BEWARE of SPIRITUAL
LEPROSY!
(a reflection
on Luke 17:11-19)
by: Deacon Paul Rooney
There is a well-known yarn, one
which may or may not be true, that you can find in the writings of a nephew of
Mark Twain, writings about the famous author and Nobel Prize winner, Rudyard
Kipling. You remember the things Kipling
wrote like "Gunga Din" and "The Jungle Book," both of
which were made into movies. Kipling
sold one of his books for a price that netted him one shilling for every word,
which might be about 40¢ a word
today. So sure enough, one wise guy
mailed him a shilling, asking him for "one word." Rudyard Kipling responded with one word:
"Thanks."(1) Well, in today's gospel (Luke 17:11-19) Jesus
gave ten lepers something far more significant than a shilling: he restored
them to physical wholeness. Yet only one
man responded with that precious word, "Thanks."
Two things make this episode
unusual. First, only one of the ten men
returned to give thanks to Jesus for the healing. Since Jesus made a pointed comment
about
this, it highlights the direct connection between gratitude and faith. One precious gift, faith, should lead
everyone to the proper response, gratitude.
An obvious message is that every Christian should be so grateful for the
gift of faith-that-leads-to-salvation that they will praise God daily for so
wondrous a gift. We believe in God's
promise of salvation, and we recognize that he died to save us. When we stumble and fall through personal
sin, the Sacrament of Reconciliation once again restores us to spiritual
wholeness. Grace upon grace, gift upon
gift! Praise and thanksgiving for God's
tender mercies should well up in us throughout the day, every day!
The second unusual detail in this
gospel segment is that it was not the nine Jewish men, but only the Samaritan
who demonstrated his gratefulness for being made whole. He returned, throwing himself at the feet of
Jesus in thankfulness. Jesus had every
right to be sad, seeing that only one person saw fit to return and thank him
for the healing, especially since the other nine men were fellow Judeans. Jesus did not "need" their thanks;
he had experienced rejection before. But
he knew that the insensitivity of the nine men gave a glimpse into the
condition of their heart and mind. They
may have been cured of leprosy of the body, but they now had spiritual
leprosy of the mind, a condition of ingratitude and ungratefulness.
One can discern lessons for us
today in this scripture passage. For one
thing,
the Christian should not expect to be rewarded with praise and thanks
for doing what he or she is sent to do.
After all, the Master was rejected and forgotten; so that will be His
disciples' destiny as well. But just as
importantly, we need to do a self-examination of our own attitude of gratitude
towards God. Hopefully we all pray in
gratitude at mealtime. But what about
the rest of the day? Are we aware of the
priceless gifts that have been showered upon us? Faith, Hope, Love, the awesome Incarnation,
the sacrificial death of Jesus for my salvation, my very life and breath, my
family, and many, many more...am I taking these for granted? If not, what is my proof?
Deacon Paul Rooney
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Notes:
(1)"A Ken of Kipling"
by William Clemens; http://archive.org/stream/kenofkiplingbein00clemuoft#page/104/mode/2up/search/shillingPhoto Credits:
Kipling: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling
Nativity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus
Praying Hands: http://www.watton.org/clipart/prayer/prayer.shtml
Once again Deacon Paul, you have written a reflection that challenges and encourages.
ReplyDeleteA while ago I realized that when I went out to eat I was neglecting to say the blessing before my meal, I was not even really aware that I was doing it! And even now occasionally I forget. But what a grace to be made aware that you have forgotten to thank God, it means you are orienting yourself more toward Him! And, God is good! When I realize I have forgotten I can ask His pardon and give Him thanksgiving for His mercy!!