“God, I thank you.”

What a beautiful prayer it could have been. If only he stopped there! It would have been more than enough. Gratitude is a wonderful way to come in the presence of one’s God. And really, there is no need of too many words to express gratitude. Often, in the gospel, Jesus spoke about the beauty of using less words when praying.

But no, he had to continue. And his prayer of gratitude transforms into a eulogy of self. It becomes a show, where God is only a spectator who has to put up with his ramblings. It even gets worse: I am not like all the rest … in particular, I am not like him back there! It’s all about his self-righteous self, putting down and judging everybody else. And the center and focus of his so-called prayer becomes himself: I am like this and I am like that, and I do this and I do that.

This was the prayer of the Pharisee. As a Pharisee his main concern in life is to make sure that he obeys all the laws, sometimes even going beyond what is really required by the law, just to make sure! It is all about what he does with his own efforts. When you think about it, there is no need of God's action in his life. He can do it, and he is doing it. That is what he comes to tell God in his prayer.

The sinner’s prayer is very different. It is a simple abandonment of oneself into God’s merciful arms. “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” So simple, powerful and effective. He is very aware of his sinfulness, of his misery. He is aware that a good life is only possible with God’s grace. He is aware that without God he is nothing.

The tax-collector’s prayer is praised by Jesus. Eventually, it became one of the most famous and used prayers throughout the centuries. The monastic Desert Fathers and Desert Mothers used it as early as the fifth century, invoking Jesus’ mercy by repeating in the form of a litany phrases like, “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner”. It’s the prayer of one who is humble, of one whose trust is completely in God’s mercy. Speaking about this prayer, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and "brings forth fruit with patience." This prayer is possible "at all times" because it is not one occupation among others but the only occupation: that of loving God, which animates and transfigures every action in Christ Jesus.”

​As we continue to journey with Jesus throughout the gospel of Luke, it would be a good idea during this week to listen to the way we pray. How do I come in God’s presence? Where is the focus of my thoughts during my prayer-time? Am I concerned to prove how good I am, or do I express my need of God’s continuous mercy in my life? Where do I see myself more in the picture painted to us by Jesus in today’s parable: close to the pharisee or at the back of the temple with the tax-collector, humbly asking God’s mercy? 

“There’s no point in praying.” “God never listens to my prayers.” “I give up!”

How often have I heard these statements in my life! Let’s face it, bad things happen, and very often to good people too. Often we wonder why are there injustices in the world. Often we ask “why?” … and remain without an answer. The temptation to give up can be real and huge.

In today’s second reading St Paul urges Timothy to hold on to what he had received in his childhood. He reminds him how the Scared Scriptures can be a real source of help in all times. The Word of God never tells us that, if you are a believer, you will never go through hard times. What it assures us of is that evil never has the last word. Undoubtedly, the central message of the bible is in the Easter-event of Jesus. It is the passion-death-and-resurrection story. Evil is very real there. The story makes it a point not to deny it or underestimate its destructive effects. Also, the presence of injustice cannot be denied. Perhaps the words of the “converted” thief crucified with Jesus sums it all up, when he addresses his colleague from the cross: “we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.” Yet, we know that the story does not end on the cross. There is the resurrection, the empty tomb, the victory over all that is evil. It makes sense, therefore, that today the Church takes the opportunity to remind us to be persistent, to never give up. All three readings point in that direction. It is a persistence in the belief that justice will prevail.

The scriptures even give us a very effective tool which helps us not to give up: prayer. When we talk about prayer we are not merely referring to the formal prayers which we learn by heart. It is a way of living, an attitude which we develop in our life. Prayer is my relationship with God. Like any other loving relationship, it is not merely made up of formal petitions or beautiful talk. It is, rather, being there for and with the other. It is having the other constantly present in one’s mind and heart. Like any other relationship, it either grows or dies out as time goes by. It’s a dynamic relationship, and never stays the same. When Paul, in one of his letters to the Thessalonians, tells us to “pray without ceasing”, he is not telling us to be constantly on our knees, or in church, or reading our prayer books, 24 hours a day! He is, rather, urging us to enter into this loving relationship with our God, to never give up even when the “other” seems silent or aloof, or perhaps when our well seems to have run dry.

Moses did get tired of praying, in our first reading. Aaron and Hur came to his help, and eventually victory over the evil forces was achieved. Sometimes, we have to be humble enough to ask for help. This is the beauty of community, of knowing that I am not alone. Not unlike Moses, there are times in my life when I need the help of others in my prayer life. It would be stupid and selfdefeating of me to try to go it alone.

​Finally, let us listen to what Paul says to his friend Timothy when he urges him to proclaim the message, to share what he had himself received. On this Mission Sunday, let us, too be persistent in sharing with others the beauty of the gift which we have received, the gift of our faith.

“One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.”

We are all very familiar with the story which St Luke tells us in today’s gospel. As often happens in gospel stories, there can be more than one meaning to the story. We can read it on many levels.

The most obvious is what the story tells us. Ten lepers are healed by Jesus, and only one of them comes back to thank him. Jesus expresses surprise that the others did not. More so given the fact that the only one who bothered to thank him was a Samaritan, a vowed enemy of the Jewish people of whom Jesus was a member. Already here we have an important message. It’s a teaching about gratitude. How beautiful, and important, it is to be thankful in life, not to take anything for granted. It is providential that we are reflecting on this story as we celebrate Thanksgiving Weekend. I am sure that each and every one of us has a lot to be thankful for in life. Sometimes we might tend to focus too much on the negative. Fact is that life has both ups and downs. It presents to us both good things and bad. Being thankful to all that is good helps us to be able to better face all that is not.

Delving deeper into the story, then, helps us to find a deeper meaning which Luke tries to convey. It starts with ten lepers, one of the perfect numbers in the bible. This can include each one of us. Leprosy was often considered as a punishment by God. The leper was cut off from everybody. He was cast out of the village, he could not touch or be touched by anyone. He was alone, just him and his illness. In a very real way, leprosy is a symbol of sin, which cuts us off from other people and severs relationships. That was what happened to Adam and Eve after that first human sin. All relationships were badly severed: relationships with God, with each other, and with nature. It’s worth noting that the lepers do not ask healing from Jesus, just “mercy”. Perhaps, having given up all hope of being healed, all they now desired was to be seen, to be given some importance, some dignity. Of course, Jesus did more than that. “Go show yourselves to the priests”, he tells them. That is what lepers were expected to do if they were healed from their illness, so that the priest could examine them and declare them healed, so that they can return to their community. These ten were not yet healed, but they believed. Or, at least, they hoped.

As they were going, the miracle happened. Nine of them kept going, as Jesus had told them. The Samaritan did not. Rather, he felt the urge to “turn back” and return to Jesus, the source of his healing. We can say that, in this case, the miracle was a cause for real conversion. That is what turning back implies. The healed leper did not continue on his way. The most important thing for him now is to return to the one who gave him back his life. This is what real faith is all about. It is not merely doing what one is expected to do by law. It is a desire to encounter Jesus, acknowledging that what is good come from him. This encounter with Jesus becomes more important than anything else. No wonder that, at the end, Jesus tells him that now he can go on his way: “your faith has made you well.”

​True healing in not just the healing of bodily illnesses. It is a constant return to Jesus, an acknowledgement that only he can give us the fullness of life that we all desire.

There must have been a moment in the lives of those following Jesus when they realized that their faith was lacking. They were, undoubtedly, good people. They definitely believed in God—the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Moses. They had a whole tradition behind them. They had a set of rules which they strictly adhered to. They were aware that the commandments which guided or, rather, ruled their lives were God-given. As if this were not enough, they had even garnered 613 commandments through time which governed every little aspect of their lives. Obedience to the law was paramount to most of them.

And yet, journeying with Jesus and being close to him made them realize that there was something lacking in their spiritual life. So, they asked him the question, “Lord, increase our faith”!

Jesus, who knows what is in the heart of each one of us, understands what they are going through. He agrees with them to such an extent that he even exaggerates a bit to highlight that, in spite of everything, their way of living out their spiritual life does not include faith. “If you had faith the size of mustard seed,” he tells them, implying that they had almost no faith at all as the mustard seed is very, very small. Still, if they had such little faith they would have been able to move mountains and mulberry trees (whose root-system is very wide and strong!) Faith does not come from mere teaching, from catechism, from adhering to the law. All this helps, but it is not faith. Faith comes from living with Jesus, staying close to him, letting his way of living rub off on them.

Unfortunately, the way those people were living their religion was not life-giving, did not bring them joy. The motto underlying their lives was “we are worthless slaves, we have done only what we ought to have done!” How contrary this is to what Jesus came to bring to each and every one of us.

First of all, for Jesus, we are not slaves. We are children of God, daughters and sons. When, earlier on in Luke’s gospel, the famous prodigal son returned to his father asking to be accepted as a servant, the father would have nothing of it. He was a son, and all his misadventures did nothing to change this. Later on in the same story, when the older son complained that he had been slaving all his life, the father’s words were clear and direct: you are my son, and all I have is yours.

Also, definitely for Jesus, no one is worthless. He came specifically to give us back the dignity of being children of God.

Then, there is that sense of duty, doing only what we ought to do. A true follower of Jesus does nothing because he is forced, simply out of obedience or because it is his duty. This brings no joy. Everything a true follower of Christ does is done out of love, because that is what Jesus did. St Paul, the strict pharisee who eventually met Jesus on that fateful day on the road to Damascus, could reflect and compare his past and present life, the “old” and the “new” man, life under the law and life under the Spirit. Only the latter brought Paul life and happiness.

​The people listening to Jesus must have understood what Jesus was saying. If they really desired a growth in their faith, they had to make that qualitative leap into living the same life Jesus lived. A life moved by Love, by the Spirit, by God.