Sunday 9 October

Twenty Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98:1-4; 2Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19

Ten Lepers

This story (Ten Lepers) is sometimes told to children as a teaching text to say ‘thank you’ (and while we are at it, to say ‘please’). However, thanking people is hardly a biblical practice. This is the only time in the whole bible where one man thanks another. There is a clue however: the Samaritan prostrated himself before Jesus. These two actions (giving thanks and kneeling down) are reserved for God alone in the Bible. This Samaritan believes that Jesus is divine. He is healed not only in body, (as are the other nine) but more importantly, in spirit.