Ten Lepers,
Painted by James Christensen (born 1942),
Oil and acrylic on canvas,
Executed in 2002
© James C. Christensen
Ten Lepers,
Painted by James Christensen (born 1942),
Oil and acrylic on canvas,
Executed in 2002
© James C. Christensen
No one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner
Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’
Reflection on this painting
‘One of them turned back praising God’, we read in today’s Gospel passage. We see the thankful man depicted in our painting on the right, turning away from the rest of the group to go and show his gratitude to Christ. The other nine lepers are walking away. They were healed and just walked away without saying thanks. Only one man, the Samaritan, described as the 'foreigner', returned to give thanks.
James Christensen, a California-based artist, paints this Gospel scene in a very elegant and graceful way. We can make out the lepers only by the way they are dressed, in worn-out clothes. The painted detail of the torn, used, scruffy clothes shows that moments before this scene, they were still ill, still lepers. The clothes remind us of their past. Their perfectly healed skin tells us of their current healed state going into the future.
Of the ten lepers, nine are too preoccupied with celebrating their new lease of life after having been healed. They are so caught up in themselves and in the moment. They don’t think even for one moment of being grateful to Jesus who healed them. By contrast, the tenth truly grasps the magnitude of what has happened and the grace he has received. He is the only one who returns to acknowledge Christ. I love his pose. His hands are held up. He probably looked at those same hands a few moments before realising that he was healed, and his gaze looks back at Christ, who is outside the painting. This image and our Gospel reading provide an inspiring reminder to pause for a moment in our fast-paced world and think about all the beautiful things we can be thankful for….
“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”
- St. Ambrose
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An amazing work of art that really captures the Gospel reading today. I would hope I am like the 10th leper, who returns to acknowledge Christ and thank Him……..but I shamefully admit that I can see myself in the other 9, who become so happy with being cured, they forget to thank Christ. I will remember this painting and remember the eyes of the 10th leper….he is filled with thanks and awe for the Christ…..very moving.
THANKS BE TO GOD!!! May we always remember to be thankful and feel gratitude.
JESUS IS LORD! MON SEIGNEUR ET MON DIEU!
I really enjoy this song from an amazing singer, Brandon Lake, called Gratitude…….. I will attach it below if it can be posted.
One more comment: today, 15 November, is the Feast Day of St. Albert the Great, Albertus Magnus, the Universal Doctor, and patron saint of scientists….. HAPPY ST ALBERT THE GREAT FEAST DAY!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQdfs5S6jyA
Thank you for this I have added the song to my playlist and used it as part of my night prayer.
This painting is so captivating, I would love to have a replica in my home. The artist shows the Samaritan as the youngest among the lepers. It speaks of child like gratitude. It’s hard to put into words. The rectangular landscape is the road of life we’re all on. I pray for God’s grace to pause continually and meditate on all the love He showers me with. He surrounds me with love of family, friends, strangers who remind me of God’s goodness and life’s challenges. I’m grateful every day and humbled by God’s mercy, from the moment I was conceived I received HIS love through my beautiful mother Alicia. As a mother myself I can appreciate more God’s love through all my mother’s sacrifices. I see my journey of faith has grown as the years pass. My mother is suffering with alzhimers, she’s 91 soon to be 92 in January. I’m blessed everyday to help care for her along my father, my husband, our 3 sons and wonderful care providers. GOD ALMIGHTY grant us all a contrite and humble heart that we may return to YOU love for love. Cleanse us from our leprosy. Amen!!
Wonderful. Yes, God’s love is evident through you Susana.
An amazing work of art that really captures the Gospel reading today. I would hope I am like the 10th leper, who returns to acknowledge Christ and thank Him……..but I shamefully admit that I can see myself in the other 9, who become so happy with being cured, they forget to thank Christ.
I will remember this painting and remember the eyes of the 10th leper….he is filled with thanks and awe for the Christ…..very moving.
THANKS BE TO GOD!!! May we always remember to be thankful and feel gratitude. JESUS IS LORD!
MON SEIGNEUR ET MON DIEU!
I really enjoy this song from an amazing singer, Brandon Lake, called Gratitude……..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=dQdfs5S6jyA
One more comment: today, 15 November, is the Feast Day of St. Albert the Great, Albertus Magnus, the Universal Doctor, and patron saint of scientists…..
HAPPY ST ALBERT THE GREAT FEAST DAY!
10 kleinkinderen hebben we. Ze zijn niet alle 10 even erg melaats, maar voor God zijn ze ziek of allergisch. Zo ook hun ouders. Nochtans hebben wij, als grootouders, hen de geestelijke gezondheid meegegeven en doen we dat nog dagelijks. Zij echter, willen zich niet meer laten reinigen, genezen zelfs niet meer gered worden in deze seculiere wereld. En toch…. eentje gaat zich laten reinigen door het Vormsel te willen ontvangen. Daarom DANK HEER voor de genezing en de hulp die jij ons als grootouders geeft. We blijven Uw weg gaan; misschien volgen ze ooit nog????
Yes, Janey- I sometimes feel this about my family too.
Janey and SfG – Everything in the garden is NOT rosy for many of our CA community and our hearts and prayers go out to you. Hard road you are travelling sometimes….
So agree, Patricia. 🙏
I absolutely LOVE this Gospel reading and reflection. This image is beautiful and the creator of this art definitely captured the feelings of all 10 lepers. The one grateful and turning to run to Jesus and the other 9, glad to be healed and not even thankful to Jesus. I appreciate this Gospel reading and reflection because I feel sometimes we are so focused on what was done for us by Jesus, that we never thank Him for what it is that He has done. I am so appreciative to Jesus and I feel like I never give as much thanks as I should. Thank you Jesus, for everything. Not just a thank you for the healing and life you brought me, but also for the blood you shed, and the life you gave so that I could have eternal life. Thank you!
It is so important also to recognize that, yes, being thankful to God should be done, but we should also look at one more thing that many people may not realize in this story. The 10 lepers were happy they were healed physically, but only ONE of them (the one who returned), got the TRUE healing that was needed. The spiritual healing was the most needed in this situation. Always give thanks to God, and always realize that the spiritual healing has the only great impact onou, not your physical healing. Physical healing impacts you, but spiritual healing, IMPACTS you… if you know what I mean 🙂 ✝✝ God bless you all!
I completely understand Izzy- these things are not spearate but whole- mind, body and soul.
This goes back to another discussion where we remarked that quite often many were clamouring to ‘get’ something from Jesus. The Good Lord obviously healed numerous times – and occasionally with little thanks, it seems.
I like how Jesus subtly or maybe not so subtly deals with the prejudices of the day by often times making the pagans and Samaritans the “heros” of the parables that he tells.
Yes, the outcasts and the overlooked. How guilty are we of ‘overlooking,’ too.