Word to the Wise
Sunday, October 9, 2016 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[2 Kgs 5:14-17; 2 Tim 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19]"Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine> Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" [Luke]
When one belongs to a community of support and meaning and love, it can be a devastating thing to be banished completely and sentenced to keep one's distance. This was the condition of the lepers in today's gospel scripture (and of Naaman the Syrian in the first scripture). It was not for anything wrong they had done that they were outcast. It was because of their illness. However, in the case of one of them, there was an additional element: prejudice. He was a Samaritan and subject to a kind of "apartheid" with Jews for historical, cultural and theological reasons dating back to the Babylonian exile! In fact, when told with the other nine to go and show themselves to the priests for certification of their cleansing, he realizes that the priests would not look at him! He returns to the one "priest" who helped him, Jesus, to give thanks.
This gospel scripture is a challenge to our prejudices. Who are the outcasts for us? From whom do we keep our distance and expect them to do the same? What communities do we belong to that have collective or corporate prejudices that exclude others simply because of their race, economic status, gender, sexual orientation or any other excluding characteristic? The same question might be asked about difficult behavior on the part of a community member. What can we do to imitate Jesus who crossed the boundary of leprosy to heal and to forgive? Pope Francis has directly challenged the Church to become a "field hospital" for the sick and wounded. He has challenged us to become "missionaries of mercy."
An additional challenge is here, too. The Samaritan leper displays an "attitude of gratitude" that matches the great favor Jesus has done for him. Do we do the same, or do we simply take life, breath, community and love for granted? We owe that Samaritan a debt of gratitude for his good example, and we look to Jesus to touch our prejudices and cleanse them away. AMEN
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