28th Sunday C (Oct 10, 2010)
Fr James McTavish, FMVD
GRATITUDE!
Whenever I received a gift as a child I always remember my parents telling me “Don’t forget to say thank you!” Thanksgiving is an important exercise for us as Christians. To be able to say thank you at the beginning and end of each day for all the gifts we receive. In the gospel today, ten lepers were healed but only one returns to give thanks. Jesus said to him, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" (See Luke 17,11-19). Actually the one who returned was a Samaritan, a non-Jew and therefore a foreigner. As the New Jerome Biblical commentary states “From outside the chosen people Luke draws his hero”. Jesus is holding up a non-Jew (Luke 17:18) as an example to his Jewish contemporaries (cf Luke 10:33 where a similar purpose is achieved in the story of the good Samaritan). May the example of the healed leper remind us of the importance of gratitude.
Lepers in the time of Christ were considered unclean. Persons with skin diseases were not clean or holy and therefore were isolated from concourse with the holy people of God in cities and were banned from participation in the Temple worship of God. The teaching from the Old Testament was that a leper had to offer a sin offering if he was to be made clean. Sometimes we treat others the same way –we ostracize them and label them as unclean, unworthy, not up to our standards. Only if they change then I will accept them. This is not the way of Jesus who accepts the person as they are, loving them, embracing their reality. Jesus steps across the boundaries separating clean from unclean.
Why don’t we like to reach out and touch other realities? Sometimes because they are unknown, perhaps we are afraid to catch something. Sometimes we would like to be more ambitious or adventurous but we might catch the criticism of others, the scoffing of others, being labeled as too holy holy. That is why we prefer to keep a safe distance, not to complicate our lives. Is there anyone or any group that the Lord is asking you to reach out to? A great fear in our world of today is the fear of failure. How many good plans and initiatives are never fulfilled because of fear of failure. This is a great leprosy in our world of today.
Leprosy as a disease affects about 500,000 people in the world today. One manifestation is insensitivity of the skin. One of our missionary priests in Verbum Dei is called Dara. He is from Ireland. Before he entered religious life he studied medicine and spent some time in Zambia, Africa with leprosy patients. He was surprised to find that leprosy was a curable disease but often the patients lacked money to pay for the treatment. He came back from that experience and felt cured of his own “leprosy”, his own insensitivity to the suffering of others. He writes that after his experience with the lepers he “felt more sensitive to the lack of love in our human family, as if a type of leprosy was being cured in me, and joining a missionary community was a way for this 'ex-leper' of giving thanks”. If we are sensitive to God’s work in our lives we can see as the psalmist proclaims that “the Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power”.
Naaman was a military commander who experienced the saving power of God. He had leprosy and was told to bathe in the Jordan seven times. At first he did not believe but eventually he consented and was cured. It reminds us of St Paul’s letter to Timothy where he writes “But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” (see 2 Tim 2, 8-13). What is the meaning of this cryptic conundrum? Well Naaman denied God - he tried to deny the advice he was given. Even though Naaman was not at first faithful, God is faithful and does not abandon us even when we are insensitive to his prompts and inspirations. Our God is a faithful God! We have a good God who in Christ is our healer. In fact, one title for Jesus in the tradition of the Church is the Good Doctor because he heals us and his Word is a medicine that purifies and cures us “For indeed, neither herb nor application cured them, but your all-healing word, O LORD!” (Wisdom 16:12). We are made clean by the Word of God which is alive and effective, sharper than a sword, sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel.
We can learn from the thankful leper. The other nine had been cured but were seemingly unaware and thus ungrateful. Only the one who is aware of what God is doing in their life can be filled with gratitude. How great to recognize God working in our lives like Mother Mary who was sensitive to God’s healing grace working in her – “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…the Almighty has done great things for me”. May we too be sensitive, full of gratitude and able to give thanks to Jesus for all the good work he is doing in our lives. Amen.
GRATITUDE!
Whenever I received a gift as a child I always remember my parents telling me “Don’t forget to say thank you!” Thanksgiving is an important exercise for us as Christians. To be able to say thank you at the beginning and end of each day for all the gifts we receive. In the gospel today, ten lepers were healed but only one returns to give thanks. Jesus said to him, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" (See Luke 17,11-19). Actually the one who returned was a Samaritan, a non-Jew and therefore a foreigner. As the New Jerome Biblical commentary states “From outside the chosen people Luke draws his hero”. Jesus is holding up a non-Jew (Luke 17:18) as an example to his Jewish contemporaries (cf Luke 10:33 where a similar purpose is achieved in the story of the good Samaritan). May the example of the healed leper remind us of the importance of gratitude.
Lepers in the time of Christ were considered unclean. Persons with skin diseases were not clean or holy and therefore were isolated from concourse with the holy people of God in cities and were banned from participation in the Temple worship of God. The teaching from the Old Testament was that a leper had to offer a sin offering if he was to be made clean. Sometimes we treat others the same way –we ostracize them and label them as unclean, unworthy, not up to our standards. Only if they change then I will accept them. This is not the way of Jesus who accepts the person as they are, loving them, embracing their reality. Jesus steps across the boundaries separating clean from unclean.
Why don’t we like to reach out and touch other realities? Sometimes because they are unknown, perhaps we are afraid to catch something. Sometimes we would like to be more ambitious or adventurous but we might catch the criticism of others, the scoffing of others, being labeled as too holy holy. That is why we prefer to keep a safe distance, not to complicate our lives. Is there anyone or any group that the Lord is asking you to reach out to? A great fear in our world of today is the fear of failure. How many good plans and initiatives are never fulfilled because of fear of failure. This is a great leprosy in our world of today.
Leprosy as a disease affects about 500,000 people in the world today. One manifestation is insensitivity of the skin. One of our missionary priests in Verbum Dei is called Dara. He is from Ireland. Before he entered religious life he studied medicine and spent some time in Zambia, Africa with leprosy patients. He was surprised to find that leprosy was a curable disease but often the patients lacked money to pay for the treatment. He came back from that experience and felt cured of his own “leprosy”, his own insensitivity to the suffering of others. He writes that after his experience with the lepers he “felt more sensitive to the lack of love in our human family, as if a type of leprosy was being cured in me, and joining a missionary community was a way for this 'ex-leper' of giving thanks”. If we are sensitive to God’s work in our lives we can see as the psalmist proclaims that “the Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power”.
Naaman was a military commander who experienced the saving power of God. He had leprosy and was told to bathe in the Jordan seven times. At first he did not believe but eventually he consented and was cured. It reminds us of St Paul’s letter to Timothy where he writes “But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” (see 2 Tim 2, 8-13). What is the meaning of this cryptic conundrum? Well Naaman denied God - he tried to deny the advice he was given. Even though Naaman was not at first faithful, God is faithful and does not abandon us even when we are insensitive to his prompts and inspirations. Our God is a faithful God! We have a good God who in Christ is our healer. In fact, one title for Jesus in the tradition of the Church is the Good Doctor because he heals us and his Word is a medicine that purifies and cures us “For indeed, neither herb nor application cured them, but your all-healing word, O LORD!” (Wisdom 16:12). We are made clean by the Word of God which is alive and effective, sharper than a sword, sharper than a surgeon’s scalpel.
We can learn from the thankful leper. The other nine had been cured but were seemingly unaware and thus ungrateful. Only the one who is aware of what God is doing in their life can be filled with gratitude. How great to recognize God working in our lives like Mother Mary who was sensitive to God’s healing grace working in her – “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…the Almighty has done great things for me”. May we too be sensitive, full of gratitude and able to give thanks to Jesus for all the good work he is doing in our lives. Amen.
1 comentario:
THANKS A LOT FR MC TAVISH,WE DO APRECIEATE SO MUCH YOUR EFFORT FOR THESE HOMILIES. THANKS TO ALL! GOD BLESS!
Publicar un comentario