Turning to God, Going back to Community

Turning to God, Going back to Community

Lk17,11-19 the ten Lepers

1. The meaning of Suffering

No one likes to suffer, but many times, suffering helps people get closer to each other. These ten lepers who were suffering from the same disease, came to stay together. If they were healthy, Jewish people would not stay together with a Samaritan. (When they were healed, they separated from each other ) It is also true for us. Many times, we are very busy with each and everyone's things, but when one is sick in our family, we will go and visit them, and spend some time with them. Suffering is an opportunity to call our attention to each other.  When we are healthy, when we are rich, most of us just pay attention to ourselves.

Suffering helps people to realize their limitations and turn to God, seeking help. These ten lepers, when they were in their situation of hopelessness, turned to Jesus Christ. Many times, when people are healthy, they do not think of others, they do not realize that they need God. But if they are sick, especially if they are in a situation of hopelessness, they turn to God. If you recall your own life experiences, it is always in a situation of your life that you dislike which changes your life to think of others, to think of God. God calls people through many different ways, suffering is one of them. For Christians, our suffering is also a way to participate in the suffering of Jesus Christ.

2.  Go back to your community

For us as the followers of Jesus Christ, he is not a magician, but God. When Jesus saw the ten lepers, he healed them. Jesus healed them through the power of his word.  Jesus Christ reveals a God who is our Father. A father does not want his children to suffer. As soon as the people turned to God, God healed them.

After Jesus healed them, Jesus told them to go back to their community. Human beings from their nature, want to belong to a community, because our God, who is our model of being, is a community, God in three persons. In the Jewish society, if someone had a disease which could infect other people, they had to leave the community. sickness separated people from their community. It is also true, if people commit sins, normally they also do not want to come to church.  Jesus wanted these ten lepers to go back to their community again to experience a loving community, and the love and mercy of God.

3. Give thanks to God

Ten lepers were healed, but only one came back to give thanks to God, and this was a Samaritan.  Jesus was surprised. Samaritans  were not considered people of God like the Jewish people. Jesus told this Samaritan, "stand up and go; your faith has saved you." Jesus saved this Samaritan body and soul.  Ironically, many times, people just seek to heal the disease of their body and not their soul.

In our life, many times we act just like the nine Jews. We give thanks to our friends, to strangers, but we forgot to give thanks to our family members, to our father and mother, to our God. It is our God who gives us our father and mother, our friends and everything, it is our God who comes among us to save us. Giving thanks to God is a way of realizing our blessings and  staying close to God in a new life.

 

May we always remember, during any kind of life situation to turn to God for help in coming back to our Christian community. May we learn to have a spirit of thanksgiving to God, to our parents, to our family members, and for all God's blessings.