The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today nudge us to reflect on the areas where our gratitude for events in our daily life has been tinged by a sense of entitlement.
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| Grateful for gifts |
The passage from the Book of Wisdom has Kings stand in for the people of Israel who should seek Wisdom on this matter.
* [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
In Psalm 82, God arises in the heavenly assembly to rebuke the unjust “gods.
* [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
Jesus comments on giving thanks as He cleanses ten lepers in the Gospel of Luke.
* [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
Steve Scholer asks can we be safe in assuming this reading is only about officials who are constantly in the public view, issuing orders and deciding guilt or innocence, or is there a deeper meaning? We all wear crowns, be it the crown of a spouse, a parent, a friend, a co-worker or even the crown of a stranger. And our heads may also be heavy with the responsibility that comes with a crown, but there a way to lessen its weight and burden.
St. Ignatius tackled this issue almost 500 years ago and gave us a roadmap to lightening the weight of the crown. From the beginning of the Jesuit order, Ignatius believed all members of the Society of Jesus were called to lead. But to be an effective leader, certain skills needed to be developed. What Ignatius said then is still true today: The key to leading is in understanding our own strengths and weaknesses. That knowledge and deeper understanding come through daily reflection – looking for God’s presence in our lives and asking for the help of the Spirit to guide our interactions.
Ignatius also stressed that leaders were those who engaged others with dignity, a positive attitude and an open heart, ready to love and accept. He charged the Society to govern using "all the love and modesty and charity possible." Ignatius knew that fear was not how one leads, but rather, by being mutually supportive and creating positive environments fueled by acceptance and affection.4
Don Schwager reflects on the question: Why did only one leper out of ten return to show gratitude?
Gratefulness, a word which expresses gratitude of heart and a thankful disposition, is related to grace - which means the release of loveliness. Gratitude is the homage of the heart which responds with graciousness in expressing an act of thanksgiving. The Samaritan approached Jesus reverently and gave praise to God. Ingratitude leads to lack of love and kindness, and intolerance towards others If we do not recognize and appreciate the mercy and help shown to us, we will be ungrateful and unkind towards others. Ingratitude is forgetfulness or a poor return for kindness received. Ingratitude easily leads to lack of charity and intolerance towards others, as well as to other vices, such as complaining, grumbling, discontentment, pride, and presumption. 5
He 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 notes that in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives a valuable gift to ten people who have a devastating disease—the gift of healing. He healed them because he loved them, and he wanted to do something good for them—the first reason for any gift. But it seems that only one of these ten grasped the second reason for this gift; he’s the only one who came back to thank Jesus and offer him worship. Out of all of these people, only this fellow understood that Jesus was inviting him to a closer relationship with him.
The same holds true today. God has given us many, many gifts: friends, family, a unique set of talents and abilities, his Church, and various signs of his love and presence in our lives. God has given all of them to us freely, out of love and a desire to draw us closer to his heart. Each and every one of these gifts contains within it a special invitation for us to learn more about him and to deepen our relationship with him. His gift of family reveals his commitment to us; friends show us the joy we can have by just being with him; our talents move us to want to serve him; the Church provides a home for us to live with him. And the list goes on.6
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the action of some in authority expected to enact justice and serve others, but they refuse. Those to whom much is given are expected to do much. Friar Jude reminds us that Luke is urging us to think outside our boundaries and consider our treatment of the “Good Taliban”.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, connects to extending our boundaries as he comments that a creative life demands that we take risks. They may be calculated risks; they may yield entrepreneurial fruits, or they may simply enrich our own lives. Creative risk taking might not turn our life upside down but, rather, might right the drifting ship of our soul. When we make ourselves available for the inflow of [Spirit], we accept not only her generative power but also her ability to [overcome] whatever stands in the way of our full aliveness.
You do not always have to suffer for art. You are not required to sacrifice everything for beauty. The creative life can be quietly gratifying. The thing is to allow ourselves to become a vessel for a work of art to come through and allow that work to guide our hands. Once we do, we are assenting to a sacred adventure. We are saying yes to the transcendent and embodied presence of the holy.
Many of us seem to think we are too “old” to create something “new,” which is really too bad. Although my writing is certainly a creative act, it has been a long time since I have expressed myself freely with color, movement, or sound. If I’m honest, I would probably feel a little silly trying again at my age, but Mirabai Starr’s writing reminds me that I am the poorer for it. What joy, satisfaction, or even embodied presence are we missing out on by our self-consciousness?7
Gratitude and affirmation of others are practices that act against our tendency to act out of a sense of entitlement.
References
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