28th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Luke: 17:11-19) “Our God Suffers with Us”
“I am sick.” None of us like to say these words. What is the most distressing thing about being sick? We probably would say that it is physical pain. But sickness affects in other ways. We tend to repress the memories of illnesses when they are over. None of us like to relive unpleasant experiences in life.
Just think about the COVID-19 pandemic for example. We all struggled through that. Doesn’t it seem like that happened a long time ago? When did the pandemic experience start? When did it end? What are some of the phases we went through? We might have a hard time remembering. We recall the physical deaths and suffering that our world went through. But what was just as bad was the social isolation that we all endured.
Perhaps we remember that when a family member had the virus they would be asked to stay away from the rest of the family. Some people would isolate in one part of the house avoiding contact with those that they loved. People also stayed away from elderly family members in fear of passing the virus on.
Finally, there was the spiritual toll. We couldn’t gather as a community. Religious celebrations of death, baptism, marriage were simplified. When we did gather, we would stay away from others.
But then we began to understand what was really causing the virus. Inoculations were developed that helped negate the worst aspects of the disease. We achieved some level of herd immunity. The danger passed. What did we do? What changed? Today it seems like we have gone back to living our lives in the same way as before COVID-19 started. Is that a blessing? We might wonder if it is.
When we read the stories of the lepers in the Gospel today, we see a parallel experience to ours. The lepers Jesus meets suffer from a terrible disease. Ancient people didn’t know how the disease spread. But they did know that it was very transmittable. The only thing to stop the spread of the disease was to quarantine.
Lepers were cast out of their homes to wander in the countryside. If anyone approached a leper the leper was to move away yelling, “Unclean!” Sometimes, the leper wore a bell. Healthy people would run when they heard them approaching.
The lepers who came to Jesus were desperate. Jesus was a faith healer. Maybe he could cure them, they thought. So, they called out to Jesus. Jesus didn’t lay hands on them. He didn’t cure them on the spot, but he sent them to the priests. And they were healed on the way. Why did Jesus have them go through a religious ritual? He wanted them to know that it is God who heals.
Once the lepers were healed, they went back home. Perhaps there was a lot to catch up on. Relationships had to be reestablished. The cured lepers had to worry about how to support themselves again. The lives that they led had paused. Now, they had to take up where they left off. The lepers were so distracted by other concerns that they forgot the one who had healed them. The Samaritan leper was different. He took time to glorify God with thanksgiving. One person in ten remembered to be thankful.
We come here to engage in a religious ritual. We come as a community to anoint the sick. The sacrament heals at three levels. Physically, we are affected. Many people feel better. The Anointing of the Sick heals people emotionally. Sick people are reminded that they are a part of this community. Finally, the sacrament heals spiritually. We unite our suffering with Jesus, the wounded healer. He has empathy for us because he suffered too. God does not stand at a distance from suffering.
If we recognize this, we then express gratitude for the presence of Jesus who is united with us in periods of trial. If we can express faith in Jesus, who brought us the good news that sin, death and suffering never have the last word, we then experience the deepest kind of healing possible. We learn from Jesus how much God loves us.