Gospel Reflection Oct 13 – Msgr. Hendricks
Sunday, October 13
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 17: 11-19
Gospel:
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
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.”
Gospel Reflection:
These are great stories, in the First Reading Naaman, a foreign leader, was cured of his leprosy, and in the gospel 10 lepers are cured by Jesus. In both accounts no one saw the actual cure, but both foreigners came back to give thanks for the cure. It is interesting to note that Jesus, who is still making his way to Jerusalem to suffer there, still has his mission in mind and does the work and the will of God along the way.
This story in the gospel is unique to Luke, and develops several important themes for the Lune. He explains again the role of Jesus as a powerful prophet, he cures the incurable. He shows that the mercy and power of God is at work in Jesus. The cured who return to him to give thanks show that God is the one to whom thanks is due. Most importantly it shows that the net is now thrown open to include all people into the kingdom of God.
Think and pray on this gospel this week and see how the mercy and healing of God has been extended to you in small and large ways.