In the Gospel that we have just heard, Our Lord heals ten lepers. Leprosy was a terrible disease in the ancient world – no cure was known.
Lepers were cast out of the village, out of the synagogue, out of the marketplace, out of society. They could not attend synagogue, they could not buy and sell, they could not engage in normal, human relations, with those who were healthy. Clearly, being cured of leprosy was life-changing. And yet, out of the ten people healed, only one returned, “praising God with a loud voice.” Christ then asks a question: “Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” His question remains unanswered. But before we consider this Gospel episode, let us begin with a look at our readings.
In the first reading, from the Second Book of Kings, Naaman the Syrian is cleansed of leprosy. He is a powerful commander of the Syrian army, and if you remember your Scripture, he comes to Israel to be healed of his leprosy. He is the one who is told by the Prophet Elisha to bathe seven times in the river Jordan. Naaman the powerful commander, and the leper, expected a more spectacular healing, and he gets angry, and is about to storm off, but at the last minute his servants persuade him to follow the medicine of the Prophet. Naaman is completely healed, and in gratitude for the miracle, he offers presents worth a small fortune to the Prophet Elisha. Elisha doesn’t take a single penny. His power is God’s power, and God’s power to heal is offered free of charge. As the Lord says to the Apostles: “You received without payment; give without payment” (Matthew 10:8). On a sidenote: if any of you visit healers, please be careful, and if after your visits your wallet is much lighter, it is probably not God’s spirit that is working through that person. If you get your Bible out, and keep on reading the story of Naaman’s healing, you’ll know that the Prophet Elisha’s servant Gehazi wanted some of Naaman’s presents for himself, and lied to get them. Gehazi ends up being a leper, with his skin white as wool. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, is an example to us that those who are dishonest and greedy will incur God’s judgement.
St. Paul, in the Second Reading, speaks of Christ being faithful, even if we are unfaithful. Faith is a pearl of great price for us. At times, we need to do battle to keep our faith, we need to implore Our Lord Jesus to “increase our faith,” like the Apostles in last Sunday’s Gospel. St. Paul also mentions that if we deny Christ, He will deny us, in front of the Father. Today, in the Roman Martyrology, we commemorate St. Abraham, the Patriarch, our father in the faith, and a shining example of trust in God, but also a shining example of courage. Let us ask for St. Abraham’s intercession today, so that we may remain faithful, and not deny our Lord.
Finally, in the Gospel, we get a glimpse of the Divine Physician healing his beloved people. Our Lord Jesus cleanses ten lepers, literally changing their lives in an instant. And towards the end of the healing, Our Lord poses the question: why did only one of the people healed return to give praise to God? My brothers and sisters, most of us are well acquainted with the prayer of supplication: this is where we ask God that He grant us certain things. Lord, please give me health. Lord, please give me a job. Lord, please look after my elderly parents, and so forth. Many of us are also familiar with the prayer of thanksgiving: Lord, thank you for your help on an exam. Lord, thank you for a safe journey. And perhaps the one we use the most, “Lord, thank you for this food, which we have received.” I hope that as we sit around the table at Thanksgiving, towards the end of the meal, we can remember to pray in gratitude for goods on our table. So, prayer of supplication, prayer of thanksgiving. There is yet another type of prayer: the prayer that gives glory to God, the prayer that gives praise to God. This is the prayer where we can give praise to God simply for who He is, independent of any individual benefits that we may get. “Glory to God in the highest," we sang at the beginning of Mass. In the doxology, at the end of the Eucharistic prayer, we will sing to God the Father, “All glory and honour is yours, for ever and ever.” Our Lady too had her song of praise, the Magnificat: “My soul glorifies the Lord.” This type of prayer does not ask for something; it is not specifically a prayer of “thank you” for the gifts received. This last type of prayer glorifies the Lord, it sings His praises, simply for who He is. On a final note: the prayer of glory, the prayer of praise, is able to glorify God not only for the good things He sends our way – but also for the misfortunes. It takes great spiritual maturity to be able to praise God not only in the good circumstances of life, but also in the bad.
Christ remains faithful, though if we deny Him, He will deny us. Christ heals, and is the Divine Physician of both body, spirit, and mind. Christ wants to give us good gifts so that we can return to praise the Lord. Let us give glory to God, in one of the most frequent prayers of our Christian faith: “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, amen.”
(Fr. Pawel Ratajczak, OMI, Oct. 9, 2022)