“Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” The phrase “made you well” also means “saved you.” Healing of our bodies and healing of our spirits is a package deal with God. We can choose to open ourselves to the deeper healing of our spirits, the eternal healing – or stop at wholeness in the here and now.
All ten men were healed of leprosy – nine returned to their “here and now” lives. Something made this one come back to seek a deeper connection with the Holy One, to throw himself at Jesus’ feet and say thank you. He receives a deeper healing, as Jesus proclaims him whole in body, mind and spirit.
Is it his faith or Jesus’ power or a combination that made him well? That is mystery. The faith we bring is certainly a large part of the equation, larger than I’m comfortable with. Wouldn't it be simpler if it were all up to God? Yet God seems to work through us, to have us be conduits of his power and love, as we invite that to flow through us in faith, for ourselves, for each other, for the world.
Faith is the doorway to transformation. As we allow God’s love to flow through us, we also are healed and drawn closer. I believe Jesus is always inviting us into a deeper relationship with God. Not just assent to beliefs, not just engagement in the life of a religious community, but participation in the life of God. That’s where the “holes in our soul” get filled, where we find meaning and purpose beyond our own lives.
In our story, these two men from different circumstances and ways of seeing and being meet in the zone between their lands. The Samaritan seeks a relationship with Jesus the Jew, traveling through. We too can meet Jesus, who is always traveling through our lives. Maybe he’s just outside our comfort zone. We too can offer him our thanks and our worship, and ask him to be more real to us in prayer. It helps to be still, and set some time aside, to be open. Be attentive to any words or images or prompts that you sense. Sometimes it’s just stillness. Sometimes there’s more.
The leper-turned-disciple is a model for us. He is grateful, humble and faithful. And Jesus sends him on his way, whole. Wholeness is God’s desire for us. In fact, as God sees us through Christ, as our life in God brings our future into our present, our faith has already made us whole.
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