Word to the Wise
Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - Wednesday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Titus 3:1-7 and Luke 17:11-19]As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. 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?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
This gospel often appears on Thanksgiving Day! There the emphasis is on gratitude, as is proper for that day. But there is much more to understand! Jesus shows his power in that he heals from a distance! Furthermore, he doesn't just "cleanse" these lepers, he releases them from the isolation that their illness had forced on them and now restores them to good standing in the community. Now we come to the Samaritan! Just as in the parable of the Good Samaritan [Luke 10:29-37], we discover that someone completely unexpected shows true understanding of what has happened. The Samaritan realizes that God is working in Jesus. It is not just the "cleansing" and the experience of the miraculous that saves the Samaritan. It is his faith that saves him. The others remained cleansed but they do not show the faith that the Samaritan does, which is why he returns to Jesus to give thanks!
A belief in miracles and God's ability to work beyond our means to explain is part of Christian faith. But the miraculous is not the object or subject of our faith. God is. The miraculous is a result of faith and not a cause of it! Yet, God can do wonders even when a person shows little or no faith, as happens to nine of the ten lepers! It is the person of faith who realizes that has happened and then gives thanks! Perhaps, as the celebration of Thanksgiving approaches, we could spend some time thinking about the "miraculous" in our lives and understanding how God has worked with us. This is the kind of faith that saves! AMEN