded them to go.
How
often do we, like the nine, receive God’s blessings and move on? We pray for
help, and when help comes, we forget the giver. Yet true faith always leads
back to thanksgiving. The very word “Eucharistia” means “thanksgiving” — it is
our return to Jesus to fall at his feet and say, “Thank you, Lord.” Each
Sunday, we are that healed Samaritan, coming to praise God for his mercy. The
Gospel also reminds us that God’s grace knows no boundaries. His mercy extends
to the outsider, the forgotten, the rejected. Jesus does not avoid the lepers
or the Samaritans. He walks right into their world. The Church, following her
Lord, is called to do the same — to reach out, to welcome, to heal, to include.
As we continue our journey to heavenly Jerusalem with Christ in this Eucharist,
may we recognize the countless ways he heals and restores us. May our hearts,
like those of the grateful and healed lepers, overflow with gratitude every
day. Our faith saves us.
“Let everything that breathes give praise to the Lord!
Alleluia”.
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