The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word “to give thanks.” As we hear in today’s Gospel only one of the ten lepers returned “fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him (eucharistōn).” This man, since he was both a leper and a Samaritan, was truly an outsider and feared and/or despised. Yet this Samaritan leper was the only one to give glory and praise to God and to give thanks to Jesus.
All ten lepers were outsiders in that they had to stay away from human contact and had to shout out “unclean, unclean” when they came into human contact:
“The garments of one afflicted with a scaly infection shall be rent and the hair disheveled, and the mustache covered. The individual shall cry out, “Unclean, unclean!” As long as the infection is present, the person shall be unclean. Being unclean, that individual shall dwell apart, taking up residence outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:45-46)
When these ten lepers saw Jesus instead of shouting out, “Unclean, unclean,” they shouted out “Lord, have mercy.” (Kyrie eleison). Jesus had mercy and compassion on them and healed them and made them clean.
When we gather for the mass, the Eucharist, we too call out “Lord, have mercy (Kyrie eleison). Jesus heals and forgives us as he did those ten lepers. He makes us whole and welcomes us into communion with God and with one another as we hear at the Greeting at the beginning of mass:
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
God’s grace and love are with us and we are in communion with God as we begin the mass. In the Eucharist we give thanks to Jesus and give glory to God for “making us clean.” We are no longer outsiders but children of God. Let us continue each day to give thanks to God for the gift of creation, the gift of our families and the gift of our life.
Image: “Christ Institutes the Eucharist” by Lawrence OP is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.