The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to reflect on the care we should take in our relationships with others as we meditate on the gratitude we need to express for our situation in life.
Care and Gratitude
The reading from the Book of Wisdom asserts that Kings should seek Wisdom.
* [6:1] Kings…magistrates: note the inclusion with v. 21 (“kings”). The address to earthly powers is in accord with the opening (1:1), but the true audience remains the Jewish community.1
Psalm 82 is a plea for Justice.
* [Psalm 82] As in Ps 58, the pagan gods are seen as subordinate divine beings to whom Israel’s God had delegated oversight of the foreign countries in the beginning (Dt 32:8–9). Now God arises in the heavenly assembly (Ps 82:1) to rebuke the unjust “gods” (Ps 82:2–4), who are stripped of divine status and reduced in rank to mortals (Ps 82:5–7). They are accused of misruling the earth by not upholding the poor. A short prayer for universal justice concludes the Psalm (Ps 82:8).2
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus cleanses Ten Lepers.
* [17:11–19] This incident recounting the thankfulness of the cleansed Samaritan leper is narrated only in Luke’s gospel and provides an instance of Jesus holding up a non-Jew (Lk 17:18) as an example to his Jewish contemporaries (cf. Lk 10:33 where a similar purpose is achieved in the story of the good Samaritan). Moreover, it is the faith in Jesus manifested by the foreigner that has brought him salvation (Lk 17:19; cf. the similar relationship between faith and salvation in Lk 7:50; 8:48, 50).3
Tom Quinn comments that if we view ourselves and our society in the light of these words, we know what we need to do as the people of God. We cannot merely shrug and say, "This does not apply to us." It does apply.
We all have some relative power over others, whether they are in our families, work, faith community, or simply those with whom we incidental contact. We all have skills that, though we have honed them and brought them to fruition, ultimately are gifts from God. Since we do have the power to affect others lives, we need to love and care for others. We are told to create harmony; learn wisdom; yearn for wisdom in order to be not only instructed, but holy.4
Don Schwager quotes “Cleansing of the ten lepers,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"Why did [Jesus] not say, 'I will, be cleansed,' as he did in the case of another leper (Luke 5:13), instead of commanding them to show themselves to the priests? It was because the law gave directions to this effect to those who were delivered from leprosy (Leviticus 14:2). It commanded them to show themselves to the priests and to offer a sacrifice for their cleansing. He commanded them to go as being already healed so that they might bear witness to the priests, the rulers of the Jews and always envious of his glory. They testified that wonderfully and beyond their hope, they had been delivered from their misfortune by Christ's willing that they should be healed. He did not heal them first but sent them to the priests, because the priests knew the marks of leprosy and of its healing." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILIES 113-16)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 17:11-19 comments that whatever the man said, he proclaimed his faith in Jesus’ power to heal, because Jesus responded, “Your faith has saved you,” a word that means “made whole” (Luke 17:19, emphasis added). Because this man returned to worship God and express his gratitude, he received the wholeness that Jesus wanted for all ten. He was healed in spirit as well as in body—something better even than being healed of leprosy!
You may have many needs and desires. Jesus cares about them all, but what he most cares about is to make you whole: filled with faith, freed from sin, and confident in God’s love. He wants you to live with him forever. That can happen as your faith, whatever size it is, expresses itself in worship. Your worship opens your heart to God’s power to heal and restore. And it begins with simple words of gratitude. Fall at the feet of Jesus today and thank him for one thing he has done for you. Thank him for his mercy, and then worship him. “Jesus, thank you for caring so deeply about me. I worship you with all my heart!”6
Friar Jude Winkler sees the text in Wisdom as a call to exercise authority with wisdom that serves others in God’s Way. Luke’s example of the gratitude of the Samaritan supported his ministry to Gentiles. Friar Jude reminds us that our entitlement blocks our appreciation of everything as a gift.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, has often said that transformation mostly comes through great love and great suffering. The First Noble Truth of Buddhism shows how accepting the inescapable nature of suffering can lead to greater freedom. Kaira Jewel Lingo, a former Buddhist nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village community in France, reflects on coming to terms with the unpredictable challenges of life.
This attitude of acceptance is freeing when we apply it not only to our personal suffering but also to the suffering in the world. Once, as a young nun, when I was practicing a classic Plum Village guided meditation, I came to the final exercise, “Breathing in, I dwell in the present moment; breathing out, I know this is a wonderful moment.” Suddenly I found myself stuck when I did this practice, questioning how we could truly affirm it was “a wonderful moment” with all the violence, hatred, inequality, and preventable tragedies that are happening in the present moment all over the world. . . . I sat in the question of it and began to see that along with all the suffering and pain, there are also many beings that are supporting others in the present moment. There are many hearts of compassion, opening to relieve suffering, to care for others, to teach, to show a different way. There are people who are courageous and standing up for what they believe is right, protecting our oceans, cleaning rivers and beaches, advocating for those who are oppressed. There are those in every corner of the planet who are quietly doing the things no one else wants to do: caring for the forgotten people, places, species, and doing what needs to be done.7
We pray to be open to the prompting of the Spirit to share our gifts and live in gratitude for every day.
References
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