Jesus Healed Ten Lepers

這個主日的福音，是關於耶穌遇見並醫治十個痳瘋病人，以及他們後來如何回應祂的故事。

由於痳瘋病會傳染，所以當痳瘋病人遇見耶穌時，都遠遠地站著，對祂大聲喊說：「師父，耶穌，可憐我們吧！」當耶穌說：「你們去，叫司祭們檢驗你們吧！」他們便服從地去，證明他們對耶穌都有一定的信德。他們去見司祭的途中，便痊癒了。

這個由司祭們檢驗的舉動，對他們這些痳瘋病人來說十分重要，因為在當時的社會，痳瘋病人都受到排斥，必須由司祭檢驗並確定他們已經潔淨，才能重新歸於社會。(肋 14:1-32)

當痳瘋病人都得到潔淨後，卻只有一個回到耶穌跟前。聖經特別提到這是一個被猶太人歧視的撒瑪黎雅人。一方面，這顯示出耶穌的仁慈確是一視同仁；祂沒有因為病人是猶太人還是外邦人，而給他們不同的待遇。另一方面，憑耶穌對他說的話，我們看到祂所重視的不是人的出身和種族，而是人對祂的回應。雖然另外九個痳瘋病人同樣相信耶穌的大能，並對祂言聽計從，但當得到他們想要的之後，卻沒有再回頭。這個撒瑪黎雅人卻回來，大聲光榮天主，並跪伏在耶穌腳前感謝祂。

耶穌最後對他說：「你的信德救了你。」留意祂說的不再只是肉體上的治癒，因為他的痳瘋病早已被醫好。耶穌這次說的救贖，是更深一層，包括靈魂的救贖。

跟隨耶穌的人，可能當初也如那些痳瘋病人一樣，為了某些目的或需要而尋求祂的援助，但這並不重要，重要的是讓我們與祂的關係不只於此。耶穌願意成為我們生命中的主，就讓我們對祂全心全意的皈依，時常光榮、感謝天主，也能獲得真正的救贖。

這篇默想由生命恩泉文摘編輯小組撰寫，內容以下列文章為根據: Commentaries on the daily readings by Sacred Space, 常年期第二十八主日.

The gospel reading for this Sunday is about Jesus and the ten lepers who came to ask for His mercy. Because leprosy is contagious, the lepers stood from Jesus at a distance. The way they shouted to Jesus, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" and the way they obeyed His command of showing themselves to the priests, showed that they have great faith in Jesus. Even before they reached the priests, they were healed on their way.

This act of showing themselves to the priests was actually quite important for the lepers, because lepers were always treated as outcasts, and even when they were cleansed, they need the priests' verification and announcement before they could become part of the community again.(Lev 14:1-32)

Though all ten lepers were healed, only one returned to Jesus. The Gospel reading specially mentioned that this man was a Samaritan, someone who was despised by the Jews. On one hand, this shows that Jesus' mercy is unconditional. He did not treat the lepers differently based on their race. On the other hand, from what Jesus said to the Samaritan, it indicated that Jesus values a person's response to Him more than the person's identity or background. While all ten lepers had faith in the Lord's mercy and power and obeyed His command, nine of them didn't return after obtaining what they wanted from Him. Only the Samaritan came back, glorified God, and fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him.

At the end, Jesus said to the Samaritan, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." This time Jesus didn't just mean the cure of the Samaritan's leprosy, as it had already been cured. What Jesus said has a deeper meaning: because of this man's faith in God, that he returned to praise and thank Him, he would also be awarded salvation of his soul and everlasting life. Many of us might have been like those lepers, who approached Jesus for help on things we couldn't control or when we felt helpless in life. How we approach Him at the beginning doesn't matter too much, as He is our merciful Lord who is always willing to help; but what is more important is that our relationship with Him should not just be about seeking help. When Jesus answers our prayers, what do we usually do first? Are we like the nine lepers who never returned, or should we learn from the Samaritan? Jesus longs to be the Lord of our lives. May we convert our heart, mind and soul to Him totally, and always glorify and thank God. This is the way to holiness, salvation and everlasting life.

This reflection is prepared by the FLL Inspire editorial team as a digest of the following two articles: Commentaries on the daily readings by Sacred Space, 常年期第二十八主日.