20251012 CONSECRATING OURSELVES TO THE LORD
12 October 2025, Sunday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | 2 Kings 5:14-17 |
Naaman the leper returned to Elisha and acknowledged the Lord
Naaman the leper went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child.
Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. ‘Now I know’ he said ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Now, please, accept a present from your servant.’
But Elisha replied, ‘As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing.’ Naaman pressed him to accept, but he refused.
Then Naaman said, ‘Since your answer is “No,” allow your servant to be given as much earth as two mules may carry, because your servant will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 97(98):1-4 |
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Sing a new song to the Lord
for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm
have brought salvation.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
The Lord has made known his salvation;
has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love
for the house of Israel.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
ring out your joy.
The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
Second reading |
2 Timothy 2:8-13 |
If we hold firm then we shall reign with Christ
Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it.
Here is a saying that you can rely on:
If we have died with him, then we shall live with him.
If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him.
If we disown him, then he will disown us.
We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful,
for he cannot disown his own self.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | 1Th5:18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
For all things give thanks,
because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 17:11-19 |
No-one has come back to praise God, only this foreigner
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ When he saw them he said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’
CONSECRATING OURSELVES TO THE LORD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 KGS 5:14-17; 2 TIM 2:8-13; LK 17:11-19]
What is life? Physical health is important, but it is not everything. Many of us are healthy and strong, yet not happy or content. There are many who are physically sick yet remain cheerful and joyful despite the pain they carry in their bodies. So, more than just life, we need love. Life exists for the sake of love. Life is for relationships. It is relationships that make life meaningful.
This explains why both scripture readings today touch on leprosy. Leprosy was the most dreaded disease during the time of the Old Testament and that of Jesus, as there was no cure for this slow yet fatal illness. It was not merely a physical ailment–it affected the core of the person: his emotions and his relationships with loved ones. Because the disease was contagious, a leper would be removed from society and made to live in isolation, often in the desert, away from other people. It was a slow and painful way of dying–worse than cancer or even AIDS. At least today, we have medications to ease the physical suffering of cancer and AIDS patients, and they need not be completely isolated from their loved ones. But for leprosy, the emotional pain could be many times greater than the physical pain. To be alienated and cut off from our loved ones is one of the most unbearable experiences in life.
Of course, the Scripture readings call us to go beyond human relationships and focus on our relationship with God. Leprosy is a symbol of the sins of humanity. Like leprosy, sin infects us slowly and eats away at us gradually–often without us even being aware. Because of sin, we are not only cut off from the people we love but also from God, who is the source of life and love. To be separated from God is to lose our identity, our calling, and our destiny. Those who live in sin have no peace or direction in life. Such a person is never truly at peace, even if they possess all the things the world has to offer, because they lack genuine, loving relationships.
This is why, in the Gospel story, only one man was truly healed, even though all ten were cured. Only the Samaritan was healed, as Jesus said, “Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.” To be saved is to be healed. But being cured does not necessarily mean one is healed or saved. A cure addresses external, physical issues, but healing is holistic–it involves emotional, physical, and spiritual restoration. The fact that the other nine did not return to give thanks shows that they remained self-centred, concerned only with their own well-being. They forgot Jesus quickly once they were out of danger. The Samaritan, however, came back to give thanks to God.
Therefore, if we want to be truly happy in life, we must turn to Jesus for holistic healing. Only Jesus can heal both our physical and spiritual illnesses. The “leprosy” of sin cannot be cured by man–not through power, political influence, or money–but only through Christ. As the Gospel tells us, faith in Jesus is the source of our healing. Faith heals because it restores our relationship with God, which in turn becomes the foundation for restoring our relationships with others. To have faith in God, like the Samaritan, is to enter into a relationship with Jesus. He recognized Jesus as someone sent by God and responded with obedience and worship. Faith requires openness to God’s grace. Since grace is a free gift–not something we earn–a faithful person is always grateful to God for all blessings received: health, friendships, work, and the ability to serve others.
Today, the world needs to rediscover God. We are living in an age of crisis in faith. More and more people are losing faith in God and in religion. Why is this happening? Firstly, it is the result of rationalism. People no longer believe in faith; they rely solely on reason to discover truth. This leads to empiricism, materialism, and secularization. But there are also emotional and spiritual factors at play: the impoverishment of religious experience, disillusionment caused by the failures of religious leaders, and the absence of genuine community. As a result, God becomes a topic of intellectual discussion, rather than a reality to be experienced.
For Christ to be believed, He must be real and personal. Today’s Gospel proclaims God as the giver of life. God is the foundation of human hope, especially in a world plagued by the culture of death and alienation–symbolized by leprosy. Like the lepers in today’s readings, God reaches out to us in our despair. When all human efforts fail–as in the case of Naaman and the lepers in the Gospel–when neither power, money, nor connections can save us, God still can.
Yet, for many, miracles and grace now seem too good to be true. Many no longer believe in the power of God to heal. They put more faith in science and medicine than in prayer and divine grace. The real danger is that faith is being reduced to a mere philosophy of life, devoid of power. People no longer believe in intercessory prayer. Instead, they focus on accessing some vague “god-consciousness” or inner energy. Prayers of petition are no longer seen as addressed to God but a way to conscientise society.
Today, we are called to learn from the examples of the prophet Elisha and the pagan army commander Naaman. When Naaman was healed, he returned to give thanks. He wanted to offer Elisha gifts, but the prophet refused them, acknowledging that his power to heal came from God. These gifts were meant for the service of God and humanity. Elisha showed gratitude to God by refusing to claim credit for what God had done through him. Indeed, whatever we have is not a reason to boast but to give glory to God. Everything we possess comes from God’s mercy and providence. Therefore, we must use our wealth, talents, and resources to glorify Him through generosity and service.
We too can learn from St Paul. He showed his gratitude to God by consecrating his whole life for the greater glory of God by being his apostle of the Good News. His way of giving thanks was by witnessing to Christ’s love and mercy both in preaching and in deeds. He wrote, “Remember the Good News that I carry: ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it.” St Paul was willing to be imprisoned and even die for Christ, out of love and gratitude for God’s mercy and love for him. We too must not allow the Good News we have received from God to be chained by our negligence and selfishness. We must proclaim to the world how great and wonderful our God is, just like the psalmist who prayed, “Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation. The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations. He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout to the Lord, all the earth, ring out your joy.”
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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