Reflection by Rev. Leonard N. Peterson

It seems that Bob had agreed to paint Fred’s backyard storage shed while the latter was on vacation. Well, Fred has been back from his trip for four days now, but no thanks have come Bob’s way yet.

Cheryl had volunteered to babysit Maureen’s twin boys for the week while Maureen visited her ailing mother. That was two weeks ago now, but Cheryl has yet to hear a word of thanks.

Charlie volunteered to tutor his friend Pete in physics for an upcoming exam. Pete did well, but Charlie was a bit peeved that he never got thanked for his efforts. Especially because Pete was not an easy student.

These three are just modern-day incidents of ingratitude that are hardly earth-shattering. But were any of us to be transported back to the days when Jesus walked the earth and did so as victims of dreaded leprosy, we would experience our whole world turned upside down. Not only would we have been cast out of our homes. We would also be banned from normal society. So, meeting up with this young Rabbi from Nazareth who offered us a cure would be a genuine Godsend. So, after certification by the priest that our cure was real, the next logical step for us would be to thank Jesus profoundly. So, as you rushed to do so, you find to your chagrin that you are alone before Him. Naturally, He asks you: “Where are the other nine?” You have no satisfactory answer.

That question of Jesus reverberates down through the tunnel of time in the face of all the indifference, neglect, and ingratitude of God’s children in every age. “Where are the others?” (Well past the number 9.)

The question was posed suggests an examination of conscience before every good Confession, does it not? Do we view our sins, even though they may be venial in nature, as “leprosy of the soul”?

Even though there is no banishment from visible society due to this form of “leprosy,” we know in our deepest parts of mind and soul that we are “temporary outcasts” from association with His love until that confession is made and absolution given. But oh! The relief afterward! The joy! The smile on Jesus’ holy Face and the hug He offers is priceless!

And if you think you have nothing to thank God for, consider this truth that I found: “There is one thing for which you should be abundantly thankful—only you and God have all the facts about yourself.”

God love you and give you, His peace.

Rev. Peterson’s Reading & Gospel Summary

Reading I: 2 Kings 5: 14-17

Washing in the dirty Jordan River drives home the message that it is Yahweh, and not the river water, that cures Naaman. The seven times demand alludes to the seven days of creation, meaning that when he emerges from the river, Naaman is a new creation.

Reading II: 2 Timothy 2: 8-13

Paul asserts to Timothy that Christ is the center of his preaching. The Word of God is never shackled. This section of the Letter ends with what seems to be an ancient Christian hymn.

The Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19

In those days, a leper became an outcast of society. To be cured meant much more than a medical fact. It was a return to a full life. The truth that out of ten cured souls, only one returned to thank Him, the compassionate Healer, and was indeed sad. Add in that the one man who did return was a Samaritan and the folly of cultural prejudice is exposed.