From pastor’s desk on the 28th Sunday in year C
To whom should we be grateful? — This is the question that one may pose after hearing the passage from this Sunday’s gospel. We read that there were ten lepers that came to Jesus. They begged for healing and our Blessed Lord performed the miracle at their request. All of them were cleansed at once of their illness, meaning, they had been completely cured of the terrible disease that caused the decay and distortions of their bodies. Not only that, but because of the nature of this contagious disease, the lepers were excluded from society and this, perhaps, was an even greater torture than the illness itself. Separation from loved ones makes any illness unbearable. At that time, any one afflicted by contagious disease was banned from the natural family ties and from any normal social interactions. Upon seeing these ten lepers, Our Lord Jesus was moved with pity for them. Since they showed faith in Jesus, our Lord restored them to the wholeness of their bodies and relationships.
How were they cleansed? — The lepers were obedient to Jesus’ word. They did as He commanded them. They were told to show themselves to the priests in the Temple of Jerusalem. At that time, in the Jewish cultural circle, it was the role of a priest to diagnose whether someone was cured or not from any ritually defiling disease. Hence, the afflicted men simply followed Jesus’ order to go to the Temple, as if they were already healed, and present themselves to the priests so that they could diagnose whether or not the men were restored to health. It was exactly then, while the lepers were on their way to the Temple, that something miraculous happened—their bodies became cured. They felt healthy and whole again, so they could go back to their families and communities. Whether the other nine men truly went to the Temple of Jerusalem we do not know. We do know, however, that only one man came back to Jesus to thank Him. The cured man happened to be a foreigner, that is, he was not a Jew and did not know all of the Jewish customs. One thing he had learned, however, was that it was the Teacher from Nazareth who showed mercy to the sick men, and through Jesus, the power of God was manifested.
The cured stranger immediately came back to Christ, who was also of the line of the priests. From Sacred Scripture we know that Jesus is the High Priest before God the Father. So, our Blessed Lord praised the man for his gratitude and set him as an example for us all to be really grateful to God through Jesus for all the wonderful things we have received in this life. By the means of this gospel passage we learn that all the power is given to Jesus “in Heaven and on Earth” (Matthew 28:18). For that reason, we conclude each prayer at Holy Mass saying “through Christ our Lord.” Jesus is our Lord and Savior; He is the Divine Healer who knows the depths of the human heart and has compassion on all our afflictions. Jesus can perform the miracles of healing for us too, but sometimes He may want to heal a much deeper wound that is hidden from our eyes. It is a disease that is called sin, which may eat us up from within like a mortal cancer. In fact, sin is the spiritual affliction that only Christ can heal. He already did it on the Cross, “for by His wounds you were healed” (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24).
The next time you come to a Holy Mass, thank our Lord Jesus for the miracle of spiritual healing. Remember, only Jesus loves you with the great love and He restores you to the fulness of life in God and society.
Have a blessed week. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor