It’s about being made well!

In Luke 17:12-19, ten lepers stand “afar off” from Jesus, begging Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Christ commands them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” They do so, and on the way they are cured. But only one of the lepers, who happens to be a Samaritan, (a people hated by the Jews)—only this one returns to our Lord glorifyingGod. And so it is only this Samaritan who is made well.

It is important to see that Luke distinguishes being cured from being made well. The 9 who do not return to glorify God were, of course, cured of their leprosy. But they were not made well.

But isn’t being cured the same as being made well? No. They are not the same. One may be cured of a disease and not be made well. This is because a cure has to do with the body and wellness has to do with the soul.

But what is it that makes the Samaritan well? Jesus says it is his faith (“Thy faith has made thee well!”). But what does this mean? What IS this faith that makes the Samaritan leper well?

It is an impelling faith. It is a healing faith. It is the leper’s public expression of faith, “with a loud voice,” in humility and gratitude that makes him well. Faith brings him to his senses. Fath brings him to his knees.

It is his worship of Christ that makes him well.

You might say that this is the great theme of the Gospel. It is the Good News. For when we glorify God by praising Him openly, giving thanks, worshipping Him, and humbling ourselves before Christ (as He humbled Himself before the Father and before us)—when we do this, we emulate Christ and are gradually made well.

Glory is medicine. God does not need us to glorify Him, but we need to glorify God. For glorying in God, we are glorified, we are made well. Then God sheds His glory on us. We find that wellness IS glorification. It is, as the saints say, deification. This is what the good leper discovered, and this is what we discover as we glorify God and begin to become well.

But what about the others? What of those who, like the 9 lepers, do not return to glorify God?

We just don’t know. But we do know that we are in the world to spread glory. We Christians are here to make the world well, for God works through us. God makes His business our business.

This means we must ask ourselves every day, every moment of every day, where are we? Are we glorifying God or are we keeping to ourselves? Are we content with ourselves, content in our pleasures, content to be “cured”—content to be healthy enough to enjoy life, like the 9 lepers healed of their disease who did not return to glorify God? Or do we long to be made well? Are we fully at home in this world, or do we seek to live more fully in The Kingdom? Are we living to glorify ourselves, or are we living to glorify God?

Glorification. You might say it is what we humans do naturally. We either glory in ourselves—our “things”, our idols, and our pleasures—or we glory in God.

There is no middle way.

Fr. Paul Martin
Annunciation & St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church
New Buffalo, MI