20221009 THANKSGIVING BRINGS HEALING TO THE SOUL
09 October, 2022, 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.’
THANKSGIVING BRINGS HEALING TO THE SOUL
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 Kgs 5:14-17; Ps 98:1-4; 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 them. Such people need as much healing as those who are sick because they are emotionally and spiritually sick. 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 the 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 healing. 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 was 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 that 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 his 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. 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 testify to what God had done for them. What Jesus remarked is so true and applies to many of us 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 ourselves, 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 in 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 for every Catholic, it is because the Church wants to instil 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 happier 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 His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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