Titus 3:1-7 / Luke 17:11-19
Of all living creatures, human beings take the longest time to become independent.
From the time we were babies till we become really independent, which can vary from person to person, we are actually dependent on our parents and the people around us.
And during that period of time, we are also absorbing and learning about the ways of life that will eventually form our character and our principles and views about life and about those around us.
Those who are Christians will certainly have a formation in the faith. Yet Christians or otherwise, we will all be exposed to the worldly formation, e.g., to be selfish, to be greedy, to hoard, to be materialistic, etc.
That was why in the 1st reading, St. Paul urged Titus to remind his people to be obedient to authorities and to do good at every opportunity, and also not to slander and quarrel but to be courteous and polite to all.
Because it is so easy to forget the precepts of our faith and slide sinfully into the ways of the world and be disobedient to God and be misled and enslaved by different passions and luxuries, as well as wickedness and ill-will, as we heard in the 1st reading.
But when the kindness and love of God was revealed in Jesus Christ, it is not because of any merit of ours but by the grace of God.
And as we heard of the healing of the ten lepers in the gospel, they were healed not because they deserved it but because of God's compassion.
Yet of the ten lepers who were healed, only one came back to give to give thanks. So as we can see it is so easy to take God's grace for granted, even miraculous healing graces for granted.
So today we are reminded that we are totally dependent on God and on His mercy and graces.
Our obedience is the sign of our dependence on Him. There is no need to say what disobedience will lead to.