A Grateful Heart
Gospel Reading: Luke 17:11–19
> “On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.”
There is something profoundly symbolic about the place where this story begins.
Jesus is walking between Samaria and Galilee — not in one or the other, but along the borderland.
It’s a place of tension and division, where Jews and Samaritans kept their distance from one another.
And it’s there, in this in-between place, that ten lepers call out from the edge of society:
> “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
They keep their distance, as custom required, but their voices reach across every boundary. They have nothing left but faith — faith enough to call, to hope, and to believe that mercy might find them.
Understanding the Region: Then and Now
When Luke says Jesus was traveling “between Samaria and Galilee,” he’s describing a real border — both geographic and social.
In Jesus’ time, the land was divided into three main regions:
Galilee in the north — mostly Jewish.
Samaria in the center — home of the Samaritans, who worshiped God differently and were despised by Jews.
Judea in the south — where Jerusalem stood.
These divisions were ancient and deeply felt. The Jews and Samaritans shared common ancestry but long histories of conflict and mistrust. Yet Jesus deliberately chose to travel along this dividing line — showing that God’s mercy crosses every human boundary.
In today’s world, that same region lies within what we now call Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Samaria corresponds largely to the northern part of the modern West Bank, including cities like Nablus (ancient Shechem).
Galilee is part of northern Israel.
The boundaries are still contested, the tensions still very real — political, ethnic, and religious.
And just as in Jesus’ day, this landscape reminds us that God’s healing grace often takes place in the in-between places, where humanity is divided and wounded.
Jesus still walks there — between nations, between enemies, between walls — bringing reconciliation and peace.
Healing in Motion
Jesus does not touch the lepers or speak a dramatic word of power.
Instead, he gives a simple command:
> “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”
And as they went, they were made clean.
Their healing happens in the going. They had to start walking before they saw a single sign of change.
Faith, then, is not waiting until everything makes sense — it is stepping forward in trust, believing that God is already at work even when we cannot see it yet.
The One Who Turned Back
Out of ten healed lepers, only one returns — and he is a Samaritan, an outsider.
He comes back praising God, falling at Jesus’ feet in gratitude.
Jesus notices and says,
> “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?”
Then he tells the man,
> “Your faith has made you well.”
In Greek, the word for “made well” (sozo) also means saved or made whole.
All ten were cured, but only one was made whole.
Gratitude completed what obedience began.
Faith, Gratitude, and Wholeness
Many of us live in that same space — somewhere between sickness and healing, between loss and renewal, between despair and hope.
Like the lepers, we are invited to walk forward in faith even before we see the results.
But when blessings come — when peace, healing, or renewal appears — we must also remember to turn back.
To give thanks.
To recognize the Giver as well as the gift.
Because true healing is more than a change in circumstance; it is a change in the heart.
Faith makes us move forward.
Gratitude makes us whole.
A Reflection for Your Journey
Where are you walking “on the way” right now?
Where do you need to trust that God is already working, even if you can’t yet see it?
And what gifts in your life are calling you to turn back and give thanks?
Somewhere between faith and gratitude, between the going and the returning, Christ meets us — to make us clean, to make us whole. Amen
