Have I lost sight of the destination?

In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus ended his parable with a rhetorical question, “Should the master wait upon the servant?” By doing so, he implied that his disciples were called to be servant-leaders and to give others in the community an example of servant-leadership. This Sunday’s readings, however, use acts of healing as illustrations of restoration. These in turn point to God as the one who actually does the serving. How does the act of healing fit into the wider mission of Jesus as presented in the Gospel of Luke?

Luke’s Gospel often compares the workings of God in Christ to the accounts of Elijah and Elisha from the Hebrew Bible. Naaman the Aramean was skeptical of the advice received from the renown prophet of Israel, Elisha, who advised the suffering foreigner to go wash himself seven times in the Jordan. “Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,” replied an angered Naaman, “better than all the waters of Israel?” (2 Kgs 5:12). From the perspective of Scripture, no. In fact, the waters of Israel were considered the ideal place for ritual cleansing from sin and a symbolic setting for renewal. 

The Gospel reading this Sunday presents a similar healing of a skin disease for a group of lepers, and at least one foreigner is mentioned among them. The scene is ripe with parallels to the first reading. Jesus fulfills the mission that Luke identifies in the opening chapters of his Gospel account: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives” (Lk 4:18). Collectively, the ten lepers raised their voice at the sight of Jesus coming near them, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” (Lk 17:13). Their words have become our own, since this verse serves as the basis of the penitential rite with which we begin every mass when we pray together, “Lord, have mercy.”

In this passage, the foreigner was the only one in the company who returned to acknowledge Jesus for the healing. What did he see in Jesus? Did he find a prophet like Elisha, who went about and performed similar acts of mercy in the name of God? Or, was there something deeper happening in this healing scene? 

As mentioned above, part of Jesus’ mission was to restore the poor and excluded. This Sunday’s Gospel passage subtly but firmly ties that restoration to his death and resurrection. The healing of the lepers occurred “As he continued his journey to Jerusalem” (Lk 17:11). Luke presents Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem as a pilgrimage, highlighting Jesus’ resolute attitude and his gradual revelation of the self-offering, death and resurrection that will occur there (see Lk 9:51-53). 

This Sunday’s Gospel repeatedly points to Jesus as the one who restores. Jesus is the one who reminds the faithful that if they trust in the working of God, healing and restoration is possible. The grateful Samaritan in this Sunday’s Gospel sees more in Jesus than a great prophet like Elisah. In his gratitude, he gives him worship. “He fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him” (Lk 17:16). The healing he received was not the end-goal of his relationship with Jesus, but rather the beginning of a journey of discipleship. Along with Jesus’ other followers, he could now embark on a spiritual journey with Jesus that will take him through the Lord’s passion and resurrection and lead to a unique destiny of personal salvation.