Today’s Gospel is Luke 17, 11-19

¹¹ On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,^[a] who stood at a distance ¹³ and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” ¹⁴ When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. ¹⁵ Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; ¹⁶ and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? ¹⁸ Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

Jesus heals those who ask. He picks us up when we are down, lifts our spirits when we are depressed and takes away our scars. We are all broken in one way or another; we are all in need of healing of one kind or another; and we are all in need of love and compassion. This is what Jesus will do for you if you only ask him.

Jesus heals all of the lepers who asked him, but only one of them returned to thank him for what he had done for him. Why did the other nine not return to thank Jesus? That may be one of the mysteries we can only have answered when we actually meet Jesus. My thoughts are this: the other nine were so overjoyed to be healed and cleansed that they didn’t see the need to thank the Lord for what he had done for them, or possibly they were so overcome with glee and joy they wanted to rush to their homes and show them what had happened. Regardless of their reasons there was one who acknowledged what Jesus had done for him and felt the need to acknowledge and praise Him for his outpouring of love towards him. We need to keep this in mind and thank and praise Jesus for the blessings he shows to us every day. When your checking account is empty and you get that surprise check in the mail that will carry you through to the next payday, when you are depressed and feeling all alone in the world, an old friend calls you without warning, when your boss gives you a raise at work because you put in that little bit of extra effort on a project; these are all blessings that we need to be thankful for and praise our Lord for his bountiful love and compassion. Our healings may not be as profound as those of the lepers, but we are all blessed and healed one way or another on a daily basis. Praise him and thank him for every little blessing you receive.

Lord in your mercy hear the prayers of the sick, depressed, poor, and anyone who needs your blessings in any way. Let us truly know where our bounties come from and acknowledge those bounties and blessings as yours. In Jesus name we pray. Amen