Just a word before we go...Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time...October 12, 2025

“Your faith has saved you.”  These words of Jesus in our Gospel today were spoken to the one leper who returned to thank Jesus and praise God for his being made whole.  The other nine followed Jesus’ direction to show themselves to the priests.  We can imagine that they were grateful when they realized they had been healed, but perhaps not transformed, as was the tenth, who as a Samaritan, knew he wouldn’t have been welcome at the temple. When he realized on his way home that he had been healed, his wonder at that miracle caused him to return to Jesus in thanksgiving.  His faith had saved him.

The idea of thanksgiving arising from a sense of wonder puts me in mind of the late Abraham Joshua Heschel, who soon before he died remarked that he had witnessed many miracles in his lifetime.  That witness influenced his prayer life, in which he never asked for success, but, and I quote, “I asked for wonder.  And (God) gave it to me.”  And for that he was grateful.

Wonder was probably an unfamiliar emotion for the Samaritan.  His people were marginalized because they were considered not to be pure bred believers...they did not worship God in the Temple in Jerusalem, but on Mt. Gerizim, the “Mountain of Blessing.”  They were not welcome in the Temple; this barrier based on the Samaritan’s bloodline was more deeply entrenched than the fact that he had had leprosy.   Jesus had no such compunctions; he healed with compassion and generosity, irrespective of the gender, social status or place of origin of the one in need. Jesus healed people so that they would live differently, with compassion and generosity similar to his, breaking down divisions in a society that excluded people who were different in any respect.

Today, our Pope Leo has been vocal in his proclamation that concern for the poor, and that includes migrants, is non-negotiable for the Christian.  He promotes the dignity of every person, regardless of legal status, ethnicity, or any other variable in the human race.  The Pope insists we are all brothers and sisters .

Taking our lead from the Pope, may we promote justice, peace and love through the living of our lives, building bridges among people and modeling the compassion and generosity of Jesus. Hopefully, at the end of our lives, we will be filled with thanksgiving and wonder, when we hear Jesus say to us: “your faith has saved you.”