Believe And Be Grateful
- Deacon Dan DeLuca
- Oct 10, 2022
- 7 min read
Believe and be grateful. That is what the Lord commands of us. Believe in him and be grateful for the blessings he bestows upon us. That command is straightforward and simple. Despite that, it is one of the most challenging commands to keep. Doubt creeps in. Complacency creeps in. Before we know it, our belief is shaky and we fail to see all we have to be grateful for. As we ponder that, we listen to the words of the Gospel below, and sit with the story of the grateful leper. May his story strengthen our belief and allow our hearts to overflow with gratitude.
Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17 : 11-19
Scriptural Analysis
This section opens with a reminder that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He is following the traditional route used by Galilean pilgrims to Jerusalem. Jesus enters a village where he encounters ten lepers. They are at a distance which was required by law, “he shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:46) They address Jesus as Master and ask for mercy (pity in some translations). The blind man at Jericho makes the same plea, “And he cried, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (18:38) Their pleas also echo pleas for mercy found in the Psalms, “Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us.” (123:3) Of note, this is the only time someone who is not a disciple refers to Jesus as Master.
Jesus immediately commands the lepers to go and show themselves to the priest as was commanded by the law, “This shall be the law of the leper for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest; and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall make an examination.” (Leviticus 14:3-4) This was the same command he issued when he cleansed the one leper, “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.” (Luke 5:14) Notice however, the difference. In the earlier encounter, Jesus cleansed the leper first before commanding him to go. In this instance, he commanded them to go. During their journey, the cleansing occurred. It was belief that they would be cleansed, exhibited in obeying his command, that allowed them to be cleansed. This recalls the healing of Naaman by Elisha who was likewise cleansed from a distance by obeying Elisha’s instructions, “So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.” (2 Kings 5:14)
The cleansing is only half the story. After being cleansed, one leper actually returned to Jesus glorifying God. This mirrors Naaman who returned to Elisha after being cleansed, “Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him.” (2 Kings 5:15) Jesus is thus a prophet like Elisha. Additionally, the leper gave thanks to Jesus (eucharisteō in Greek) thus linking glorifying God and thanking Jesus. The man literally fell on his face just as the earlier leper had, “he fell on his face.” (Luke 5:12) This action shows the Kingship of Jesus as it mirrors David, “And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David, and fell on his face and did obeisance.” (2 Samuel 9:6)
An important detail about the leper is then revealed. He was a Samaritan. The assumption is that the other nine lepers were Jewish. Jesus is disappointed that only this Samaritan, or foreigner as he calls him, was the one to return. The Greek word used here, allogenēs, was part of the Greek inscription on the Temple courts past which non-Jewish people could not pass. Thus Jesus is breaking down the barrier between Jews and non-Jews in fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy:
Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which shall not be cut off. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, every one who keeps the sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Isahaha 56:3-7
Jesus dismisses the Samaritan with the same words used so often, “your faith has made you well.” This is often translated, “your faith has saved you.” The Greek word used for save, sōzō, means heal indicating the physical miracle that occurred. However, there is a deeper meaning implied which is spiritual healing. Faith in Jesus has lead to salvation for the Samaritan leper.
Daily Application
Belief and Gratitude: that is the central message of this Gospel passage. We need to believe in the Lord and be grateful for all his blessings. Yet that is a struggle for us. It is hard to truly believe and equally hard to remain grateful. Let us examine each of these aspects of this Gospel passage.
The healing of these lepers was predicated on belief: belief that Jesus would heal them. It is speculative of course, but it is logical to assume they were not certain of his identity but they had most certainly heard stories about the countless miracles he performed and believed that he would heal them. They approached the Lord from this position of belief. The belief proceeded the healing. How often do we approach the Lord with this level of belief? Do we truly believe that what we ask for will be granted to us? Jesus taught us to be persistent in prayer. That persistence also requires belief.
For many, their belief in God is more of an insurance policy. I believe in God and go to Mass just in case it is all true. That is not the kind of belief we are called to have. Jesus tells us over and over to have the heart of a child: to believe like a child. Consider a young child’s belief in Santa Claus. There is no doubt in their belief, no hedging of the best just in case is is true. There is only pure belief: certainty that Santa exists and will visit them on Christmas. That belief animates their entire experience of Christmas. That is the kind of believe we are called to have. Our belief in God should animate every aspect of our life. We should talk, act, and be different from the unbeliever.
Along with that belief comes gratitude. We need to be grateful for what the Lord has blessed us with and what we continue to receive from him daily. We read this passage and are likely aghast that only one person returned to give thanks. Are we much different? How many blessings do we receive from the Lord each and every day that we don’t give thanks for? I would venture to say, if we were to really ponder and write down all that we have received it would be a long list. Then if we were to write down what we truly thanked the Lord for, that list would be much shorter.
A cornerstone of Ignatian Spirituality is the daily examen. This is a great tool to use to grow in belief and gratitude. The daily examen is a period of prayerful reflection, done at the end of the day. It is an opportunity for you to invite God in and reflect upon the day: to see how God was present through the course of the day, see those areas where you perhaps stumbled, and to pay attention to the emotions stirring in your heart. Those stirrings are often God’s way of communicating his will with you. Regular practice of this daily examen will most definitely help you grow in belief and gratitude.
Believe and be grateful. A simple yet difficult command. Ask the Lord for the grace to have the eyes of faith to believe more deeply and a heart overflowing with gratitude. Ask the Lord to help you become like the one instead of like the nine so that you may always return to the God you believe in giving him the gratitude he deserves.
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