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28th Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Bon Secours
October 13, 2019
The Gratitude of One in Ten
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Where Are the Other Nine?”
Jesus heals ten persons with leprosy
One returns to thank him, and to this he asks poignantly: “Where are the other nine?”
The Other Nine
The other nine … a great question and I’d like to suggest answers to Jesus’ question.
Jesus, the 1st of the healed lepers went off to build a new life for himself
He busied himself finding a job, a new place to live, and a family. Actually, he got so busy building a new life for himself after the healing that he forgot the great blessing he had received from you
The 2nd of the lepers was filled with fear and worry because he had few skills and couldn’t imagine who’d hire him and how he would support himself
He was so afraid and worried that he is virtually paralyzed from doing anything. He remained huddled at the town gate, alone, living as if he were still a leper
And, Jesus, the 3rd leper determined to even the score with everyone who had ever laughed at him, scorned or ignored him because of his illness
He vowed: “They will pay for what they did to me.” He was so obsessed with vengeance and simply wasn’t able to experiences any joy in his cure
Number 4 of the healed lepers ran as far away as he could
All he wanted was to forget his old life and everything about it. He even tried to block out the cries of others who were still suffering
And the 5th leper went out and partied and partied and partied
His joy lasted as long as the wine and money did. Once they are gone, he had to face his new life, lost and alone
The 6th leper believed there must be a catch and that he was not really clean and healed
He thought: “After all, why would anyone, especially God, do this for me?” So, he did nothing and just waited for the leprosy to return
Healed or Not
And so it went in a similar vein with number 7 and 8
Because they lacked a sense of gratitude for the miracle they had experienced, the miracle had no lasting effect
Their:
Ø 1st/ self-absorption,
Ø 2nd/ their fear and worry,
Ø 3rd/ their anger,
Ø 4th/ their avoidance,
Ø 5th/ their misplaced values,
Ø 6th/ their skepticism, –
these responses have just made them lepers all over again
The One Who Thanks
But there is the 10th leper. He realizes that he has not just been made clean …
He realizes that he has been touched by God and so, he returns to give thanks to Jesus. This reflects the healing that has happened in his soul, as well as in his body
This 10th leper has faith. Faith is primarily the personal recognition of God’s love and compassion for me
And this recognition unleashes a wave of grace that moves me to give praise and thanks God. In this movement, this wave of grace and the 10thleper’s response, makes him a great model for us
Our Response
Yes, God is in our midst, active in our lives, healing and giving us life
But sometimes, like the nine lepers, we are not aware of this. Sometimes our self-centeredness isolates us from one another
Sometimes…
Ø our fears and worries snag and trap us.
Ø our anger dictates our behavior
Ø our skepticism or doubting or questioning becomes an end in itself
Ø our misplaced hopes and values lead us away from the divine, the transcendent, away from God
When any or all of these are the case, we can no longer experience God in our everyday life
And so, we need to look to the 10th leper as our lead on this
We need to approach life with a sense of faith and gratitude
And we are to realize the presence and love of God in the birth of a baby, in the magnificence of creation, in the tenderness of a spouse, in the skill of a doctor, in our own ability to bring life to another through our love and care
Perhaps the bottom line is this: that for no reason other than a love that we cannot even fathom, God breathes life into us and gives us many other gifts as well
Our only fitting response is to stand humbly before God in quiet thanks
This sort of gratitude can be transformative. It can make so much of life an experience of God’s presence, love, and healing action
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