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.”   

In the movie “The Pianist,” Wladyslaw Szpilman finally freed himself from the oppression of living and working in the Nazi work camps, but then he had to submit to a different type of oppression—the oppression of survival in a hostile world. During this final session of the movie, Szpilman moved from place to place, begging from others in order continue to live, and thanks to the generosity of others, he was able to survive. Quite literally, the only thing he could do was to accept the help of others, even those who took advantage of him, and to sincerely thank them.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus encountered ten lepers—ten people who because of their skin disease had been ordered by law to live separately from the rest of society. Not unlike Wladyslaw Szpilman during this portion of the movie “The Pianist,” they were condemned to a life of mere survival. Typical of Jesus, he healed them, and all he wanted from them was a word of thanks. 

Everyone of us lives in a world dedicated to survival and satisfaction. We may never know the pain of being without the bare rudiments of eating or drinking. But most of us have felt total dependence on another, times when we would not have survived unless we received help. The young could not exist without the help of parents or other interested adults. Often the very old depend completely on the generosity of others. Even those who can function for themselves often need some help that they cannot supply themselves.
 
After the manner of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, God expects us to be thankful—thankful to God, to parents, to generous adults, to nurses, to taxicab drivers, to airline stewardesses, to anyone who makes our lives better than they are. Wladyslaw Szpilman realized such a need as he miraculously lived through the Holocaust. We should realize it as we live our own miracle of life.                        

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son taught us to be thankful. There are so many things that we have received from you and from those who love and work with us. Give us the grace to be grateful, and may we show it in some way. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America