St Leo the Great

Wisdom 6:1-11. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth – Psalm 81(82):3-4, 6-7. Luke 17:11-19.

No one has come back to praise God, only this foreigner

The ten lepers, cured of their physical disease, follow Jesus’ instruction to show themselves to the priests. Only the Samaritan returns to thank Jesus and give praise to God. His praise is exuberant, and as he comes close, Jesus is witness to the man’s joy and vulnerability.This leprous foreigner is now physically healed and spiritually ‘well’. The outsider outshines the insiders. So often people from ‘outside’ – strangers and foreigners, refugees and outcasts, the poor and the marginalised – have a clear of perspective. As Canadian philosopher, Marshall McLuhan, remarked, ‘We don’t know who discovered water, but we’re pretty sure it wasn’t the fish’.This faith-filled Samaritan demonstrates how, for those who return to give thanks and praise, the gift of healing becomes something deeper and lasting. His faith and humility lead him into closer communion with God through Jesus. He is free to go on his way.May we be open to the wisdom and experience of people on the margins and learn from their courage.