20161009 THANKSGIVING BRINGS HEALING TO THE SOUL
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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2 Kings 5:14-17 ©
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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.’
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 97:1-4 ©
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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.
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Second reading
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2 Timothy 2:8-13
©
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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.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message
of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Or
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1Th5:18
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Alleluia, alleluia!
For all things give
thanks,
because this is what
God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 17:11-19 ©
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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.’
THANKSGIVING
BRINGS HEALING TO THE SOUL
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: [ 2 Kgs 5:14-17;
Ps 97:1-4; 2 Tim 2:8-13; Lk 17:11-19 ]
Many people are not happy
in life because they are always unsatisfied. They are full of complaints
even when they are healthy, have a good career, a loving family and good
friends to support us. So such people need as much healing as those who
are sick because they are emotionally and spiritually sick if not physically
too. What is the reason for our lack of contentment and happiness in
life? It is the sin of ingratitude. This is the theme of today’s
scripture readings.
What is the cause of an
ungrateful heart? It is due to pride and self-reliance. Naaman was the
chief commander of Syrian army. God gave him victory over his
enemies but he did not know that his success was the work of the Lord. Instead,
he glorified himself until he was struck down by the most dreaded disease in
those days, namely, leprosy. It was such a horrifying disease because the
person is totally disfigured, alienated from his family and literally left to
rot alone. We cannot imagine how fearful those who had symptoms of
leprosy were. He was left with no choice but to take the
advice of his wife’s servant girl to see Elisha for heling. In the same
vein too, St Paul was a man so full of himself. He was a scholar, a rabbi
and a Pharisee. He relied on no one but himself and the good works he
performed. He thought that the way to be saved is through the observance of the
laws and he took pride in meticulously observing the traditions of his fathers.
This is true for the modern
man today. He thinks very highly of himself, crediting his success to his hard
work, intelligence and creative thinking. He thinks he can build the
world simply through his own effort, science and technology. Those who
are too full of themselves will one day come to realize their nothingness in
the face of death and tragedy. Regardless how powerful we are on this
earth, a time will come when we will fall sick, our minds and body will
deteriorate. And even if we are healthy and successful, our lives might not
be happy because we lack compassion, love and mercy for others. When we
despise others and think so highly of our achievements as if it is all our
effort, it means we have forgotten who we were and what we will be without God
and His grace in our lives.
This was what happened to
Naaman and St Paul. They were brought low by the Lord. Naaman was
struck with leprosy. St Paul fell off the horse on his way to Damascus
and was blinded by the light. Because of this experience of helplessness,
they turned back to the Lord. Forced by necessity and despair, they were
brought to their knees. How true for those who speak arrogantly against
God. But when they are down and out, when no one can help them and no
money can buy back life, they turn to God, the author and source of life.
Indeed, God allows us to suffer tragedy in life so that we will know our place
in this world. Hopefully, this realization will help us to find total
healing, not just of our body but of soul and spirit.
But blessed are those who are
grateful to God and acknowledge Him as the Giver of all blessings and source of
life and goodness. Grateful people are always contented people.
They focus on what they have, not what they have not got. Ingrates always
look at what they do not have and envy others who have them. Grateful
people on the other hand are always appreciative of what they have, dare not
ask for more and live with a heart of thanksgiving and joy.
Whatever they receive, is always a bonus. And because they
recognize that they do not deserve the blessings they have, they also become
generous with what they share. Grateful hearts are compassionate
hearts. They tend to share what they have with others because they feel
for them since they were once poor.
For this reason, when Naaman
was healed and wanted to thank Elisha, he refused to accept his gifts. Elisha
was conscious that he was only a servant of the Lord. He was not the
healer. He did not want Naaman to think that he was such a great
man. Rather, his task was to lead him to acknowledge “that there is no
God in all the earth except in Israel.” If he had received the gifts, Naaman
might attribute the healing miracle to him. As a consequence, Naaman
carried the soil back home for from then on, “your servant will no longer offer
holocaust or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.”
We must never forget God
who is the source of all blessings and to acknowledge Him in all our
successes. This was the case of the nine lepers who did not return to
give thanks to the Lord. Indeed, they were cured of their leprosy.
But we are not too sure whether they attributed it to the Lord or to other
reasons. Even the healing that Jesus effected was not clear.
Firstly, they did not ask for a cure, probably, they thought that they were
doomed to rot away as there was no cure for leprosy. Significantly, they
did not ask Jesus to heal them but to have mercy on them. Mercy
means to do something for them. They were seeking for mercy.
Secondly, Jesus simply instructed them to show themselves to the priests.
He did not specifically heal them. Along the way, they were healed.
In their joy, they only thought of the fact that they were healed. They
would have gone to the priests and then back home to celebrate. They did
not thank God who is their healer.
It is unfortunate that many
who are healed by God do not return to give thanks and testimony to what God
has done for them. What Jesus remarked is so true and applies to many of
us Catholics as well. He said, “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.” Not just a foreigner but a Samaritan who was
considered heretic and condemned by the Jews. Ironically, it seems many
who are not of the faith are more appreciative and recognize the source of
healing as coming from God than us Catholics who often take our blessings and
healing for granted. That is why although we have received healing from
the Lord and miracles in our lives, we do not attribute to God but to
themselves, or the doctors or the medication we take. We are ignorant of
God’s divine intervention and mercy for us. Hence even when we are cured
of our sicknesses, we are not saved. This is because our hearts are still
full of ourselves and lacking in gratitude and humility to share the life of
God. We may be physically healthy but emotionally and spiritually
empty. However the man who came back to thank the Lord was healed
body, soul and spirit. That is why the Lord said to him, “Stand up and go
on your way. Your faith has saved you.”
A sign that we know that
God is the source of all that we have and are is always one of gratitude
expressed in a life of thanksgiving and mercy. We see the transformation
in the lives of Naaman and St Paul. When we are touched by the Lord, we
are no longer the same. We will learn to trust in the Lord and surrender
our lives to Him. St Paul gave his life for the gospel. He wrote, “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.”
We too, must do the
same. Indeed, every Sunday we come to Church to celebrate the Eucharist,
which means thanksgiving. If celebrating the Eucharist every Sunday is
obligatory to every Catholic, it is because the Church wants to instill in us
that all we have come from God. If we do not acknowledge this, we
fall into pride and egotism. By giving thanks to God every Sunday, which
is what the Sabbath is all about, we learn to depend on Him. When we give
thanks, we become more conscious of our blessings. We count them instead
of thinking of our woes. In this way, we become more contented and
happy in life.
Giving tithes and donations
during the mass is another way to express our gratitude to God for all that we
have received. So tithing in the Church is to remind ourselves that all
we have belong to God and not to us. Therefore, we desire to return a
little of what we have received. We must never think that we are so
generous when we give money to the Church or to the poor because if God had not
blessed us, we would have nothing to give. So the ability to give and
contribute to the mission and work of the Church itself must be an expression
of thanksgiving, not an obligation or a demand.
As we live a life of
thanksgiving, we find ourselves more liberated and more grateful. We do
not take life and those people God sent to help us for granted. So let us
cling to the Lord. As St Paul wrote, “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.” God is faithful to us always. “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.” So praise God and
thank Him in prayer and worship every day; and thank Him by living a life of
generosity towards others.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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