Fr Paolo Consonni, MCCJ
Luke 17:11-19
Once I went to see a dermatologist and I thought I would just get some ointment to apply on my rash. I was surprised when he asked me about my eating habits, my sleeping pattern, and above all, my overall mood and emotional state. That doctor helped me realize that there is a strong connection between skin and emotions.
The skin is the largest organ of the body, whose main function is to protect us from external factors that can damage our cells. Under the skin, blood vessels and sweat regulate the body’s temperature. The terminals of many nerves are also connected to the skin, which give firsthand information to the brain about pain, pleasure, temperature and pressure coming from the outside.
The link between our skin and our mood, especially stress, is well documented in medical literature: there is a correlation between skin diseases and the way we deal with emotional and relational boundaries, namely how we live our relationships. Think of it: one single wrong word or one foolish action can cause all the blood vessels in the skin to open up, causing our face to blush.
This connection between mind, emotions and body becomes more obvious in more serious skin diseases: our psychological state affects our immune system and therefore our skin condition, then the resulting sickness causes psycho-social issues which affect our relational life, causing isolation and pain. The current outbreak of Monkeypox, for instance, is causing in some countries serious problems of discrimination.
Leprosy is a more powerful example of what I just explained. Interestingly enough, this sickness is caused by a bacillus which first damages the nervous system close to the surface of the skin, and not the skin itself as we might expect!
In the past, the social stigma caused by this infectious disease, exacerbated by the disfiguring of the limbs and especially the face, caused a person affected by this disease to become a social pariah, forced to live in isolation and cut off from any religious and social activities. A leper was simply considered cursed by God. Fortunately, we now know that leprosy is not easily transmissible and it is perfectly curable if detected at its early stages.
It’s no wonder that, in this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 17:11-19), Jesus is more than willing to heal the ten lepers who shouted from afar: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Jesus became man in order to remove all the barriers that stand between each person and God, including the curse of leprosy. He invited the lepers to start a journey of faith and trust in Him by sending them to see the priest, as required by the law, who would eventually certify their healing and reinstate them into social and religious life.
Healing happened while the lepers were on their way to emphasize that it’s necessary to make an inner journey which has different stages so that God’s healing might reach even the deepest levels of our being and permeate our whole life.
Case in point: nine of the lepers didn’t continue their journey back to Jesus. Only one of the group, the Samaritan, “turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks” (vv. 15-16). By doing this, the Samaritan showed that the Grace he had received through Jesus’ miracle went past the skin and reached deeply into his heart. After being healed, he did not simply go back to his former way of life, but he became a transformed person. He understood that Jesus was the source of a power which is stronger than any sickness, evil and death: God’s Mercy and Love. Only by clinging to Jesus could he leave behind an existence dominated by fear of death, isolation from others and separation from God. This is the true healing. This is the true miracle.
The other nine lepers remained at skin level, and I understand them. When life gets uncomfortable, when things do not go our way, then what we ask from God is only to get some relief which might help us live a bit more comfortably at a physical, emotional, spiritual, social and financial level. But this is only superficial wellbeing, which does not bring about lasting happiness, because other troubles inevitably happen. The Samaritan continued instead his spiritual journey which eventually led him to true healing and salvation: “Rise up and go”, Jesus told him at the end of the passage, using this powerful verb which reminds us of the Resurrection. The Samaritan became a new person with a new life.
In my prayer this week, I want to avoid asking Jesus (as I did with my doctor) only for a miraculous ointment to relieve my inner and outer sufferings, but instead ask for the strength and the gratitude necessary to continue my journey, together with Him, towards my Jerusalem and my true, deep healing. Spiritually speaking, there is no point of cleaning the leaves of a plant if we don’t also water its roots.
(Image source: salesiansisterswest.org)
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