And it came to pass, as he was going to Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. [12] And as he entered into a certain town, there met him ten men that were lepers, who stood afar off; [13] And lifted up their voice, saying: Jesus, master, have mercy on us. [14] Whom when he saw, he said: Go, show yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean. [15] And one of them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice glorifying God.
[16] And he fell on his face before his feet, giving thanks: and this was a Samaritan. [17] And Jesus answering, said, Were not ten made clean? and where are the nine? [18] There is no one found to return and give glory to God, but this stranger. [19] And he said to him: Arise, go thy way; for thy faith hath made thee whole.
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"17 This led Jesus to say, 'Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they?
18 It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.'"
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According to St. Luke the evangelist, Our Lord Jesus Christ
continued his journey to Jerusalem, travelled between Samaria and Galilee.
We may firmly believe here that our Lord
met many people and graced them by His presence.
As He was entering a village, we are told,
that ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him for they bear
leprosy in their own selves. But their condition did not became a hindrance on
crying out to God, to our Lord Jesus who hears the cry of the poor and the
afflicted ones who were abandoned, deprived of love, mercy, and compassion from
the rest of the world, those who are cast out from the rest.
They raised their voice saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" They know that God will pity them
and by faith knows that God will save them from their condition.
Lord Jesus in turn listened, heard their
cry and pitied them, gave them a mysterious command to go and show themselves
to the priests. They did go and as they are going, they were cleansed. And one
of them, realizing he had been healed, sensed that God saved him from his
affliction, the Eternal High Priest healed him from
his leprosy, understood that God is the
priest - the only priest that heals and saves. In realizing that God healed him
(even without the assurance of the healing words of God but in obedience to the
Lord they left Him to present themselves to the priests), it shows that he is
sensitive enough to know to whom he must be thankful for. He knew to whom he
should give glory - to God alone. He intensified his
voice much louder than the first cry he
made when he is pleading to God for mercy. He returned the healing he received
from God by returning himself - his whole self to God giving the Lord the
homage He deserves and, he did this with humility, self-emptiness, and
gratitude.
The Lord is merciful and loving even to
those people whose identity and race is detestable - just like this Samaritan
leper. He acknowledges the fact Jesus is the Lord, God, and Master and he knew
by faith that he will be healed by this Eternal High Priest who is a Jew. The
Samaritan leper became a Jew - for he returned to God and acknowledged Him who
is the One True God - the Only Healer and Savior - the One and the Only Priest
- the Eternal High Priest.
Jesus Christ seemed amazed by the return
of the Samaritan leper where in fact, He healed ten lepers. He is inquiring for
the nine who were insensitive and ungrateful to God. But the Samaritan just did
what he ought to do - he stayed at the feet of Jesus Christ giving homage and
gratefulness, not minding the other nine - he is enjoying the moment with Him.
Jesus Christ in turn said to the thankful
man, "Be my rejoicing disciple who will be my witness of healing and life.
Your faith has saved you from your iniquities."
We must consider the following:
We must return to God with rejoicing and
thankfulness for He saved us from sin and death and from the fruits of these.
We must acknowledge Him as the One and
Only Eternal High Priest and there's no other.
We must know and realize that God is the
Only Healer and Savior and there is no other.
We must be sensitive and grateful enough
to realize whom we must be thankful for - God alone.
We must be solid in our faith in God.
We must empty ourselves from ourselves to
be humble enough and grateful enough to God
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!
Mary H. Distributist
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