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This homily is based on Luke 17:11-19.

There was probably more than one leper who was grateful for this cure. I imagine all ten were thankful to Jesus for their much-awaited, long prayed-for miracle, one that finally released them not only from the ugly marks of leprosy, but also from the just-as-ugly remarks that society flung their way because of their infectious disease.

The point of the story is not that there was just one grateful leper, but that only one remembered Jesus and felt enough gratitude to him to make a U turn to say, “Thank you!” The others were in too much of a rush to resume a normal life. I think the Lord’s message for me here is that it isn’t enough to feel gratitude; we need to exert the effort to express it. It matters, he seems to be telling us. It makes a difference. So what ought we to do when we are grateful?

This homily is based on Luke 16:19-31.

There’s something curious about today’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus. If you read it literally, its message would seem to say: If you’re rich and comfortable in this life, you’ll be tormented in the next, as in the case of the rich man. On the other hand, if like Lazarus, you’re poor and miserable here and now, you’ll be comforted in the next life.

In fact, Abraham’s words to the rich man seem exactly to imply this: “You received what was good in your lifetime and Lazarus received what was bad; but now he is comforted here whereas you’re tormented.”