The Ten Lepers Who Were Cleansed

Luke 17:12-19

The Gospel reading for this Sunday tells us of the ten lepers who stood afar off – ostracized by their disease and utterly cast off from society. As Jesus was passing by they lifted up their voices and shouted: ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’

Our Lord Jesus Christ heard their cries and had compassion upon them. He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And so it was, that as they went, they were cleansed from their horrible infirmity.

The nine who were healed, continued straight away to the priests to be declared clean and able to re-enter the community. One of them, who was a despised Samaritan, upon seeing his cure, turned back and ran to Jesus and fell down at His feet, giving Him thanks.

Jesus answered and said: ‘Were there not ten that were cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him: ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’

Brothers and sisters in Christ… today’s Gospel reading is all about thanksgiving and gratitude to God.

Do we realize our indebtedness to God? Are we consciously aware that every breath we take, every beat of our heart, every moment of our life is a gift from God. If only we had this awareness, this humble and thankful heart of gratitude to God… our lives and our perception of things would be illumined with Grace and Love and Joy.

It is easy to lose sight of this simplicity, this purity of a grateful heart. Life presents difficulties which can rob us of our gratitude. We may face sickness or someone we love may be sick. Perhaps we struggle financially, and we face an uncertain future. Jealousies and arguments may sour our relationships at work or at home. And, if such things in our personal life were not enough, we are constantly bombarded with news which upsets us and drags us down… Wars and disasters headline the international news. Fear and division and lewdness headline our national news. It is enough to drive one to despair!

How can we be grateful when there are so many horrible things going on in the world?

I think many of you are probably familiar with the words of St Paisios of Mt Athos – a recent saint of the 20th century. St Paisios likens each human being as either a fly or a bee. A fly comes into a garden and all it sees and all it goes for are the filth and the garbage that it finds. A bee comes into the same garden and all it sees and all it goes for are the flowers and things that are sweet. The garden is the same… it contains both filth and flowers, but it is the disposition of the bee or the fly which colors their perception of the world and their actions within it.

We need to ask ourselves, what kind of filter am I placing on what I perceive about the world? Who is determining what is ‘newsworthy’ for me? Many of us have been conditioned to seek the sensational… we are drawn to life’s dramas. On any given day there are terrors and tragedies and there are beauties and blessings. But, so often, our focus is drawn to the terrors and tragedies of life.

The Apostle Paul encourages us to attend to that which is good. And yet, it must be said that, even within the unavoidable terrors and tragedies, it is possible to have a heart of gratitude. Even when all hell is breaking loose around us, when the waves of the sea of life are crashing upon us, we must have that impenetrable cabin deep within our soul – where a quiet light burns before the icon of Christ no matter what chaos confronts us and where we can sincerely still lift up our hearts in praise to God for all things.

One of the most beautiful prayers I have ever come across is the Akathist ‘Glory To God For All Things’. This Akathist, also called the ‘Akathist of Thanksgiving’, was found among the effects of Protopresbyter Gregory Petrov upon his death in a prison camp in 1940. The title is from the words of Saint John Chrysostom as he was dying in exile. It is a song of praise from amidst the most terrible sufferings attributed to Metropolitan Tryphon of Turkestan. Listen to the words of the 12th Ikos: ‘What sort of praise can I give Thee? I have never heard the song of the Cherubim, a joy reserved for the spirits above. But I know the praises that nature sings to Thee. In winter, I have beheld how silently in the moonlight the whole earth offers Thee prayer, clad in its white mantle of snow, sparkling like diamonds. I have seen how the rising sun rejoices in Thee, how the song of the birds is a chorus of praise to Thee. I have heard the mysterious mutterings of the forests about Thee, and the winds singing Thy praise as they stir the waters. I have understood how the choirs of stars proclaim Thy glory as they move forever in the depths of infinite space. What is my poor worship! All nature obeys Thee, I do not. Yet while I live, I see Thy love, I long to thank Thee, and call upon Thy name.’

What an encouragement and inspiration! This ability to see the goodness and the grace of God even in the midst of sufferings is such a gift and such an important aspect of cultivating that disposition of gratitude which can say in sincerity: ‘Glory to God for all things!’

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ… The world presents us with many difficulties. Our lives are filled with highs and lows. But in all these ups and downs we can be grateful to the God Who loves us and watches over us, to the God Who was willing to enter into this world of suffering and Who has redeemed it – such that our sufferings, if endured in a spirit of love, can redeem us too.

Let us be grateful to God for all the blessings in our lives. Let us pay attention to that which is good and be thankful. May God grant that the good things in your life outweigh the bad… but in all circumstances, may you be blessed with a grateful heart! And may we then hear the words which were given to the one leper who returned to give thanks to Christ, ‘Arise and go your way, your faith has made you well.’