12 October 2025 - one in ten

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."

It took faith for these ten lepers to humbly come to Jesus and ask him to heal them. They expressed that faith by the way that they remained at a distance and addressed him as "Master". This wasn't just a show designed to appeal to Jesus. We can see their sincerity from how they responded to be told to go and show themselves to the priests, since they set out before it was obvious to them that anything had happened or that anything was different. Indeed it was only one of the ten of whom we read that he realized that he had been healed while still on the way. They all began with faith and were walking in faith. But only one became aware of what Jesus had done for him. Most likely the others eventually would as well. By the time they got to the priests we may assume that their physical healing would have been externally evident. But one of the lepers was uniquely attuned and attentive to what Jesus had done in him. He was so overwhelmed by this experience that he deviated from direct obedience to the command of Jesus and returned to give thanks. What made him special, or different from the others? Well, whether or not it is what made the specific difference in this case, one thing we know that seemed to distinguish him from the others was the fact that he was a Samaritan. He was perhaps less focused on the temple priesthood of Israel, and on the role it would need to play in his story. He came with a different set of expectations that made him more open to the central role of Jesus in his story. It could have been that the others were more eager than he to be reintegrated into the worship of their people, more focused on the current cult of their people, as they understood it, to be the focal point of their healing and subsequent spiritual life. The Samaritan did set out to see those priests in obedience to the command of Jesus. And probably, he would do that eventually. It would have to wait. For him the central role of Jesus was more evident, and it was this that required immediate acknowledgment. It was, however, meaningful for him to go to the priests eventually. That he would eventually present himself to the priests made him an instance of the healing power of Jesus tearing down the divisions between the peoples, toward the eventual reunification of all of the tribes of Israel. But it all began with Jesus.

Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"

The implication was that the nine omitted something they ought to have done. Had they realized what had been done to them they too would have imitated the Samaritan in returning to Jesus first before proceeding on their way to be reintegrated into the community. But they were more focused on the results, it seemed, and less on Jesus himself. That he commanded them to go did not imply that they were henceforth free to forget about his role in their story. They did come to Jesus with faith. But it was apparently a flimsy faith that seemed too ready to move on once it attained its short-term goal. All ten saw greatness of some sort in Jesus. But the nine seemed content to use that greatness to solve their problems. The Samaritan was the one who realized that the giver was greater than the gifts. He was changed forever, just as we read that Naaman was changed when he found healing in response to the command of Elisha. He was not content to merely return home. He needed something with which to mark the fact that he was forever changed, and indeed, a new way to live from that point on.

Naaman said: "If you will not accept,
please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth,
for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
to any other god except to the LORD."

Maranatha! Music - Give Thanks