TEN WERE CURED, ONLY ONE WAS SAVED.

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. YEAR C.
October 14, 2007.
(First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17) (Psalm 98:1-4)
(Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13) (Gospel Reading: Luke 17:11-19)

TEN WERE CURED,
ONLY ONE WAS SAVED.

By asking: "Ten were cured, were they not? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:17) the Lord Jesus was pointing out that his work of mercy was not yet completed. The ten lepers had been physically cured, now it is up to them to move onto salvation. Nine failed to do so. Nine failed to give the Lord Jesus a chance to complete his work. Nine failed to collaborate with Jesus in the work of salvation.

How is salvation achieved?
By placing oneself at the service of God, which is to say, by utilizing one's restored well-being for the service of all mankind, the entire human race the Lord Jesus himself has come to save, the entire human race for whom Jesus gave his life.

The Samaritan who returned to Jesus "glorifying God in a loud voice" (Luke 17:15) is the only one of the ten who was able to realize that his restored health belongs to Jesus, that is, at the service of Jesus - the savior of mankind who needs our cooperation in order to continue his saving work.

The Second Book of Kings emphasizes that service to God and to all mankind is the ultimate goal of human beings' health and prosperity, individually and collectively: After having been cured Naaman says: I am a servant who "will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except the Lord" (2 Kings 5:17).

In our present world human beings have been able to achieve remarkable advances in the fields of science and technology which in turn have resulted in unprecedented abundance of material wealth and power.
Tragically this abundant wealth and power has not been utilized for the service of all human beings but rather:
- It is utilized to increase the wealth and power of a very few, and

- It is utilized to oppress the vast majorities the world over.

Thus the powerful and oppressors of the world have brought about horrendous social maladies upon the vast majorities of human beings who standing "at a distance raise their voice saying: 'Jesus, master! Have pity on us!'" (Luke 17:12-13).

Just as the Lord Jesus cured the lepers, so will he also cure the world of its maladies, of the oppression, the injustice, the aggression that are destroying the health and well-being of mankind.

Psalm 98 further reaffirms the liberating power of Jesus when it says: "The Lord... comes to govern the earth, to govern the world with justice and the peoples with fairness" (1) (Ps. 98:9), and "The Lord... has done marvelous deeds, whose right hand and holy arm have won the victory... The Lord... has revealed his triumph for the nations to see".

Salvation is not merely a temporary condition.
The history of mankind shows us that nations and civilizations have moved, with various degrees of efficacy, from oppression to liberation, from injustice to justice, from war to peace only to fall, after a time, back into the same cycles of oppression, injustice and wars.

The gospel tells us that the restored health and well-being of the Samaritan led him to true salvation because he returned to Jesus to glorify God, that is to say, he returned to place himself at the service of God, at the service of all human beings. The Samaritan was in need of God in times of illness and in times of good health(2); he remained a needy person until the moment he heard from Jesus that he was saved.

Similarly the nations of the world will remain needy, whether in scarcity or abundance, until the peoples of the world come to relate to Jesus as the Samaritan related to Jesus; in other words, until human beings relate to one another as Jesus relates to us.

Like the Samaritan, our world today needs to realize that societal health, justice and peace are truly restored only when they are placed at the service of all human beings.

Saint Paul in the Second Letter to Timothy speaks of the power of Jesus which can restore life from death, health from illness, justice from injustice, peace from war. Says Paul (2 Timothy 2:8): "Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead... If we have died with him we shall also live with him"(3).

Jesus can cure the world from its societal maladies - injustice, oppression, war - on a permanent basis if only human beings collaborate with him by returning to him and placing themselves at the service of all.

To those who place their health, well-being, possessions and power at the service of mankind, the Lord says: "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you" (Luke 17:19)
_____________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTES.
(1) The saving power of Jesus is not limited to single individuals but it is also directed at entire collectivities (such as 10 lepers), nations, socio-economic classes, and the whole world.
(2) The gospel reading shows us that any time is a good time to approach God: in time of illness or in time of good health.
- In time of illness. Whether individually or collectively all those who suffer physical or emotional illness or injustice or oppression or any other societal malady can approach the Lord Jesus and raise their voices saying "Jesus, Master! have pity on us!" .
- In time of good health. Approaching God in time of good health, in time of prosperity is the occasion for human beings to become actively involved in the work of God by utilizing their good health and prosperity for the service of all other human beings.
(3) Saint Paul, from his imprisonment, proclaims his faithful adherence to a gospel based on the risen Lord, a Lord who has defeated dead and injustice and oppression. Saint Paul declares himself a victim of the oppressors and the powerful of the world at that time (The imperialistic Romans) who would try to suppress any attempt at restoring true life, justice and salvation. Paul's imprisonment and subsequent death at the hands of the Romans reveals that he attacked the core of Roman society's injustice and oppression.
Throughout history all imperialistic, oppressive civilizations have utilized their power to maintain their injustice and oppression over less powerful, weaker peoples of the world.