The Entitlement of the Saved

In the gospel (Luke 17:11-19), ten lepers ask Jesus to take pity on them and he heals them. But only the Samaritan leper return to Jesus, glorifies God, and gives thanks. This leper reveals himself as someone who knew he needed healing, but also as someone compelled to return to his Healer, throw himself at his feet, and further the fledgling relationship begun with the healing. For this action, he received even more than physical healing. He hears Jesus declare to him, "your faith has saved you." This is faith: knowing who we are before God, gratefully coming to God, and ever deepening our relationship before God. And for this we always give thanks.

Photo by the author.

The second part of the Final Document from the Synod on Synodality (49-77) opens with the recognition of “the call for a Church with a greater capacity to nurture relationships: with the Lord, between men and women, in the family, in the local community, among social groups and religions, with the earth itself” (50).

At the same time, the Synod recognizes that some “continued to experience the pain of feeling excluded or judged because of their marital situation, identity, or sexuality” (ibid.). In a sense, they are the lepers in today's gospel, those "outside the tent."

The document continues that “To be a synodal Church, we are required to open ourselves to a genuine relational conversion that redirects each person’s priorities and we must once again learn from the Gospel that attending to relationships is not merely a strategy or a tool for greater organizational effectiveness. Relationships and bonds are the means by which God the Father has revealed Himself in Jesus and the Spirit” (50).

The sense of entitlement of "the saved" often leaves us neglecting even such common social gestures as saying thanks. The ungrateful nine lepers were the original "entitlement crowd"! We are moved beyond taking for granted that what is given us is owed to us when we grow in the kind of mutual sharing that deepens relationships.