Our gospel lesson today begins as a simple story of miracle and healing, just a plain ole miracle of healing of some more lepers. But the usual story line is interrupted by two unusual events. Only one of the ten lepers returns to praise God and thank Jesus, and to top it off he isn’t even a Jew he is a Samaritan, someone that the Jews considered to be greatly misinformed in their religious belief and practice.
So this standard story of just another one of Jesus miracles comes with a bite, only one bothered to praise God and to say thanks. And to add insult to injury it was a no good ignorant Samaritan. Ouch.
The bottom line of the gospel lesson is that we can only be thankful for the salvation, life and healing that God in Christ brings to our lives. We cannot look down on others as somehow less in the know as we are or less worthy, we are not entitled, we are not to be patted on our backs and told how good we are, we can only to be thankful and full of praise, that is how we are to live.
Being healed is one miracle, but living a life that is full of praise and thanksgiving is salvation itself, that is the faith that saves, that makes us well.
It is interesting that the Gospel lesson today has to do with lepers because this is the Sunday where we remember St. Francis by having the blessing of the animals. St. Francis’s conversion in large part had to do with an encounter he had with a homeless leper. Most of St. Frances ministry was with lepers not as many suspect with nature and wild animals.
We celebrate the life of Frances today with the blessing of the animals because his feast day was this past Monday, October 4th. The blessing of the animals is associated with St. Frances because of several stories about Frances paying attention and respect to all of God’s creatures, not just people, not just lepers but all the creatures of God.
It was because of God that Frances was able to notice and respect the dignity of all creatures. Frances had that heart that was full of praise and thanks. All the other creatures of God were not stepping stones to elevate Frances above his surroundings, they were evidence of God’s bounty and beauty and blessing in all creation, evidence to be cherished.
Frances shows us what the incredible freedom of the Gospel looks like, the freedom to live every moment and breath as an act of praise and thanks to God for existence and for salvation in Christ and that we share that praise and thanks with all creatures, we are part of theat song of all creation to our Lord and God.
Frances saw the evidence of that song everywhere. He cherished that evidence.
We remember Frances because he is evidence of that song.
We bless the animals today as evidence of that song.
And we are invited to be evidence of the song of God’s praise and beauty and blessing.