We read today of the healing of ten lepers or at least ten people ostracised as lepers. At a distance, they call out to Jesus for help. They do not dare to come near even to Jesus. Jesus tells them to go and show themselves to the priests who will declare them clean. And on the way they are healed. This is the reward of their faith and trust in Jesus' word. But then only one came back to say thanks - and he was a Samaritan, a person, even in health, treated as an outcast by Jews. In their leprosy Jews and Samaritans shared their common fate; in health, the Samaritan is once again isolated. But not in the eyes of Jesus, who says to him: "Stand up and go your way; your faith and trust in me has made you a whole person again." The story prepares the way for the time when many Samaritans will accept the Gospel while many Jews will refuse to do so. And, while there may not be any real lepers in our own society, today is an occasion for us to reflect on who are often treated as lepers - outsiders, outcasts, and untouchables among us at the present time. People segregated according to race, religion and class. I may ask whether I personally treat any person as an outsider in my home, in my work, in other places where I meet people. Such exclusion is totally contrary to what we celebrate in the Eucharist.