Bài Tin Mừng hôm nay Thánh Luca kể lại cho chúng ta câu chuyện với rất nhiều ý nghĩa thần học, nhưng hôm nay chúng ta chỉ có thể chú trọng đến một vài điểm để suy ngẫm.
Những phép lạ chữa bệnh của Chúa Giêsu biểu hiện cho chúng ta biết được ơn cứu độ. Vào thời Chúa Giêsu, bệnh phong cùi là một căn bệnh khủng khiếp dễ lây, không có loại thuốc nào để chữa hết, vì vậy nếu chữa được một người khỏi hết căn bệnh này chẳng khác gì việc làm cho người chết được sống lại.
Chúng ta có thể không phải chịu đau khổ và bị bệnh nan y như những người phong cùi trong câu chuyện hôm nay, nhưng dù vậy, chúng ta cũng đang ở trong một tình trạng giống như những người phong cùi này. Giống như họ, chúng ta đang cần sự cứu rỗi, sự an ủi, sự chữa lành và hy vọng mà Chúa Giêsu mang lại. Mỗi phần của câu chuyện hôm nay rất thích hợp với đời sống tâm linh và đức tin mà chúng ta hôm đang cố gắng sống.
Thánh Luca diễn kể về câu chuyện này một cách rất giản dị, không có gì gợi cảm cho sự hấp dẫn, ngoạn mục. Nhưng quyền năng và sự khôn ngoan của Thiên Chúa không cần đến những điều ngoạn mục, hấp dẫn hay tuyệt vời để giới thiệu nó. Cũng vậy, trong cuộc sống của chúng ta, Thiên Chúa đã làm việc theo một cách đơn sơ, giản dị và với sự khôn ngoan của Ngài đã chữa lành và cứu khỏi chúng ta. Tin tưởng là chữa được bệnh: tất cả những gì Chúa Giêsu đã đòi hỏi những người phong cùi phải làm những gì họ phải làm theo như luật định một khi họ đã được chữa lành. Như thế chúng ta cũng vậy, nếu Chúa Giêsu nói với chúng : "Hãy tin rằng chúng ta đã được chữa lành, và hãy hành động một cách cho tương ứng." Tất cả, Chúa Giêsu chỉ đòi hỏi nơi chúng ta là niềm tin và hy vọng.
Lạy Chúa, xin giúp chúng con tin tưởng nơi Chúa và xin giúp củng cố lòng tin yếu đuối của chúng con.
Reflection:
In this story of the Ten Lepers, Luke has included much theology: we can only select a few points for reflection.
The healing miracles of Jesus signify salvation. At the time of Jesus, leprosy was such a terrible disease that curing a person from it was equivalent to raising him from the dead. We may not suffer as the people in the miracle stories of the Gospel suffer, but we are nevertheless in the same situation as they are. Like them, we are in need of the salvation and the comfort, the healing and the hope which Jesus brings. Every part of the story of the Ten Lepers is very pertinent to our own spiritual lives and the faith we try to live.
Luke tells the story very simply: nothing spectacular or strange happens. God’s power and wisdom do not need anything spectacular or wonderful to recommend it. So, too, in our own lives, God works in simple and wise ways to heal and save us. Believing is healing: all that Jesus demands of the lepers is to do what they had to do once they have been cured. It is almost as if Jesus had said: “Believe that you have already been healed and act accordingly.” All Jesus demands of them is faith and hope.
According to the Law of Moses, lepers were declared ritually unclean and required to live apart from the community. They had to wear torn clothing, leave their hair disheveled, cover the lower part of their face, and cry out “Unclean! Unclean!” whenever anyone approached (cf. Leviticus 13:45–46). This separation prevented the spread of disease and maintained ritual purity among the people of Israel. Lepers endured profound social isolation, spiritual alienation, and personal suffering, making their condition one of the most tragic and symbolic representations of sin and its consequences in the Bible.
The lepers in today’s Gospel met Jesus as He was entering a village they were not permitted to enter. They lived on the outskirts, likely with others who shared their condition. Spiritually, they symbolize each of us. If we can humbly recognize ourselves in them, we will more readily embrace the lesson they offer.
In our current state, our souls are spiritually disfigured due to fallen human nature and personal sin. This world is, symbolically, on the outskirts of the Kingdom of God—a place from which we are barred until cleansed by grace. These lepers show us the path to that cleansing. First, they teach us to recognize our need and then to turn to Christ with confident hope in His mercy, that we may be restored to full communion with God and the saints.
Ten cried out from a distance, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” Though Scripture doesn’t say if these were the only lepers near that village, it’s possible others remained silent. If so, these ten who did cry out stand for those who humbly acknowledge their misery, fallenness, isolation from God’s Kingdom, and trust in Christ’s saving power.
Similarly, we must remember that this world is not our true home. With our first parents, we were cast out from Paradise because of Original Sin. Only through the mercy of Christ can we be restored. Recognizing our exile and its cause is the first step toward healing. If we do not acknowledge our spiritual leprosy, we will not cry out for the only cure: Jesus’ mercy.
One beautiful aspect of this story is that it reveals a second, deeper level of spiritual healing. The ten who cried out and were healed represent those who are baptized and remain in a state of grace, either by avoiding mortal sin or by being restored through sacramental confession and absolution. Yet only one, upon realizing he was healed, returned to give thanks to Jesus. The other nine did not.
The fact that only one returned suggests that most of us are best represented by the other nine. Just as an immature child expects his parents to feed and care for him, so we often expect God to forgive and restore us without giving proper thanks. If that is the extent of our spiritual lives, we remain immature. To grow into spiritual maturity, we must also grow in gratitude by continually returning to God in prayer, glorifying Him in a loud voice, and falling at Jesus’ feet in adoration. Only then will we receive a deeper healing and a greater share in God’s mercy.
Reflect today on the lepers’ cry for mercy, and ask yourself whether you recognize your own need for healing. Are you willing to admit your spiritual wounds, to cry out to Jesus, and to persevere in gratitude? If so, are you among the nine who took God’s mercy for granted and failed to express proper gratitude for the gift of spiritual cleansing and restoration? Strive to be like the one who returned to Jesus, humble, grateful, and filled with faith. Fall at the feet of Jesus in adoration, give thanks for all He has done, and hear Him say to you, “Your faith has saved you.”
Most generous Lord, Your mercy is endless and freely given in superabundance. Despite Your goodness, I often take You for granted and fail to offer the gratitude and humble worship You deserve. Please have mercy on me now and always. Remove every sense of self-entitlement, that I may always return to You, fall before You, and express my most humble and sincere thanks to You. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. Remembering the Exodus: In today's Gospel, Jesus is on his final journey to Jerusalem. We begin reading the third section of this journey (Luke 17:11–18:30), which focuses on preparing his disciples for life in the Kingdom of God. Luke tells us that Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. Galilean pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem often followed a route that took them across the Jordan River and through the region of the Decapolis before crossing back into Judea near Jericho. This journey across the Jordan evoked memories of Israel’s Exodus. Just as the Israelites crossed the Red Sea and later the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land, so too did pilgrims cross the Jordan as they made their way to Jerusalem. Jesus’ journey, however, points beyond the earthly Promised Land. He is leading his disciples toward the New Jerusalem and the fullness of God’s Kingdom. Along the way, he reveals the mercy and salvation that are available to all who approach him with faith.
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.” Luke 17:17–19
This reply from our Lord came in response to the one leper who returned to Jesus to thank Him. Ten lepers had come to Jesus, stood at a distance, cried out, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And with that, Jesus healed them all. But the heart of this healing is not as much the healing itself as it is the gratitude expressed by only one of the ten. This Gospel relates to us that this one leper did five things to profoundly express his gratitude. He returned, glorified God, did so in a loud voice, fell at the feet of Jesus, and thanked him. What a wonderful witness for us all!
First of all, it must be noted that expressing gratitude to God is not done because God needs these accolades. He does not depend upon our gratitude to affirm His self-worth. This is obvious. God is God, and He does not need our praise in any way. However, giving profound praise and glory to God is essential. It is essential because we need this virtue of gratitude so as to daily be reminded that all we receive from God is an unmerited gift. We cannot earn His love and grace. We do not deserve it. But He chooses to bestow it anyway out of mercy. And the only appropriate response to mercy is gratitude. Profound gratitude.
Gratitude is essential because it is the truth. We should always return to our Lord after He has graced us. We should glorify Him with much fervor, crying out to Him with passion. We should, literally and interiorly, fall on our face before Him, at His feet, and thank Him, over and over and over again. Doing so will always help us to remember the truth that everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God. An unmerited and undeserved gift of grace.
Reflect, today, upon the depth of gratitude in your own heart. Do you often act more like a spoiled and selfish child, or do you regularly perceive the graciousness of God? If you lack in any way this fullness of gratitude, then ponder this one leper. His gratitude, expressed with the fullness of passion, is the most important part of this story. In the end, he was graced far more than the other nine because his healing produced faith; and it was that faith that saved not only his body but his soul. Seek to save your soul by imitating the faith of this one holy and healed leper.
My gracious Lord, You bestow Your mercy upon me in superabundance. Without You, Jesus, I have nothing; but with You, I receive everything. May I always know and understand my need for Your grace. And as I am gifted with it, may I respond with the deepest gratitude, thus, saving my soul through faith. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. The Exodus Journey: Luke indicates that as Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem he traveled eastward between two regions, with the region of Samaria on his right (to the south) and the region of Galilee on his left (to the north). Galilean pilgrims to Jerusalem who took the Jordan Valley route would journey from Scythopolis to Pella in the Decapolis. They crossed the Jordan River, headed south along the eastern side of the river through Perea, crossed back over the river near Jericho, and then began the ascent to Jerusalem. Earlier, at his Transfiguration, Jesus spoke about the exodus he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:321). The crossing of the Jordan evoked the exodus of the people of Israel under Moses. Jesus, accompanied by the crowds going to Jerusalem for the Passover, is the New Moses. He leads a New Exodus and will celebrate a New Passover in Jerusalem. Through his death, resurrection, and ascension, he will open up the way to heavenly glory (see Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, 186).
No comments:
Post a Comment