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ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
ARCHDIOCESE OF
THYATEIRA & GREAT BRITAIN

BULLETIN OF SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION
12TH SUNDAY OF LUKE
18 January 2015
Grave mode. No. 1371

18 2015
. . 1371

()
Athanasius & Cyril of Alexandria (Synaxis)

..13: 7-16

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EPISTLE READING

Heb.13: 7-16

rethren,
remember
your
leaders, those who spoke to you
the word of God; consider the
outcome of their lives, and imitate
their faith. Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday and today and for ever.
Do not be led away by diverse and
strange teachings; for it is well that
the heart be strengthened by grace,
not by foods, which have not
benefited their adherents. We have
an altar from which those who serve
the tent have no right to eat. For the
bodies of those animals whose blood
is brought into the sanctuary by the
high priest as a sacrifice for sin are
burned outside the camp. So Jesus
also suffered outside the gate in
order to sanctify the people through
his own blood. Therefore let us go
forth to him outside the camp and
bear the abuse he endured. For here
we have no lasting city, but we seek
the city which is to come. Through
him then let us continually offer up
a sacrifice of praise to God, that is,
the fruit of lips that acknowledge
his name. Do not neglect to do good
and to share what you have, for
such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

GOSPEL READING

. 17: 12-19

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Luke 17: 12-19

t that time, as Jesus entered a

village, He was met by ten
lepers, who stood at a distance and
lifted up their voices and said:
"Jesus, Master, have mercy on us."
When He saw them He said to them,
"Go and show yourselves to the
priests." And as they went they
were cleansed. Then one of them,
when he saw that he was healed,
turned back, praising God with a
loud voice; and he fell on his face at
Jesus's feet, giving Him thanks. Now
he was a Samaritan. Then said Jesus:
"Were not ten cleansed? Where are
the nine? Was no one found to
return and give praise to God except
this foreigner?" And He said to him:
"Rise and go your way; your faith
has saved you."

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SERMON ON THE GOSPEL READING

oday's Gospel reading places our Lord in an village between Samaria and
Galilee (Luke 17, 11) On arrival at that village, he is met by ten lepers who
keep their distance. The fact that these people are lepers is of significance as,
according to the Jewish law, lepers were ritually unclean, and therefore had to
be avoided for reasons of religious purity as well as of health. In His dealing

with these men, we are once again presented with Christ reaching out to the
outcast and the sinner rather than to those who are safely within the Jewish
law. The ten lepers have already actively demonstrated their faith by going out
to meet Christ, and then to confess that faith they proclaim Jesus, Master, have
mercy on us (Luke 17, 13). In this confession they are accepting Christ as their
Lord and God and supplicating Him for their healing. As Blessed Theophylact
says by physical location they were standing afar off, but in their supplication
they were near (Theophylact of Ochrid, The Explanation of the Holy Gospel
according to Saint Luke, p. 224). We should note that Christ does not force their
healing on them, but having seen the depth of their faith, and having heard
their request, heals them both physically and also spiritually. In fact, in order
for our Lord to complete and fulfil the Jewish law around leprosy their healing
only takes place as he sends them on their way to see the priests to be declared
clean of their illness.
However, what happens next is the most striking part of this passage.
Out of the ten lepers, nine of them were Jews (and according to the Old
Testament were the chosen people of God) and the one was considered an even
greater outcast by being a Samaritan, and thus considered to be a foreigner and
of dubious religious beliefs. Despite being notionally the most distant from God,
it is the Samaritan who turns and thanks Christ, thus truly following Him, and
showing us that salvation is for all the human race not just for a chosen people.
Through this Gospel reading we are made aware of the mystery of the
Incarnation and Passion as the lepers' rotten flesh represents our fallen nature,
which Christ healed when he took on flesh and suffered on the Cross. Also, we
are granted hope, that despite our sinfulness and distance from God, that we
need only turn to Christ, through espousing a Christian mind-set, and engaging
in the active life of the Church, and then we too can begin the process through
prayer, Holy Communion, confession and spiritual struggle to accept the healing
Christ freely offers. A nominal, inactive, half-hearted faith is not enough!
Today's Gospel reading also teaches us that we should grateful to God for all
things in our lives, even when things seem to be negative and bad, as all things
are sent to us to ultimately bring us to our salvation. Our life should be one of
thankfulness and gratitude to God and our neighbour, which in essence is a life
of Christian love. The words on our lips on a daily basis should be those of St
John Chrysostom on his death bed Glory to God for all things.
May the Lord Jesus Christ grant us his divine grace to follow the example
of the Samaritan leper who was truly healed and to be ever-grateful and
thankful to Him all the days of our lives. Amen.
Archdiocese of Thyateira & Great Britain, 5 Craven Hill, London W2 3EN
Tel.: 020 7723 4787. Fax: 020 7224 9301. E-mail: mail@thyateira.org.uk . Website: www.thyateira.org.uk

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