28th
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
2Timothy 2:8-13
Luke 17:11-19
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?”
There
was once an old man who rode in a heavily packed passenger jeepney. When he got
in, it was already the last seat, which he was able to take. Not any longer, an
old woman also got in but had to stand, for there was no more vacant seat
available. Seeing the old woman’s situation, the old man offered his seat
available. With that, the woman said, “Thank
you!” and fainted at once. But hearing what the woman said, the old man too
fainted next. Everybody, then, was so surprised why they both fainted out. So,
when they regained consciousness, they were both asked why. The old woman
answered first: “I had been taking this
route for the past twenty years, but no one ever offered me a seat. When the
old man did, I was so overjoyed that I fainted.” Then, it was the turn of
the old man and so came his answer: “Well,
I had been offering my seat for the past twenty years in my life as a commuter,
but only that old woman and she alone, ever said ‘thank you’. I became
overjoyed, and I fainted!”
No
one can ever question the importance of gratefulness. Since childhood, we have
always been taught that showing gratitude is part of good manners and right
conduct. But sadly, even Jesus became a victim of man’s ungratefulness. This is
the theme of today’s gospel. “Ten were
cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner
returned to give thanks to God?
1. If everything has its season, so too, everything must have its reason. And if ever we are taught to be grateful, it is all because there is and there must be a reason to be grateful. Such is the case of the ten lepers in our gospel’ episode. In biblical context, nothing is more miserable a situation than that of a leper. The leper carries upon his shoulders the double burden of leprosy. First, the leper suffers physically. One cannot imagine the pain and anxiety when little by little, day after day, the leper had his fingers, his hands, his feet, etc., rotten, eaten by leprosy. Second, the leper suffers morally. In the bible, leprosy is related to sin. Most often, it is considered a punishment. This is the reason why Jesus would send the ten lepers in today’s gospel to the priest. It is not really the doctor who declares them unclean or clean when cured but the priest.
This double burden makes the leper unclean physically and morally. And as if to add insult to injury, the leper has to shout “unclean!” in case he encounters people on the road. That is why the leper is an outcast. He has to live alone or with other lepers in a place otherwise known as the valley of death. Theirs is not a community of people, but a dome of the living dead. These and others give the poor leper an unutterable anguish. Physically fearful. Morally sinful. Psychologically tortured. Socially condemned. That’s the leper.
2. Healing and cleansing from such malady
must be the greatest that could ever happen to a leprosy stricken fellow. This
is the case of the ten lepers. Once cleansed, the double burden they had been
bearing perhaps for years is totally gone. Literally, they have now the faces
to be with their loved ones, friends, relatives, with anyone. They regained
their rightful places a home, in the community, in society, in the world. In
short, a new life is dawned and hope is born again. Certainly, this must have
been the greatest gift they could ever imagine. Unmerited. Totally given out of
love and mercy from he person to whom they cried out “Master, have pity on us!”
But out of ten, only one realized about this amazing grace. And he was a Samaritan at that. The other nine might have perhaps been so overjoyed as to forget to come back. Or perhaps, their families and friends might have feasted so much and so long that they had no more time to be back. Or again, they might have simply taken it for granted. One reason. Another reason. Many reasons. Surely, there are just many thousand reasons not to be back and say the kindest words of gratitude, which other nine simply forgot. His words of thanks might not be enough an exchange for the favor he received. But certainly, those words came straight from his heart. And that was enough for a master whose love and mercy abound.
This must be the reason that although the ten were healed, only the grateful Samaritan was saved. “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” Jesus could have also given the gift of salvation to the rest. But the rest never returned. The evangelist Luke wants to present Jesus as a mediator, as someone through whom great things are done. Thus, even thanking God must be through him, too. That is why his question is quite precise: “Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” With this, the other nine simply missed the gift of another great opportunity. And by missing it, they also missed the gift of salvation given to the grateful Samaritan. Jesus had no way of giving it to them because they were not there anymore. They failed to come back. They failed to be grateful. And they missed the reward of gratefulness.
3. Human experience of today is not far from the story of the ten lepers. Churches are full with people of various needs. Tears of sorrow and repentance flood during critical moments in life: calamities, illnesses, disappointments, etc. promises are said during bar and board examinations, in times of applications for employment, planting seasons, etc. And most often, poverty urges people to make litany of pledges not only before the altar but also among friends and neighbors. In times like this, the cries of the lepers become the sweetest prayer of all: “Jesus, master, have pity on us!” But when amazing graces come, those pledges, promises, prayers, cries, become simply a part of the forgotten past. They are just that powerless as not to be able to remind an ungrateful soul.
I was still very new in a certain parish when a parishioner came to the rectory with mixed feelings. He was anxious but quite ashamed, aggressive but quite troubled. He said he was not sure what to give to the parish “in gratitude” for an amazing grace that came to their family. His younger brother had won the sweepstakes! “Our church has no organ yet. It would be better if you can give one for the choir,” I suggested. “That’s a fine suggestion, Father. In two or three weeks’ time, our parish will have one,” he assured. But for four years in that parish, I had to contend with the generosity of another neighbor who used to lend his portable organ for parish use. And when time came for me to leave that parish for another assignment, I had to console myself that the parishioner’s story and promise was just one of the fairy tales I happened to hear in the past. Well, he was just that person who had much to say but less to show.
“Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?”