Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 144
Reading I
Naaman went down and plunged into
the Jordan seven times
at the word of Elisha, the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean of his leprosy.
Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said,
"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.
Please accept a gift from your servant."
Elisha replied, "As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it;"
and despite Naaman's urging, he still refused.
Naaman said: "If you will not accept,
please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth,
for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
to any other god except to the LORD."
Responsorial Psalm
R. (cf. 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his
saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands:
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Reading II
Beloved:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a
descendant of David:
such is my gospel, for which I am suffering,
even to the point of chains, like a criminal.
But the word of God is not chained.
Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen,
so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
together with eternal glory.
This saying is trustworthy:
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him
he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you."
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
Our faith is our strongest asset. It is through our faith that our true potential can be realized, and true joy can be found. Focusing on Jesus and acting out what we believe will always lead to positive results. Even when we find ourselves challenged, these times can be used to strengthen our resolve in what we know to be true instead of being viewed as a time of crisis. As Christians, a time of trial serve as an opportunity to experience Jesus Christ more and to validate our faith. We are reminded through the Apostle Paul that Jesus will never abandon us and that our perseverance will lead to a just reward in the end regardless of the circumstances. He will never abandon us. It is only us who can abandon Him. Even in that time of abandonment, He will remain faithful to us; patiently waiting for us to return. What a true friend and lover we have in Jesus!
Jesus warned us that being lukewarm in our faith is the true danger we face in our lives. Going through the motions is unacceptable and causes real harm. Being lackluster in anything is not a good thing. As God said through Isaiah,
“Since this people draws near with words only and honors me with their lips alone, though their hearts are far from me, and their reverence for me has become routine observance of the precepts of men, therefore I will again deal with this people in surprising and wondrous fashion.”
This is the status of many Christians today and a reflection of society. When we are not challenged and when we do not rely on our faith, then it becomes meaningless. It becomes an afterthought in our lives and something that becomes more of an obligation that is developed around tradition and habit instead of something that is truly sought after and used. That is why it is better to lose our faith for a while, much like the lost coin in the parable, then find it again so we can experience a wonderful joy in true relationship with our God.
The Scripture Readings mention two healings, one by the prophet Elisha and one by Jesus Christ. The commonality between these two events is that they both included persons who were foreigners. Naaman was the army commander for the king of Aram, while at least one of the lepers in the Gospel Reading was a Samaritan. Even though Naaman did not know God, he had faith enough to ask to be healed while it was the Samaritan leper who came back to Jesus to glorify Him. Both these men were swept up in their faith. Jesus’ last words to the leper were,
"Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you”
This was after the healing and not before. So, in what way was it that the leper was saved? Jesus was referring to the salvation of his soul. It is through faith that we are saved and the exercise of it in our lives. Naaman and the leper’s story did not end after their healing, but it was just the beginning. Naaman took earth from Israel to erect an altar to worship God in his home country while the leper, now cured, went away praising God. They both became new creations by first being challenged and then by exercising their faith, a faith they previously did not have. Now that they found it, it is assumed that they would never let it go, especially after being the receivers of such a great miracle. This is something that we all learn from. How many miracles have we all been witness to? How many miracles have we all been receivers of? In the face of an ever more faithless society, we must constantly remind ourselves what in fact Jesus Christ has done for us and what He is still willing to do.
The Apostle Paul reminds Timothy today,
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant
of David:
such is my gospel, for which I am suffering,
even to the point of chains, like a criminal.
But the word of God is not chained.”
We should remind ourselves of this and put it into the perspective that it deserves: “Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David.” He is our God and we are His people. There is no mediocrity allowed here. We are Naaman. We are the Samaritan leper. Cured from the darkness of our past and our brokenness, we should go forth praising and glorifying God all the time. The miracles they had and the ones that we continue to have every day, do not end. They increase as our faith increases. The transformative experience never ends. The miracles never cease.
Deacon Tom
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