L’ascolto che ci unisce · RBE - Radio & Tv

L'ascolto che ci unisce - Sabato 28 Marzo 2026

·11 min·1 clip

Pastor Rosario Confessore explores why ten desperate lepers cried out to Jesus but only one returned to thank him.

This daily meditation episode from Radio Beckwith features Pastor Rosario Confessore of the Waldensian Church in Palermo. The episode opens with readings from Psalm 80 and Luke 17, focusing specifically on the story where ten lepers approach Jesus for healing. Pastor Confessore describes the lepers as dehumanized figures of social exclusion, kept at distance from society and even from Jesus himself. He notes that Jesus heals all ten lepers but only one returns to give thanks and glorify God. The central question becomes why nine lepers didn't return to Jesus after receiving such a profound gift. Pastor Confessore suggests the lepers were so dehumanized by their disease that even after physical healing, they remained emotionally and spiritually separated. He emphasizes that Jesus's healings always point beyond physical cure to God's transcendent power that addresses deeper human misery. The turning point comes when Pastor Confessore reveals that the one returning leper was a Samaritan—a religious outsider in first-century Judaism. This Samaritan, unlike the Jewish lepers, wasn't bound by religious conformity and was therefore more open to Jesus's disruptive message. Pastor Confessore explains that the nine Jewish lepers likely faced a choice: either stay within their familiar religious world or follow Jesus into something new, and they chose familiarity. The episode draws parallels to modern faith communities, warning against becoming too comfortable and self-satisfied in religious habits. It concludes with an invitation for listeners to continually overcome their 'distance' from God, always returning to experience God anew.

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