20201111 CURED BUT NOT SAVED
11 November, 2020, Wednesday, 32nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
These are the readings for the feria
First reading | Titus 3:1-7 © |
It was purely by his own compassion that God saved us
Remind your people that it is their duty to be obedient to the officials and representatives of the government; to be ready to do good at every opportunity; not to go slandering other people or picking quarrels, but to be courteous and always polite to all kinds of people. Remember, there was a time when we too were ignorant, disobedient and misled and enslaved by different passions and luxuries; we lived then in wickedness and ill-will, hating each other and hateful ourselves.
But when the kindness and love of God our saviour for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour. He did this so that we should be justified by his grace, to become heirs looking forward to inheriting eternal life.
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 22(23) © |
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.2Th2:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us
to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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.’
CURED BUT NOT SAVED
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [TITUS 3:1-7; LUKE 17:11-19 ]
It is natural when we are sick or afflicted with diseases to see healing. We are all afraid of pain, immobility and death. We can understand therefore how desperate the ten lepers were in the gospel to find a cure for their leprosy. More than just physical suffering, lepers were banished from society because it was such an infectious disease. Our Covid-19 is incomparable to what a leper had to go through. It would not just be a Stay Home Notice or quarantine but a permanent stay out and stay away notice. This explains why “they stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.'”
But unfortunately, most of us like, the nine lepers who were cured, did not come back to give thanks. Obediently, in faith, we pray to God for healing and even attend healing rallies. But when healed, instead of returning to give thanks to God, we almost instantly forget about Him and who it was that cured us. The lepers were concerned more about the legal verification that they were cured and in their excitement of returning to their loved ones, God was forgotten. Not many Catholics give thanks or testify to God’s healing grace and His marvelous works in their lives. We might give thanks to the doctors or to our ingenuity in solving our problems but hardly do we give thanks publicly to God who is our healer.
Ironically, it often takes a non-Catholic to understand and recognize the power of God in his or her life. The gospel tells us that it was the Samaritan, a foreigner, that returned to give thanks to God. “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.” The gratitude expressed by the Samaritan reminds us of another foreigner who was healed of his leprosy by Elisha in the Old Testament, Naaman the Syrian commander. He returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant. If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.” (2 Kgs 5:15,17)
It is significant that the Lord said to the Samaritan, “Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.” Clearly, there is a vast distinction between being cured and being saved. The other nine lepers were cured of their leprosy but they were not saved because they failed to recognize and acknowledge God’s sovereignty in their lives. The lack of gratitude would soon be demonstrated by the way they conduct themselves in their relations with their neighbors after their recovery. They would go back to their old way of life, the sinful life that St Paul wrote to Titus about. “Remember, there was a time when we too were ignorant, disobedient and misled and enslaved by different passions and luxuries; we lived then in wickedness and ill-will, hating each other and hateful ourselves.” When we continue to live a life of foolishness by being blind to the truth; and willfully disobeying the commandments of God, deceived by Satan and the world, we will cause more harm to ourselves, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually.
Indeed, there are many who ask for healing, but when they are cured, they live their lives irresponsibly, not taking care of their health. They drink excessively, smoke and live a promiscuous life. A person who is addicted to sensual gratifications, a slave to his body that seeks pleasure and comfort, will eventually ruin his life. He who lives a life of sin, lacking self-control, failing to take care of his physical and spiritual health will eventually fall back into ill health. This is why we must distinguish between being saved and being healed. Salvation is of the entire person, body, soul and spirit. Healing is merely of the body.
To be saved, we need to recognize the power and mercy of God in our lives. This was what the Samaritan leper did. St Paul reiterated this in his letter to Titus when he said, “But when the kindness and love of God our saviour for mankind were revealed, it was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us.” The beginning of salvation is always the work of God, not the work of man. God comes to save us not because we were good or have earned His favour but because He loves us and has compassion for us. In the same vein, writing to the Ephesians, St Paul said that God shows “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Eph 2:7-10)
This salvation is given to us through His Church when we celebrate the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. Indeed, we are saved “by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour.” It is through the Church ministering to us the sacraments of baptism and confirmation that our sins are forgiven. We are given a rebirth, a new life; and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live the life of Christ as a new creation. Of course, God could also save us outside of the normal means of grace but this would be the ordinary way when a person is baptized and received into the community of grace so that he could continue to walk in the light of Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church of Christ. Salvation, unlike a cure, is a life-long process. It requires us to give up our sins and live in the life of Christ today so that “justified by his grace”, we “become heirs looking forward to inheriting eternal life.” We no longer live in the past discouraged by our sins but we live fully in the present in the light of Christ, but always looking towards the future when we attain the fullness of life.
A clear sign that we are saved is when we live a life that is exemplary and life-giving. St Paul wrote, “Remind your people that it is their duty to be obedient to the officials and representatives of the government; to be ready to do good at every opportunity.” Christians must show themselves to be good citizens on earth and not just citizens of heaven. They need to cooperate with civil authorities, respect those in charge, obey legitimate laws of the country, and most of all, contribute to the good of the nation and society. Writing to the Romans, St Paul also urged them, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.” (Rom 13:1-3) Every Christian must show himself or herself to be at the service of the country, doing good for society. Therefore, being a Christian requires us to be connected with the world and society. We cannot impose our view of life on a secular society but we can certainly propose values for the good of everyone.
In the final analysis, a redeemed life is one that is lived in peace, in love and in harmony. St Paul says, we do not go about “slandering other people or picking quarrels, but to be courteous and always polite to all kinds of people.” That is why we should not just ask for a cure when we are sick. We must ask for integral healing of mind, body and spirit. This is what the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick seeks to do. When we live a wholesome life, with integrity, justice and compassion, we will not fall sick so easily because our life is at peace. Although not entirely, but a sinful life causes us to lose our peace of mind, control over our sensual needs, and this leads us to sin against others, make enemies and lose precious sleep. Let us therefore entrust our lives to the Lord, who is our Good Shepherd leading us to life, as the responsorial psalm says, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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