What can we do? Cry out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Much of the church’s liturgy is just an expansion of those words. “Lord, have mercy!” over and over again.
Jesus hears. Jesus answers. The lepers are healed.
One comes back. Why? Is only one of them polite?
That’s not quite right. …
Read More“Dear God.” With these words many prayers begin. But when the desired outcome is achieved, God is no longer so dear. He was a means to an end.
Many people treat each other like that. Relationships are transactional. So long as one gets something valuable from the relationship, he’ll maintain the pretext of friendship. It’s painful to learn someone was never truly your friend.
What about the ten lepers in today’s Gospel? They cry out to Jesus in their need. When the need is met, they skedaddle....
Read MoreThe one thankful leper didn’t have his leprosy cured because he believed hard enough. Jesus commends him because he saw in Jesus the merciful God. God had shown pity on him, and therefore the leper was glad. I imagine they all were glad, because they were healed. But the thankful leper was glad not just for his healing, but because he had found God. He wanted to be with him. This kind of faith ceases to be about the believer and becomes all about the object of belief. The Christian, then, never talks about his own faith, but the Christ in whom his faith is.
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