God's Hand

Being grateful for God’s hand in our lives

Luke 17:11-19

           As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, 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.”

            Do you remember the assassination attempt of Pope St. John Paul II in 1981?  He was greeting pilgrims in an open-air popemobile, when Mehmet Ali Agca fired from close range, hitting the pope 4 times.  One of the bullets came very close to the pope’s heart, but missed.  That assassination attempt occurred on May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, and the pope always held that Mary’s hand had moved the bullet away from his heart and vital organs.  One skeptical reporter asked, “Why didn’t Mary’s hand move the bullet away from the pope’s whole body!?”  Great question!  You see, the pope saw more than Mary’s hand at work, he also perceived God’s hand.  That hidden divine hand was pointing to Ali Agca, whom the pope visited in prison and personally forgave.  The pope also wrote to Agca’s mother and brother.  In February, 2005, as the pope was dying, Agca wrote to the pope to wish him well.  I bet both the pope and the would-be assassin were grateful for their meeting: how Mary’s hand saved the pope’s life, but also how God’s hand had brought them together.  It is said that “God writes straight with crooked lines.”  That’s true even when those crooked lines are the path of a bullet.

            In the gospel today, we see another man who perceives God’s hand in his life.  Jesus meets 10 lepers who all cry, “Jesus, Master!  Have pity on us!”  He directs them to go show themselves to the priests, and they are all healed.  Sadly, only one man returns to tell Jesus thanks.  But I think the man was grateful for more than the healing; he was grateful to meet Jesus, and maybe even saw that leprosy was the occasion for that meeting.  In other words, he saw not only Jesus hand of healing, but he perceived God’s hand guiding his whole life to this encounter with Christ.  I be the other 9 – like the cynical reporter – walked away from Jesus muttering, “Well, why didn’t God just keep us from getting leprosy in the first place?!”  You see, it takes faith to see God’s hidden hand in your life.

            I recently came across some Thanksgiving Day riddles.  See if you can answer them.  If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?  The answer: they bring pilgrims!  What do you call it when it rains turkeys?  That’s called “foul weather” – even weatherman, Joe Pennington knew that one!  What do you get if you divide the circumference of a pumpkin by its diameter?  You get pumpkin pi – spelled “pi.”  What’s the most musical part of a turkey?  It’s the drumstick!  Okay, last one: what happened when the turkey got into a fight?  He got the stuffing knocked out of him!  I share these riddles not only because they’re funny, but also because they train our mind’s eye to see below the surface of things; to see beyond the obvious.  That’s what faith does, too: it helps us see below the surface of our lives and get a glimpse of God’s loving hand.

            Today we have so much to be grateful for, as individuals, as a nation, and as a church.  We have decent healt, at least to make it to Mass.  We have a modicum of wealth, at least more than most of the world.  We have freedom to express our opinions and to worship as our conscience dictates.  It’s easy to see Jesus’ and Mary’s hands helping us receive these blessings, and we should be grateful.  But today also try to see below the surface of your life to perceive God’s hidden hand, even in the sad and tragic moments: the lost job, the broken relationship, the sudden illness, when you have the stuffing knocked out of you!  These things, too, are a part of providence, and for which we should give thanks.  The one leper who returned to give thanks not only was grateful to be cured of leprosy; he was also grateful the leprosy helped him to meet Jesus.  Today, say “thank you” for all the things – the good and the bad – that have helped you to meet Jesus.

            Praised be Jesus Christ!