Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison. Today's scripture offers us a wiser way of being human as we step into the day.

On Tuesdays, we're sitting with the Gospels, watching Jesus in motion, noticing how he responds to real people in real bodies navigating real need. Today's passage is often

framed as a lesson about saying thank you, but when we slow down, we find something much deeper,

a story about what happens after healing and why gratitude isn't about politeness but about

integration. Today's reading is Luke 17, 11 through 19. Now on his way to Jerusalem,

Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village,

ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice.

Jesus, master, have pity on us. When he saw them, he said, go, show yourselves to the

priests, and as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back,

praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him, and he was a

Samaritan. Jesus asked,

we're not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God

except this foreigner? Then he said to him, rise and go. Your faith has made you well.

This story begins with desperation. Ten men cry out together, standing at a distance,

socially isolated, physically marked, cut off from ordinary life. Their plea is simple. Have mercy.

Jesus responds without drama. He doesn't touch them. He doesn't explain. He sends them on their

way. And something important happens as they go.

The text says, as they went, they were cleansed. Healing unfolds in motion. From a psychological

perspective, this is so crucial. When people are in survival mode, the nervous system tends to

prioritize one thing, getting through it. Relief comes and the system moves forward quickly. There's often no pause to process what just happened. That's what we see with the nine. They're healed and they keep going, which makes sense on some level. They have lives to reclaim, families to return to,

doors that may finally open. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but one of them stops.

Luke tells us that when he saw he was healed, he turned back. That phrase is subtle but important.

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