Homily 93 – 24th Sunday after Pentecost
Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Church, Ames, Iowa
December 8, 2013
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God.
Why did only one return?
There were ten – all begging for healing, and saying “Lord, have mercy on me!”
Yet only one returned to offer thanks.
The others, perhaps, were continuing with their task, going to show themselves to the priest in obedience to Christ and the Torah.
But one, a Samaritan no less, returned.
In thinking about this, I came up with two reasons that the one returned, and the nine continued on their way. Perhaps you can come up with others, as you think about this passage.
One reason may have been that the Samaritan understood the depths of his situation, and his need for healing. Perhaps the nine wanted healing, but didn’t believe they needed it.
More likely I think is that the one understood who Christ was – the nine did not.
The nine simply believed God had healed them – after all, Jesus didn’t put His hands on them, He didn’t even cause their healing while he was with them. It was later, on the road, that they were healed.
The one who returned understood that the man Jesus was something – different. Not just a man.
In the scriptures over and over again we find that Jesus was identified by the Jews as a man – but by others as God.
We can perhaps see here that Christ values our thankfulness, our love, more than our obedience.
The one who returned, in the strictest sense, disobeyed Christ. Yet, he did so out of a spirit of thankfulness and love. It was a spirit that was not expressed inward, in rebellion, but rather a spirit that was directed toward someone else – the other.
It is difficult to judge our own motivations for things – so obedience is a good thing. Helping us evaluate our own motives is one of the benefits of having a spiritual father or director. Someone who can be objective, but still love us, and can still speak truth to us – truth which is occasionally difficult to hear.
There is one other difference that is subtle.
The ten were healed. The underlying Greek word has a meaning of physical healing, a cleansing. Certainly something to be thankful for!
When the one returned, though, Christ said something interesting.
He said – your faith has made you whole. That is to say, your healing is physical – and spiritual. You are not just healed of this terrible disease – you are made whole, every deformity is made perfect. You are saved.
The nine, while healed physically, were still spiritually sick – spiritually dead.
By his faith, and by his thankfulness, the one who returned – the Samaritan, the outcast even after being healed – this one was made –
Perfect.
We’ve touched on this before. Perfection – theosis – salvation.
Thankfulness enables one to be humble, removing our self-focus, our self-obsession, and places our will and desire and focus entirely on the other person.
Thankfulness, appreciation, gratitude – is what enables humility. And perfect humility, perfect faith – leads to perfection itself.
If we are to be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect, then our lives should be devoted to thankfulness. We can thank God for everything we have, everything we achieve, because it is God who has healed us, God who has given us every good thing.
So, as we continue in our efforts to strive toward perfection, take the short cut.
Develop in yourself a spirit of thankfulness.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God.
Bogoslov 