Unclean !

Luke 17:11-19
         Unclean !

         On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’  When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’  feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’  Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’ 

       It would seem that Jesus loved to invite trouble. If he wasn't disobeying this rabinic law or that, associating with prostitutes and tax collectors, he was here willing to speak with lepers and Samaritan lepers at that (they're the worst!). What was he thinking? His mother would have been very upset with him, him being a good Jewish boy and all.

        But Jesus was (is?) a good Jew. Not unlike many of us that might say I am a good Catholic if it weren't for the fact that we don't always go to Mass, practice birth control and eat meat on fridays in Lent, etc, etc. What are we thinking? How can we consider ourselves good Catholics? In many ways it's no different than Jesus being a good Jew. Far too little credit is given to what is in our hearts. Jesus gave us good examples that rubrics and rules following is NOT what makes you holy. Clearly it is our hearts.

          So Jesus is walking along and is confronted by lepers - untouchables, unclean, to be avoided at all costs both religiously and for obvious practical reasons. What does Jesus do? He speaks to them, heals them and considers it a done deal.

          The end of this reading is something very important to consider, especially this coming week. One leper came back to Jesus to say thank you, most of the cured lepers did not. It seems entirely reasonable to me that even if you don't follow all the rules of the Church, even if you disagree with one doctrine or another or don't go to church to worship in community and to say thank you, you certainly can spend time to say thank you on your own. In community is better I think, but certainly we should be saying thank you's all over the place. God obviously would and does go to extraordinary lengths for us, we should thank God for everything we are graced with.

          To God, we are not unclean lepers, we are his precious children one and all.