To Be That One Leper, by Michael Pakaluk

It really happened, it wasn’t a parable, that once Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned to give thanks.  It happened in God’s design, and Luke took care to record it (17:11-19), to teach us something.  But what?

Perhaps, that Our Lord prefers to do good quietly: he made no fuss about healing them but simply told them to show themselves to the priest.  Maybe, that we easily take past blessings for granted – only the Samaritan returned.  Surely, too, that we are likely to be even less grateful for forgiveness than for bodily healing. …