No Shoes, No Shirt

 

Trusting God and seeing everything as his gift

11/27/2025

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.”

A few months ago I was conversing with our sacristan, Dan Rose, and he pointed out something in church I had never noticed before. He said that in practically every statue of Jesus and Mary, they are depicted as barefooted. For example, look closely at the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus behind me. Our Lord is barefooted.

Take a quick glimpse at the statue of Mary on the other side of the sanctuary. Our Blessed Mother wears no shoes or sandals, and she’s treading barefooted on a snake. Have you ever noticed that artistic detail before? In Christian iconography and art, being barefooted symbolizes total trust in God’s providence and see everything as a gift. You walk with no fear, but only with faith.

But Jesus and Mary are not the first two people to walk around barefooted. Can you guess who the first two were? I am currently reading a book called “The Obedience Paradox” by Mary Stanford who suggested that in the beginning Adam and Eve also displayed this unflinching trust in God and saw all creation as his gift to them. Gn 2:24 describes them as “naked without shame” and obviously they didn’t wear Hokas around the Garden.

Mary Stanford explains why: “The first man and woman received everything, including themselves, from the loving hand of God…He was the Giver, and they were the grateful receivers.” That is, not only were they barefooted, but their whole bodies were also bare because of their total trust in God to give them everything as a gift.

Think of small children who run around the house naked and barefoot, at least they do here in Arkansas. Why? Well, because they have complete confidence that mom and dad will give them everything they need or want. They walk and run with no fear but only faith. Jesus said in Mt 18:3: “Unless you become like children you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

In other words, we will not need shoes, or maybe even clothes, to enter heaven, but rather run around “naked without shame” like trusting children. You know, some restaurants hang a sign that says: “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” Well, for Jesus and Mary, for Adam and Eve, and for small children, wearing “no shoes and no shirt” always get them the best service.

In the gospel today Jesus cures ten lepers, but only one returns to give thanks to Jesus. I don’t know if that one leper wore shoes or went barefooted but he discovered that he could trust God to give him everything as a gift. That is, when he was healed of his leprosy he responded with deep gratitude and trust, which is also known as faith. Hence, Jesus tells him: “Stand up and go, your faith has saved you.” The grateful leper felt like a child who didn’t need shoes or shirt to get service.

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving Day here in the United States. And we want to follow in the footsteps of the grateful leper and come to Jesus at this Mass and say: “Thank you, Lord!” We have all received so many gifts and the best response is deep gratitude and total trust, that is, the response of faith.

I personally feel immensely grateful that I still have my parents and both are in good health. My dad is 91 years old, and my mom is…younger than him. I feel deep gratitude for the 3 years I had with my dog Apollo and all our cherished memories together. And I feel blessed to be the priest of a parish where the sacristan is smarter than the pastor.

But even more than walking in the footsteps of the grateful leper, today we should ask for the grace to walk barefoot like Jesus and Mary in Christian iconography, and Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and small children running around their home naked. What do I mean?

Well, try to have such complete faith and trust in God’s love and care for you that you begin to see everything as a gift. That is, learn to walk without fear but only by faith. Thanksgiving, in the fullest Christian sense, invites us to become like small children who know that even with “no shoes and no shirt” they will nonetheless get the best service.

I am reminded of visiting my uncle and his family in New Delhi, India many years ago. We were there on a Sunday and so naturally we attended Mass. But I noticed a very curious Indian custom. Before the parishioners entered the church, they removed their shoes and left them outside the front doors. Indians always wear their best socks to church!

But walking into Mass barefooted was a powerful symbol of trusting totally in God’s love, who gives us everything as a gift. And of course at every Mass, we receive the greatest gift of all: Jesus in the Eucharist. At Mass in India, even with “no shoes and no shirt” you will still get the best service.

Praised be Jesus Christ!