The Grateful Leper
11/11/09 07:17 Filed in: Gratitude
Gratitude is often in short supply. But today’s Gospel reminds us of just how much we have to be grateful for. The mere fact that you have ten fingers and toes is a blessing. The fact that you can see the computer screen, feel the computer keys and click on the mouse is a blessing. The fact that you have no aches and pains at the moment is a blessing. The fact that you can live among family and friends is a blessing.
“Were there none found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger?” (Luke 17: 11-19)
In the ongoing and contentious debate about health care reform, it’s easy to lose sight of how blessed we are to live in the age of miracle drugs. Nothing in our experience of illness can equate to what life was like for the lepers in today’s Gospel.
Leprosy attacks the major organs and nervous system, leading to numbness, disfiguring skin lesions, chronic nose bleeds, poor vision, the loss of fingers and toes and, in some cases, paralysis. Leprosy is a living hell. It’s victims literally lose touch with the outer world.
In Jesus’ time, lepers were ostracized and forced to depend on their loved ones and the kindness of strangers. When they saw people approaching, they had to cover their upper lips and cry out from a distance, “Unclean . . . unclean.” Again and again, they would utter those words in a kind of mindless mantra.
But on this particular day, the man at the forefront of the approaching crowd was the living embodiment of mercy. This time, the lepers cried out for mercy. Jesus immediately healed them and charged them to show themselves to the priest. Without another word, the ten lepers set off to find the priest.
Along the way, their symptoms disappeared. The experience was so overwhelming that one leper – only one – stopped in his tracks and returned to thank Jesus.
Gratitude is often in short supply. But today’s Gospel reminds us of just how much we have to be grateful for. The mere fact that you have ten fingers and toes is a blessing. The fact that you can see the computer screen, feel the computer keys and click on the mouse is a blessing. The fact that you have no aches and pains at the moment is a blessing. The fact that you can live among family and friends is a blessing.
Our greatest wealth is our health. We can’t take it for granted. Like the grateful leper, we have to show how thankful we are by praising God for being “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
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