Some reflections from today's gospel

Mature Christians look for God himself, not the things that we receive from Him.

This episode of the lepers helps us clearly to Highlight the virtue of thankfulness, but if we accept the ongoing invitation of God to grow in our faith, we ought to make another step forward. I think we can see also two different attitudes: one of the Christian that looks for a specific favor from God and of the Christian that looks just for God himself. 

If we do the math, we see in today's gospel that nine didn't return and one did it... We can assume that the first attitude is the most common one. We can say that is more frequent to look for what God can do for us than to look for God that is all-powerful in us and for us. 

We can also see in this two attitudes, two ways of being a Christian, I mean two stages of the Christian life: in the first stage, we all look for the things of God. Those things could material, like food or health or cold be also spiritual like peace, happiness... In both cases are still things and not purely things.

In a second stage of the Christian life, we learn to believe that in Him we find everything... This is a mature Christian, the one that can see life through the eyes of God. I was just thinking in the procession last Sunday and because of the size of the Eucharist I couldn't see almost anything, and I though to myself, maybe this is it, to see things through the Eucharist.

... There is yet another lesson we can learn today.  Jesus is on His way.  He meets the lepers, cures them, and sends them out.  There is motion in today's Gospel.  This is the way our Lord works in our souls as well.  He is never static - and he never wants our faith to become static or stale.  When the lepers are cured and sent to the priests, one leper returns to give Him thanks.  One leper lets his faith move him.  And to this leper, Jesus says, "Your faith has saved you."

This is a very important teaching for us, brothers and sisters.  The Christian life consists in a continual process of going to Jesus and being sent by Him.  It consists in going to our Lord to ask for His grace, His mercy and forgiveness, and then being sent out by Him to serve others, to bring Him to those He has entrusted to us, and in this way, to strengthen the Church.

Jesus is always in motion, and He is always putting us into motion.  He did not say to the lepers, "Come, I will heal you and together we will form a small and comfortable group."  To the one who returns to thank Him, He does not say, "Now that you understand, stay by my side - rest with me..."    

Rather, to the lepers and to each of us, He gives a mission.  He sends us out.  He says to the lepers, "Go and find your brothers and sisters - look for the priests - announce salvation to them and tell them all that God has done in you."   He sends us to carry Him to the world too.  He puts us in motion each day, for His glory.