First Reading - Wisdom 6:1-11
Gospel - Luke 17:11-19
In the first reading, the passage from the Book of wisdom deals with the topic of accountability. Every task or work inheres accountability on the part of the person, it's entrusted. This also means, greater the responsibility, greater is the demand of accountability. The first reading highlights this underlying principle of the responsibility. The Book of Wisdom claims that the rulers and leaders have recieved their responsibility or task from God for everything comes from God. Consequently they are accountable to God for their exercises of authority. The wisdom invites the rulers and authorities to submit themselves to her (lady wisdom) and to the holy life, which is the offshoot of wisdom. It's by choosing wisdom, the rulers will be able to govern people rightly and faithfully.
The gospel passage presents a Samaritan as an example to be emulated. Jesus, with his disciples, goes through the Samaritan villages and comes across ten lepers. They plead with Jesus for healing and Jesus grants their request. He sends them to the priests to certify their healing so that they can be reinstated to the society (As lepers were segregated from the mainstream of society and were supposed to stay away from the people.) However, when one of them realized that he is healed from leprosy, he returns to Jesus to thank him. Seeing the faith of the Samaritan, he gives him a greater reward - "Your faith has saved you." The reward of faith is salvation.
Dear friends, at some point of time, we do take up some responsibilities. There is a tendency to ascribe that responsibility to our merit - "I am so and so because I deserve it." As the first reading points out that every responsibility inheres accountability to God for that is given to us by God. When we realize this fact of our responsibility, what will emerge in us, is our humility and littleness before God rather than our merits. It's this attitude of ours that, we are accountable to God, impels us to do every responsibility faithfully and responsibly.
The realization of our littleness before God or humility before God helps us see that every blessing, in terms of miracles or healings or surprises, comes from the hand of God which drives us to turn to Him in gratitude as we see in the case of the Samaritan who realized that the miracle was from Jesus and turned to thank him in gratitude. We are to acknowledge the blessings we receive from God by thanking Him and when we turn to Him in thankfulness, He blesses us with greater blessings as the Samaritan was given the blessing of salvation. Let's count every blessing that God gives us in gratitude and never turn indifferent to God like the other nine lepers who didn't return to thank Jesus.
May God give us grace to remain humble before Him always.
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