Now it happened that as Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he was passing through Samaria and Galilee.

 

Luke shows Jesus as he goes to Jerusalem, to fulfill the crowning of his mission: to die and rise again for us, sinners. On his way, he passes through Samaria, a region of people who do not get along with the Jews, nor do they get along with the Samaritans, who are a mixture of Jews and pagans. Even the Samaritans are upset with Jesus' presence there, because he is only passing through on his way to Jerusalem. They experience contempt from the Jews, who believe they are the owners of salvation. On the other hand, they are more open to God's saving action, but they do not, in turn, abandon their reciprocal contempt. Jesus realized this and expressed it in the parable of the "Samaritan".

2. Ten lepers came to meet Jesus and stood at a distance, shouting. The number 10 gives the idea of ​​universality. Here we can think of all humanity that must meet Jesus, the only Way, Truth and Life, and be freed from its ills. These lepers, who above all reveal, in their misery, unity and solidarity with one another and an interest in the same salvation, being Samaritans and Jews, stood at a distance because this is the rule because of their illness, so as not to contaminate anyone. They must shout to those who come near, telling them what they have (leprosy), so that no one will come near them. They are isolated, placed completely on the fringes of society, they no longer participate in anything, not even in the life of faith, they are excluded from the company of people because of their illness and, as such, the fact that they are lepers means, according to the mentality of the time, that they have grave sins.

3. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us”! Here we find the cry of a humanity in need of physical and spiritual liberation, without direction, without horizon and without future; a humanity marked by terrible leprosy, such as exploitation of one another, enslavement of others, desire to manipulate large masses, personal satisfaction to the detriment of the dignity of others, absurd consumerism, permissiveness, theft, injustice, hedonism, among many other imbalances. Jesus is aware of all this, of the sea of ​​mud in which this humanity finds itself, of the prisons and leprosy that cannot be cured by the simple force of man. That is why he comes into history, allows himself to be involved with the sinner, allows himself to be touched, mingles without fear of contamination, allows others to come to him. Then, respecting the divine institution, he sends them to the priests, because they are responsible for reintegrating them into society after realizing that they are healed (cf. Lev 14:2-7). The Church is an instrument of salvation. It was created to be the presence of the Kingdom of God in the midst of this world. We cannot have the Head, Christ, without His Church, His Mystical Body. We cannot be of one without being of the other. 4. The healing takes place “as they walk.” Two important things here: first: they were obedient, because they followed the direction indicated by Jesus; second: they walked confidently. It is worth noting that our liberation takes place as we walk in the direction of Jesus, with Jesus and in obedience to His Word. Unfortunately, not everyone, after being freed, stays with Him. Only one of them returned glorifying God in a loud voice. Only the Samaritan returned and gave glory to God, the only one who recognized the presence of salvation in Jesus Christ and Jesus himself as the one through whom God is saving humanity. Now, once freed from his misery and having recognized Jesus Christ as Savior, the Samaritan will certainly present himself to the priests and proclaim the Good News, the authentic sign of the liberation offered by God. Possibly, he did so denouncing the prejudices, exclusions and so many evils caused by false religiosity. An important detail here is the fact that it was a Samaritan and not a Jew who recognized the true Messiah; Only he can reach the fullness of the path of faith. The Samaritan immediately returned to Jesus because it no longer made sense to follow the dictates of the past without the Messiah of God. He found what the promise had indicated. The others did not realize this truth, they were unable to see the Messiah, they did not see the presence of God in Jesus Christ. They simply acted within the demands of the Jewish religion. The Samaritan found Jesus first.

5. In addition, there is the fact of gratitude, which is not an essential aspect of the text, but is a direct consequence, coming from the heart of someone who has received a great good in his life, something he deeply needed. Gratitude arises from the recognition and understanding of the greater good. The Samaritan recognized Jesus and his saving mission, prostrated himself before Him, praised God and proclaimed his discovery. Today, more than ever, the baptized man or woman must have the same interest in seeing the One who can save, running to meet him, imploring the grace of liberation, purifying their lives, embracing the mission and being an authentic witness of the true faith, as salt of the earth.

Now it happened that as Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he was passing through Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was entering a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and cried out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going along, they were cured. 15 When one of them realized that he was cured, he turned back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked him, “Were there not ten who were cleansed? But where are the other nine? 18 Was there none who returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Get up and go; your faith has saved you.”

—Word of the Savior.

Reflection

1. Luke shows Jesus as he goes to Jerusalem, to fulfill the crowning of his mission: to die and rise again for us, sinners. On his way, he passes through Samaria, a region of people who do not get along with the Jews, nor do they get along with the Samaritans, who are a mixture of Jews and pagans. Even the Samaritans are upset with Jesus' presence there, because he is only passing through on his way to Jerusalem. They experience contempt from the Jews, who believe they are the owners of salvation. On the other hand, they are more open to God's saving action, but they do not abandon their reciprocal contempt. Jesus realized this and expressed it in the parable of the "Samaritan".

2. Ten lepers came to meet Jesus and stood at a distance, shouting. The number 10 gives the idea of ​​universality. Here we can think of all humanity that must meet Jesus, the only Way, Truth and Life, and be freed from its ills. These lepers, who above all reveal, in their misery, unity and solidarity with one another and an interest in the same salvation, being Samaritans and Jews, stood at a distance because this is the rule because of their illness, so as not to contaminate anyone. They must shout to those who come near, telling them what they have (leprosy), so that no one will come near them. They are isolated, placed completely on the fringes of society, they no longer participate in anything, not even in the life of faith, they are excluded from the company of people because of their illness and, as such, the fact that they are lepers means, according to the mentality of the time, that they have grave sins.

3. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us”! Here we find the cry of a humanity in need of physical and spiritual liberation, without direction, without horizon and without future; a humanity marked by terrible leprosy, such as exploitation of one another, enslavement of others, desire to manipulate large masses, personal satisfaction to the detriment of the dignity of others, absurd consumerism, permissiveness, theft, injustice, hedonism, among many other imbalances. Jesus is aware of all this, of the sea of ​​mud in which this humanity finds itself, of the prisons and leprosy that cannot be cured by the simple force of man. That is why he comes into history, allows himself to be involved with the sinner, allows himself to be touched, mingles without fear of contamination, allows others to come to him. Then, respecting the divine institution, he sends them to the priests, because they are responsible for reintegrating them into society after realizing that they are healed (cf. Lev 14:2-7). The Church is an instrument of salvation. It was created to be the presence of the Kingdom of God in the midst of this world. We cannot have the Head, Christ, without His Church, His Mystical Body. We cannot be of one without being of the other. 4. The healing takes place “as they walk.” Two important things here: first: they were obedient, because they followed the direction indicated by Jesus; second: they walked confidently. It is worth noting that our liberation takes place as we walk in the direction of Jesus, with Jesus and in obedience to His Word. Unfortunately, not everyone, after being freed, stays with Him. Only one of them returned glorifying God in a loud voice. Only the Samaritan returned and gave glory to God, the only one who recognized the presence of salvation in Jesus Christ and Jesus himself as the one through whom God is saving humanity. Now, once freed from his misery and having recognized Jesus Christ as Savior, the Samaritan will certainly present himself to the priests and proclaim the Good News, the authentic sign of the liberation offered by God. Possibly, he did so denouncing the prejudices, exclusions and so many evils caused by false religiosity. An important detail here is the fact that it was a Samaritan and not a Jew who recognized the true Messiah; Only he can reach the fullness of the path of faith. The Samaritan immediately returned to Jesus because it no longer made sense to follow the dictates of the past without God's Messiah. He had found what the promise had indicated. The others did not realize this truth, they were unable to see the Messiah, they did not see the presence of God in Jesus.