Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

2 Kings 5:14-17, 2 Timothy 2:8-13, Luke 17:11-19

 

Dear sisters and brothers,

Today we hear of Naaman, who could not believe that God asked so little of him in order to be healed. Then the Gospel tells us of the ten lepers and only one returns to give thanks after being healed. It is faith that heals both of these men. Faith is not always what we think it is. Naaman’s faith had to be prodded so that he could accept the meekness of our God. The one leper who returned was not the only one healed, but the others did not give thanks.

We are invited to reflect on our own faith at this time of year. Do we want great and marvelous actions from God or are we content with the small touches of love that He normally gives to us? Do we give thanks each day for the wonder of being able to live and to love and to serve others?

Faith does not have to be some great effort on our part. It is simply looking around us and believing that there is a God who created all of this, who continues to create all of this and who loves us and invites us to share His life. Okay, that is a fairly big step and lots of people simply cannot take such a step. Perhaps we can just begin by believing that there is some force behind all that we see and live in our lives. Perhaps we can believe that there is something, even if we cannot bring ourselves to believe in someone.

For us who do believe, we can ask to renew the miracle of faith in our lives by seeing the wonder of all of this creation and the wonder of a daily gift of life. Far too easily we take our faith for granted and then cease to be in awe. Really, it is so incredible that God loves us and each day gives us life and invites us to share His life. In it incredible that we are invited to eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus Christ. If we knew the power of this mystery, we would surely die immediately.

Giving thanks should be part of our daily life as well. We don’t have to have something special happen in our lives in order to give thanks. Thanksgiving is what Eucharist is about and it is what our daily living can reflect each day (Abbot Philip).

Ten people afflicted with leprosy cry out to Jesus. Struck with pity, Jesus heals all 10. However, only one is described as glorifying God and returning to thank Jesus. The one who returns is a Samaritan, a foreigner. In the Jewish circles in which Jesus lived, Samaritans were looked down upon because of the differences between the two communities in their observance of Judaism. It is significant, therefore, that Jesus commends the Samaritan for his faith, which has been his salvation. Throughout Luke’s Gospel, faith is found in surprising places.

Another lesson for us in this Gospel has to do with salvation. All 10 of the lepers were given the gift of healing, but in his gratitude to God for this gift, the Samaritan found salvation. Our salvation is found in recognizing the gifts we have been given and knowing to whom we must offer our thanks.

Beloved brethren always remember that, “A grateful heart is a humble heart; a humble heart is a religious heart, a religious heart is a reverential heart; a reverential heart is a liturgical heart; a liturgical heart is a praising heart which is in turn always joyful and healthy”.

Peace and all good!

Fr. Valery Burusu

Parochial Administrator