Gospel: Luke 17:11-19
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 voice, 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.”
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Reflection:
A young man who was sent through college by a rich old man went to the
old man’s house after he got his degree. He did it to express his gratitude
towards his benefactor. When they met the old man said, “I have helped a lot of
people but you are the only one who came back to express appreciation. Since,
you have a grateful attitude I will give you one of my business take care of it
for it’s yours already.”
Are you grateful to those who have helped you become who you are today?
In our gospel we read about the gratefulness of the Samaritan leper who is
healed by the Lord. They were actually ten but the nine did not show up to
Jesus to express their gratefulness.
What happens to us when we are grateful? The blessings of God keep coming
to us. When we are grateful the more that the giver is motivated to give more
to us. Therefore, the stream of blessings continues.
How can we prove this? For example if we are the giver of the blessing. Would
we not unceasingly give to those who express their appreciation? As opposed to
those who do not know how to appreciate the things that we do for them?
Why was Jesus looking for the other nine whom He healed? Perhaps it was
not anymore for Him to hear their words of gratitude. But in a deeper sense
Jesus was looking for the nine so that He could have an up close and personal
encounter with them. And in the process of their encounter He could
subsequently bless them again and again and again.
Jesus is also always looking for you not anymore to hear words of
gratitude from you. He looks for you so that He could continuously bless you. -
Marino J. Dasmarinas
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