Stand up and go; your faith has saved you

2Kings 5,14-17; Ps 97; 2Tm 2,8-15; Lk 17,11-19
13 OCTOBER

For Jesus, healing from leprosy is not salvation. It is a means, a way to reach true salvation. Salvation is when the Word of the Lord enters the heart and one obeys with fortitude, counsel, intellect, science and knowledge in the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel, Jesus always makes this clear distinction between miracle and salvation. Grace for the body is a help to ask for grace for the spirit and the soul.

He said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Lk 3,7-9).

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed” (Lk 6,46-49). Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you” (Mt 11,20-24).

We also know from the Gospel according to Matthew that not even to prophesy, to cast out demons and to work miracles in the name of Jesus is salvation. Salvation is bringing our life into his Word. One obeys his Word, he is in salvation. One does not obey the Word of truth and justice, he is out of true salvation.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers’ (Mt 7,21-23).

The nine lepers who do not return to thank Jesus have been cleansed, washed from leprosy, but they are not saved. The miracle of the body is enough for them. They do not care at all of the miracle of the soul. The miracle of the body is for Jesus a sign that must lead to conversion and to faith in the Gospel, in his Word. The Samaritan returning from Jesus, praising and thanking God through his benefactor is declared saved for his faith. The sign on his body led him to the healing of soul and spirit.

As he continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met (him). They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you”

In the religion that is born of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, everything must be aimed at the salvation of the soul and the purification of the spirit. The soul must be freed from sin, the spirit from every lie and falsehood. For this reason it is necessary to preach the Gospel, so that each one will be converted to it to enter into the true salvation of God.

Mother of God, Angels and Saints arrange that Christians preach the Gospel to every man.