My brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Scriptures present us with a disturbing piece of Gospel arithmetic. We heard the story of ten m...
My brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Scriptures present us with a disturbing piece of Gospel arithmetic. We heard the story of ten men, isolated by the crippling curse of leprosy, crying out for mercy. And Jesus, in an act of boundless love—an act of Grace—healed them all. All ten were cleansed, their skin made whole. But Jesus’ question hangs in the air, echoing across two millennia: “Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Ten were healed, but only one, a Samaritan, was saved.
In the ten healed lepers, we see God’s Grace—free, complete, and unconditional. It is a gift given not based on merit, but on mercy. It is the grace that allows us to wake up in our homes here in the Philippines, that holds our families together despite the storms, that gives us the dignity to work and to hope. But today's readings, from Naaman the Syrian to the one returning Samaritan, demand a clear-eyed look at our response to that grace.
Because a healing that is not acknowledged is a miracle only half-finished.
The Challenge of Gratitude
We are all the ten lepers. We cry out to God in the typhoon, in the political turmoil, when the presyo (price) of rice makes our stomachs ache, and when sickness knocks on our door. God, in His goodness, answers. He provides the strength to endure, the resilience to rebuild, the bayanihan spirit that binds us together.
But like the nine lepers, how often do we receive the gift and immediately walk away, consumed with our restored routine, taking the blessing for granted? We are quick to pray in the crisis, but slow to praise in the calm. We are eager to receive God's help but reluctant to offer Him the worship and thanks that acknowledges His sovereignty.
The one Samaritan returned, not just with thanks, but with a loud voice, glorifying God. His gratitude was a public confession that healing must lead to conversion. It showed that the source of the healing is greater than the healing itself.
And this, my friends, is where the challenge must hit home for us today. When God heals your family, does your gratitude lead to a renewed commitment to justice in your community? When God blesses your efforts, does your thanks stop at the collection basket, or does it inspire you to refuse the easier path of corruption or dishonesty? If our thanks is not expressed through compassion for the poor and a stand for what is right, then it is merely polite sentiment, not saving faith.
The Necessity of Gallantry
This grateful faith must then transform into Gallantry—a spiritual courage, the enduring fidelity Paul speaks of to Timothy: “If we endure, we shall also reign with him.”
In a world that often demands compromise, cynicism, and surrender to convenience, Christian Gallantry is our necessary virtue. The Filipino soul is defined by tiyaga (perseverance), but the soul of a Christian is defined by Gallantry—the courage to live according to the standards of Christ, no matter the cost.
It is Gallantry to speak the truth when it threatens your comfort.
It is Gallantry to serve the marginalized when others simply step over them.
It is Gallantry to remain faithful to Christ's teachings on life and love, even when the culture loudly proclaims other ways.
We are not called to be comfortable Christians; we are called to be courageous ones. We have received the free gift of Grace. We are summoned to a loud and complete Gratitude. Now, let us have the Gallantry to live a life worthy of the One who saved us, ensuring that we, unlike the nine, find the whole miracle of God's salvation.
Let us return to the Eucharist today, not as the nine who simply received a blessing, but as the one who was made whole, glorifying God in a loud voice and confirming our enduring faith. Amen.
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