November 27, 2022 at St. Peter, St Agnes, & St William Churches in Naples, FL

Isaiah 2, 1-5 + Psalm 122 + Romans 13, 11-14 + Matthew 24, 37-44

On this first day of Advent the first reading of the day and season is the voice of Isaiah who awakens us to the promise of this season. He speaks today just as he did generations before Christ. He speaks to a people in danger of giving up hope on their dreams because their experiences suggest that faith no longer makes sense. They knew the stories of how God had acted in the past, of how God had delivered a people from Egypt, of how God had spared Noah, of how the faith of Abraham had been affirmed by his countless descendants. But for the people of Isaiah, it seemed as if that time had passed as well as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is as though they asked the question: “Is this all there is? And they answered that question with a hopeless “yes”. 

We are the people of Isaiah today, a people in danger of giving up hope as many around us have already done so. “What’s the use?” they say. “What’s the use of going to church?” “Where is God?” and “Why doesn’t God do something?” So, many dreams of peace vanish as we awaken to news once again of another mass shooting. Celebrities with jaded and sordid lives have become heroes only to betray us with another scandal. While our real heroes like dedicated teachers and public servants go underpaid and dismissed with no word of thanks. In the meantime, another batch of power-hungry men and women have bought their way into positions of power and influence desperate at all costs to win promising nothing, with no plan to bring us together while their rhetoric demonizes others leaving us even more polarized.

Isaiah laments that imaginations are dulled. He complains that prayers are little more than laments of self-pity or just rote recitations that come from lips with no desire to change anesthetized hearts. Yet, he cries out today in this church just as he did ages ago: “In days to come…” He has no time for looking back. He understands what the word “past” means. It’s over. It’s finished. His message then and today is simple: “God is not finished with you.” There are days to come he says. What has happened in the past is not the end of our story. Isaiah tells us what God intends for the world. He knows that the world as we know it is not what God intends and that God wills to help us do better and be better. St. Paul echoes that message today as he urges us to wake up and walk in the light of Christ.

Jesus translated the words of Isaiah into his own by reminding us about Noah when things were headed to hell in a handbasket. For some it was all about making money, luxury living, fast cars and country clubs while others went about their business, assuming that nothing can change the way things are going. That’s my version of “eating and drinking and marrying”. Jesus used his imagination with fantastic ideas about the time when God would finally come bringing all things to fulfillment. His message really simply suggests that by not living up to our vocation, we make a mess of things, but hope is possible because of who God is.

The season we have just begun reminds us that our hope is little more than childish wishes until we recognize how we have failed to live up to our human vocation. It invites us to awaken our dull imaginations, stir up our hopes, dare to dream again about what God has from the beginning called us to be and how God has so longed to walk with us again in trust and friendship. This season of Advent proposes that we invest our hearts, hands, and feet into active hope in God’s days to come. Pope Francis, like Isaiah has spoken to young people about a new Pentecost calling us out of the mess we have made of things because it is not the end of the story. Redemption is possible, and in four weeks we are going to proclaim that Redemption story once again. Not because it’s what we always do on December 25^th, but because we need to and because the joy of that proclamation will give us life and lift us up once again with real hope that we can walk away from our past and all the hurts and offences we sometimes love to hang on to and imagine real and lasting peace. 

November 20, 2022 at St. Peter & St. William Parishes in Naples, FL

2 Samuel 5, 1-3 + Psalm 122 + Colossians 1, 12-20 + Luke 23, 35-43

It is hard for us Americans to really wrap our minds and imaginations around this idea of Christ as King. Those who dared to dream this country into existence and shape our governance with a constitution were certainly not monarchists. Far from it. The consequence of their dream and hostility toward a monarchy gives us some trouble with this idea of Christ as King. I guess we could look to Pilate when it comes to formalizing this image of Christ, but for the people of Israel, the memory of King David and their whole collective memory that things were better when David was King had already set the stage for Pilate’s proclamation.

Since we inaugurate our leaders after election, we don’t quite get what makes a king or for that matter a queen since it’s not popular election that provides that title and its awesome responsibility. On the 6^th of May, a man from the house of Windsor will be “crowned” as King Charles III. Many who are curious or interested in those things will watch that spectacle, but I suspect few will really understand it. For one thing, the ritual is mis-named when called “Coronation.” It is not the placing of the crown on someone’s head that makes them a royal. There are other rituals just as important such as handing the new king an orb and a staff. However, what really matters is not those external things, but a very intimate and holy gesture, the anointing when consecrated oil is poured onto the head of the one who is becoming the king, the ruler, the servant and protector of the people.

We must remember that the word Christos comes from the word Chrism. In other words, it is the anointing that matters. It is the anointing that changes a prince into a King. It is the anointing that changes a non-believer into a Christian which of course means that they now are a member of the anointed ones, and in the Jewish/Christian tradition, who are anointed? Priests, Prophets, and Kings. 

Celebrating the Feast of Christ as King challenges us to affirm more than the rule of Jesus Christ over this world and our lives. It is powerful reminder that because of his fulfillment of the Father’s Will we, by our own anointing at Baptism are becoming day by day more and more a priestly people, a kingly people, a prophetic people, and a holy people.

As sons and daughters of God we are royalty in every way. That means we must act like it living with royal dignity, credibility, and never forgetting that we are here to serve and protect the most vulnerable, helpless, and poor of God’s children who either have never heard of the Kingdom for which we live or have never been treated with the dignity that comes with being children of God. Our church suffers from many ills in these days that come about from members of the Body of Christ acting like anything but royalty. 

With Baptism comes responsibility. With the name Christian comes accountability. We are called and we are chosen. Too many believe that the universe is just fine without Jesus Christ. This Feast celebrated every year could hardly convince them. It will take all of us together – anointed and on fire for our King to make a difference. This is the day and this is the hour for that to begin.

November 13, 2022 at Saint Peter & Saint William Parishes in Naples, FL

Malachi 3, 19-20 + Psalm 9 + 2 Thessalonians 3, 7-12 + Luke 21, 5-19

About forty-six years before the birth of Jesus, Herod the Great, looking for favor and admiration from the people began refurbishing the Temple. It was not because he was a holy man or necessarily because it needed it, but because he wanted to impress with his vision and power. Archeologists tell us that some of the granite stones as big as boxcars were cut with such precision that they fit together so well there was no need for mortar. The episode in this Gospel today takes place on a hill just opposite the hill on which Jerusalem is built with the Temple sitting there like a crown. The sun reflecting off the brilliant white marble made the Temple visible for miles. To imagine Jerusalem without the Temple or to imagine that Temple coming down would have been impossible. It would like us trying to image Washington D.C. without the Capital Building or the Washington Monument, like New York City without the Statue of Liberty. Yet, because of what Jerusalem had become and how the Temple had become a place of commerce and the domain of the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus knew it would come down. It did not take any divine knowledge to believe that. Just about 40 years after Jesus said these things, it happened.

A thirty-year-old roman general named Titus stood just about where Jesus was and with sixty or eighty thousand men starved the city into submission. Historians tell us that when the Romans finally entered the city they found that the Jews there had been fighting among themselves. Fanatics, extreme nationalists, and bandits held control of various parts of the city. Enraged at the stubborn behavior of those citizens, Titus allowed the soldiers to sack, burn, and destroy that Temple carrying off everything they found of value.

Luke wrote shortly after this disaster, and the signs he recorded had already happened. The false messiahs, wars, earthquakes, plagues, and persecutions happened before he wrote. Judaism had excommunicated Christians from synagogues, families were betraying each other. Mt Vesuvius had cast darkness over much of the Mediteranean world, and the Roman persecutions had begun. We could ask why Luke writes like this and certainly wonder what are we to do about it, and these are questions we ought to ask

The answer to the first question is there in the text. Luke writes to people who living at critical times with words of hope for the future and a wisdom that will guide human life. Rather than be frightened by whatever tragedy is happening, we cannot miss those words: “Not a hair on your head will be destroyed. “  Those tragedies, that fear, that violence from the time of Luke still goes on. The World Trade Center came down, children are running wild with guns shooting their parents, and friends. War and rumors of dirty bombs are still a reality. Christians are still persecuted for their faith even here at home. The church itself is torn apart by those refusing to listen to the Holy Spirit, and this country is ripped into red states and blue states. Luke’s comforting message must still be proclaimed.

And the answer to the second question is found in the wisdom of God’s Word: “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” This kind of endurance is an essential quality of discipleship. There is no measuring the good that has failed to happen in this world because of hesitation, faltering and wavering cowardice. Fear keeps people quiet and timid. This cannot be so for us. It was never so for Jesus Christ, and it cannot be so for those of us who claim his name. As Saint Paul wrote, we endure all things because of love which is patient and kind. It is never jealous, pompous or rude. It does not seek its own interest. It does not brood over injury but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

November 1, 2022 at St. Peter Parish in Naples, FL

Revelation 7, 2-4 & 9-14 + Psalm 24 + 1 John 3, 1-3 + Matthew 5, 1-12

Apparently, the writher of the Book of Revelation expects one hundred and forty-four thousand to be the population of heaven. One hundred and forty-four thousand is less than half the population of Collier County. If you read this literally, it might give you some serious anxiety about whether or not you are going to make the cut. But, before make some sense of this, we ought to dig into the first reading today with a little combination of Mathematics and Bible knowledge. First of all, how many tribes are there in Israel? Now the math. What’s 12 squared equal? Now, the big round number of that day was “one-thousand”. In our times, we often think of a huge number by saying “millions”, but at the time of this writing they would have said “one-thousand” to express a really big number. So, take the number of tribes, square that number and then add the number that means “huge” and we get 144,000. 

Is that really the population of heaven? This might be a good day to figure this out since the closer we get to the end of this liturgical year selections from the Book of Revelation and the apocalyptic style of writing will become more frequent in the Gospels.

The whole purpose of this is to draw attention to the big picture and the direction of salvation’s history. For almost a year, we have been proclaiming Luke’s Gospel which his one long journey to Jerusalem – not Jerusalem as place, but the “New Jerusalem” of heaven. So, our readings from Sacred Scripture to day and in the next few weeks are going to remind us of the big-time-space picture within which we live our Christian hope as we head to Jerusalem.

So, we have to figure out how to take seriously talk about 144,000 saved people standing with robes washed in blood holding palm branches. That takes some informed reflection and some study. It helps to know that first century Jews thought that the “age to come” would see the restoration of the scattered twelve tribes. The writer of Revelation sees the fulfillment of that expectation and even more. In other words, it’s going to be that restoration of the twelve tribes and even more, even better. Heaven won’t be just the twelve tribes, it will be twelve times twelve tribes and a million more! To make sure readers to do not get too literal about a head count, he adds a picture of numberless, multitudes representing every nation, race, people, and tongue under the sun.

What it all means is that the end of time turns out to be more than Israel ever imagined. It is more than anyone can imagine. Rather than a limited number, it is countless, and the implication for us then is that we have a chance. In fact, it’s probably better than a chance since in the end it involves God’s grace which is not a chance thing. It’s real. There’s room for us all, and this God revealed by Jesus is out get is all.

The saints we honor and remember today are hardly all dead and gone. We all know living people, ordinary Christians who live their lives enduring trials, sometimes terrible pain, family tragedies with great faith never stopping their love and service to others. They are constant in worship and in virtue. The power of grace is visible in their lives. 

The saints are marvelous and many, way more than the nearly 10,000 named by the Church. To think that those named are the only ones limits the grace of God. The saints are as numerous as the grains of sand. They are with us and for us in every generation. They are in every parish, and they are sitting here in front of me. Today, we praise God for them, and we are encouraged to look forward and to work for that day when no one is ever excluded from God’s love and God’s house.

November 6, 2022 at St. Peter Parish in Naples, FL

2 Maccabees 7, 1-2. 9-14 + Psalm 17 + 2 Thessalonians 2, 16-3,5 2 + Luke 20, 27-38

The journey of Jesus to Jerusalem is complete.  Jesus is there in the Temple. In Luke’s Gospel, the Temple is the place it all began and the place where it all ends. Like bookends, Luke frames his Gospel from the moment the old priest, Zechariah is visited by an angel in the Temple to this moment when Jesus stands in that Temple the mission of Jesus unfolds for us. Earlier he has cleansed the Temple, almost claiming it for himself. Unafraid of his opposition, he teaches openly and bravely while his enemies continue to harass him. On this day, they come with a ridiculous proposition not so much to trap him as to ridicule him.

It has nothing to do with marriage, and Jesus knows that. It has to do with getting Jesus to take a side in the ongoing debate at the time over life after death. Those Sadducees want to ridicule the whole idea of life after death, and in so doing make Jesus look like a fool. They think that a man lived only through his descendants which is the issue on their silly story. Jesus insists that life has nothing to do with children or anything humans think they can produce, and with this conflict, the very meaning of human life is raised up for reflection. The meaning of life itself is ultimately what this is all about, and today we are challenged by this Gospel to resolve what human life, our life is all about.

The times and culture in which we find ourselves deserve some critique. Evidence is all around us that belief in eternal life is not strong. The very meaning of our existence is called into question today. What is it that matters in this life? What is it that gives us meaning and purpose is the question. For me, the clearest indication that belief in eternal life is not commonly shared shows itself at funerals when someone gets up to give a eulogy. Nine times out of ten they will talk about what the dead person did, or said, their work or their interests. When someone speaks about the dead in terms of their faith and their relationship with God, something else is being revealed.

Jesus invites us to imagine and dream of all the love we can give and receive. He invites us to see in relationships the meaning of life. Possessions do not give us genuine meaning, and no legacy or any estate we leave behind will give meaning to our lives. Jesus invites us to open our imaginations to understand life in terms of where we are headed. The trouble is, too often too few of us ever give much thought to where we are headed acting as though they believed there is no life after death. 

Well, there is, and we who believe that cherish the words of our Holy Father Francis, who says: “Life exists where there is bonding, communion, fraternity; and life is stronger than death when it is built on true relationship and bonds of fidelity.” Here in this church, here at this altar we restore, nurture, and rediscover those relationships with one another in communion and with the one who feeds us with food for the journey. Life does have meaning but it will never be found in the things of this earth or things made by man. The meaning of life is made clear by a people who remember every day that there is a future, there is life everlasting, and that we have an immortal soul longing and waiting to be united again with the source of all life. It is the future that gives meaning to life. It is relationships that give meaning to life. It is love given and shared that gives meaning to life, and that will be the legacy we leave behind giving witness to the fact that we know what life is all about.

October 30, 2022 at Saint Agnes, St William, & St. Peter Parishes in Naples, FL

Wisdom 11, 22-12,2 + Psalm 145 + 22 Thessalonians 1, 11 2, 2 + Luke 19, 1-10

We have to somehow get it straight in our heads that the Gospel is not some ideal, some pie-in-the-sky wish about the future in some alternate reality. The Gospel is about now, and its examples are not just drawn from some time long-ago. If the Word of God is truly alive, then it speaks to our time, our world, and our relationships. It addresses our behavior and our choices.

Last week with two men at prayer, a tax collector being one of them, and this week with another tax collector named Zacchaeus, we see the approval of Jesus for tax collectors who are reforming their lives because of their faith. These two stories are unique to Luke. They are not repeated in any of the other three Gospels, giving us one more example of Luke’s recurring theme: “The Son of Man has come to seek and save what is lost.” The resolve of Zacchaeus to give back and repay is evidence of his conversion and desire for restitution which is so much a part of real justice.

The act of Jesus entering the house of Zacchaeus is clear evidence of where Jesus wants to be and whose company he prefers. In that house there will be no one trying to trap him, no one watching his every move, no one listening to see if he says something that would get him into trouble. This is now near the end of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus is almost to Jerusalem. There can no longer be any doubt about where Jesus is to be found, not in a Temple this time or a Synagogue, but in and among the ones he came, loved, and saved: sinners.

Jesus reaches out to Zacchaeus for hospitality, and with that request accepted, it’s all over for the sinner, Zacchaeus. He’s on his way to holiness. As his relationship to Jesus changes, so does his relationship to material possessions. 

C.S Lewis wisely observed that the greatest sinners and the greatest saints are made from the same stuff, and so it is with us as well. This church is full of sinners and saints. They are not different people, and there’s way to point out one from the other, because all of us both sinner and saint. Holiness begins to take hold of us and define us when we welcome Jesus into our homes, our lives, and our hearts. At that moment, our relationship to material things will change as well.

The times in which we live have pushed us far apart making the challenge of this Gospel more difficult to embrace. Too often we prefer to hang around and listen to people who think like us, vote like us, live like us and sometimes pray like us. The kind of life coming from that behavior is far from life the way Jesus lived. He did not hang around with his own kind. If there is to hope for sinners, if there is any hope at all for conversion and the ultimate arrival of God’s Reign, we will have to pay attention to and follow the example of Jesus. Disciples of Jesus Christ must prefer and often be found in the home of a sinner. We must seek out the company of sinners, even great sinners for many of them may be on the threshold of conversion waiting for God’s love perhaps that can be found today nowhere else but within us. When that happens, sinners become saints.

This homily was not delivered in a Latin Rite Parish this Sunday. I am serving a Maronite Rite Parish in Tequesta, FL

Sirach 35, 12-14, 16-18 + Psalm 34 + 2 Timothy 4, 6-8, 16-18 + Luke 18, 9-14

It had to have been startling and disturbing to the people listening to Jesus when he first described that scene with two men a prayer. To recognize holiness in a tax collector was impossible to those people, so despised were tax collectors. If it did anything at all it might have caused them to give some attention to the prayer rather than the one at prayer, thereby giving us all something to think about when it comes to prayer. One look at the prayer Jesus taught us sets the focus. Prayer is first of all about giving honor, glory, and praise to God. In the end, that’s all God expects and asks of us. The prayer Jesus taught begins by doing just that: “Hallowed by the name”. 

That Pharisee at prayer seems to be praying to himself. Five times he uses the word, “I”. Clearly, he is praising himself. There’s no recognition of God at all. It’s as though he is in an echo chamber. Yet, he is a Pharisee. He’s one of the holy and righteous ones in Israel. He’s praying to himself. He recites his virtues wanting to appear blameless. It doesn’t work. He claims to be honest, but he is not even honest with himself. He claims that he is no adulterer, but yet his self-admiration makes him unfaithful to God. He tithes missing the point that tithing and fasting should lead us to care for others.

Meanwhile in the back, with head bowed the mercy of God is acknowledged by someone honest enough to call himself a sinner. Best of all, he is willing to accept that mercy His prayer reveals that he is ready to move beyond selfishness. Honest about who he is, he is also honest about who God is knowing that he deserves nothing but hoping for the loving kindness of God. That hope itself is a kind of praise and acknowledgement of the virtues of God. While the other one is certain that he has earned it, as though God passed out rewards to God’s favorites.

These verses invite us to re-examine our prayer language as well as our image of God who wants to be God to us, a God of mercy, a God of forgiveness, a God of compassion and love. I don’t think God wants to be the judge who passes out prizes to the winners That image of God comes out of our behavior and thinking. It is not the image of God Jesus came to reveal.

This Jesus of Luke’s Gospel speaks to us today with a reminder that those who know their need for God will pray in a way that God can answer. I believe that God likes us best when we are humble enough to admit our need for God’s help and open enough to receive what God wants to give.

“The safest road to Hell is the gradual one” says C.S. Lewis. “It’s the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones.” He is explaining how easy it is for religious people (Pharisees and us) to lose our way, to gradually slip from wonder before God into thinking that our own perfections and success are what matters allowing to scorn and judge others who seem less than we are. Only those who understand God’s humility can bow their heads before mercy. When we pray: “God, be gracious to me” we are simply asking God to be God. What greater praise could there be?

This homily was not delivered in a Latin Rite Parish this Sunday. I am serving a Maronite Rite Parish in Tequesta, FL

October 16, 2022

Exodus 17, 8-13 + Psalm 121 + 2 Timothy 3, 14 + 4, 2 + Luke 18, 1-8

As always with parables, things get turned upside down. No exception with this one. This weekend, a powerless, woman has all the power. The all-powerful judge with all the right connections and authority is helpless in the case with this woman. In demanding her rights, her dignity, and a respectful hearing, she stands for all the weak and powerless on this earth who cry out for justice, respect, and a dignified life worthy of God’s children.

The perseverance evidenced in this parable is not really about pestering or badgering God. It is not as though God can or would change God’s mind if we say enough rosaries or twice as many novenas. What must change is not God, but the heart of those in charge, those who can do something about injustice.

God is not involved in this parable. It’s between the woman and the judge. He is the one who must provide what she needs. God has given him the means, the position, and the power to do so. There is no suggestion that the judge is the cause of her condition. What is at fault is his indifference and his false peace coming from his complacency.

In some ways, the widow is preaching conversion. She demands the sort of relationships we should expect in the Kingdom of God. Justice for her will ultimately bring justice for all including the judge who will have fulfilled the Law of Moses by caring for a widow thereby justifying himself in the eyes of God. It’s a win-win situation for them both.

It seems to me that this story is a reminder that part of the Christian vocation does include disturbing the complacent and working with constant persistence for justice. Perhaps these verses are not nearly as much about prayer as they are about discipleship, faith, and vision of the Kingdom of God and what it takes to get there.

October 9, 2022 at Saint Agnes, St William, & St. Peter Parishes in Naples, FL

2 Kings 5, 14-17 + Psalm 98 + 2 Timothy 2, 8-13 + Luke 17:11-19

We all know this episode from Luke’s Gospel very well. If after the first couple of lines you can’t finish the story, you’ve been sleeping or playing with your phone instead of listening. And, at the risk of causing a fuss with the other priests in the parish who have preached this Gospel today at different hours, I suspect that most folks have gone home thinking this all about gratitude and saying thank you. Well, those of you getting accustomed to me would know that I’m not buying that at all. The Gospel is far too complex to be that simple, and taking the easy way out with this text means you have failed to pay attention to the subtle details. It is what Luke does not say that matters here and can lead us deeper in the message.

Remember that episode when a shepherd leaves the 99 and looks for the lost one? Well, here he is again. Jesus wants to know where are the missing 9? “Where are the others?” he asks. Obviously, they were doing exactly what they were told to do, going to the priest. Now, pay attention. The ten asked for mercy. They did not ask to be cleansed. We have no reason to think they knew who Jesus was. In fact, when he is recognized, the Gospel always tells us that. It does not say that here. They are just crying out for mercy as they probably did all the time. 

There is something unique about this healing. Jesus never touches them and Luke never says that he got near them. Mysteriously, on their way, they were cleansed. In fact, Luke never says that they got to the priest. It seems to me that their healing came from their obedience, not from touch or some word spoken by Jesus. By going to the priest, they were fulfilling what was required by the law. It’s that obedience to the Law that bought them healing. There’s a message as important as gratitude, but that’s not all. There is more.

That Samaritan realized that there was something more going on here, and he went back full of joyful excitement. But Jesus is not excited. He just says, “What about the rest?” I don’t think he was wondering what happened to them. I think it’s a simple statement recognizing that the nine just returned to a normal life while this one realized that his healing was more than physical. He knew he had been saved. Not so the others. How sad. 

He fell at the feet of Jesus. In the original Greek, Luke uses the word, eucharisteo. That’s an important detail that we don’t get in English unfortunately. This is then an act of adoration as much as it is gratitude. He recognized that God was acting through this man. That man realized that there was more here than he had imagined. He did not just get cured of a disease, he was brought to new life, to joy, and to peace, and knew he was in the presence of God. Eucharist!

That man is different from the others. As a Samaritan, he knew very well what it was to be an outcast even before he contracted that disease. Yet, he perceived more than the others. He was not just cured. He was touched to his soul by mercy, and that’s what healed him.

My friends, that’s you and me. We have been touched by mercy. We have come back here to this church to make eucharist which is way more than just saying, “thank you.” It is an act of adoration and an act of incorporation into mercy itself. That one man speaks to us with a message of mercy and its power to heal and restore what is broken in every relationship. Try it. He is a witness to the truth that when we are open and willing to do what Jesus asks, we will receive more than we can imagine. 

October 9, 2022 at Saint Agnes, St William, & St. Peter Parishes in Naples, FL

2 Kings 5, 14-17 + Psalm 98 + 2 Timothy 2, 8-13 + Luke 17:11-19

We all know this episode from Luke’s Gospel very well. If after the first couple of lines you can’t finish the story, you’ve been sleeping or playing with your phone instead of listening. And, at the risk of causing a fuss with the other priests in the parish who have preached this Gospel today at different hours, I suspect that most folks have gone home thinking this all about gratitude and saying thank you. Well, those of you getting accustomed to me would know that I’m not buying that at all. The Gospel is far too complex to be that simple, and taking the easy way out with this text means you have failed to pay attention to the subtle details. It is what Luke does not say that matters here and can lead us deeper in the message.

Remember that episode when a shepherd leaves the 99 and looks for the lost one? Well, here he is again. Jesus wants to know where are the missing 9? “Where are the others?” he asks. Obviously, they were doing exactly what they were told to do, going to the priest. Now, pay attention. The ten asked for mercy. They did not ask to be cleansed. We have no reason to think they knew who Jesus was. In fact, when he is recognized, the Gospel always tells us that. It does not say that here. They are just crying out for mercy as they probably did all the time. 

There is something unique about this healing. Jesus never touches them and Luke never says that he got near them. Mysteriously, on their way, they were cleansed. In fact, Luke never says that they got to the priest. It seems to me that their healing came from their obedience, not from touch or some word spoken by Jesus. By going to the priest, they were fulfilling what was required by the law. It’s that obedience to the Law that bought them healing. There’s a message as important as gratitude, but that’s not all. There is more.

That Samaritan realized that there was something more going on here, and he went back full of joyful excitement. But Jesus is not excited. He just says, “What about the rest?” I don’t think he was wondering what happened to them. I think it’s a simple statement recognizing that the nine just returned to a normal life while this one realized that his healing was more than physical. He knew he had been saved. Not so the others. How sad. 

He fell at the feet of Jesus. In the original Greek, Luke uses the word, eucharisteo. That’s an important detail that we don’t get in English unfortunately. This is then an act of adoration as much as it is gratitude. He recognized that God was acting through this man. That man realized that there was more here than he had imagined. He did not just get cured of a disease, he was brought to new life, to joy, and to peace, and knew he was in the presence of God. Eucharist!

That man is different from the others. As a Samaritan, he knew very well what it was to be an outcast even before he contracted that disease. Yet, he perceived more than the others. He was not just cured. He was touched to his soul by mercy, and that’s what healed him.

My friends, that’s you and me. We have been touched by mercy. We have come back here to this church to make eucharist which is way more than just saying, “thank you.” It is an act of adoration and an act of incorporation into mercy itself. That one man speaks to us with a message of mercy and its power to heal and restore what is broken in every relationship. Try it. He is a witness to the truth that when we are open and willing to do what Jesus asks, we will receive more than we can imagine.