In this morning’s Gospel, we find ten lepers who had been ostracized from the community. They were in pain and diseased. Their family and friends weren’t allowed to come close to them. We here in the pandemic know of many situations like this. Siblings, friends, parents, and so forth have had to isolate themselves to protect the community. When these lepers came to Jesus, He sent them to the priests. On their way, they were completely cured of their disease. Only one of them returned to see Jesus and give thanks. The others sought God when they needed him; once cured, they ran back to their lives.
How often do we do that ourselves? We give thanks for good, but we ignore the bad. We seek God when we have needs. Then when everything is going smoothly, we don’t have time for all that religious stuff. There’s more here, though, more than just a call to gratitude. Notice what Jesus says to the one who came back: “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” That has echoes of resurrection, echoes of a new life. It echoes a dignity that is being restored because of faith and trust in Christ.
The physical healing was a miracle, no doubt about that. But the humility of coming back to the feet of Jesus in thanksgiving and gratitude opened the Samaritan for something more. It provided a path in his life for Spiritual healing. It allowed Jesus to come in fully into the man’s life and begin the Salvation process. When we treat God like an ATM, we miss some of the most potent and vital blessings in our lives. If we only fall to our knees in times of trial, we miss the growth that comes in times of quiet and plenty. So today, on the Feast of Saint Leo the Great, we are reminded that we have a faith worth fighting for. A faith worth standing up for, a faith worth believing.
This one Samaritan, this one outsider, shows us the true path to salvation. He came to Jesus when he was sick and was given a miracle. He then came to Jesus when he was healthy and received even more. When we meet God with gratitude, whether we are going through a season of health or sickness, poverty or wealth.. when we meet God with gratitude, we find the gratuitous love of God is more than we could ever dare to hope for.
A homily for the Memorial of St. Leo the Great: November 10, 2021