Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 144

Reading I

2 Kgs 5:14-17

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

Ps 98:1, 2-3, 3-4

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

2 Tm 2:8-13

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

1 Thes 5:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
 

Gospel

Lk 17:11-19

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

 

 

 

 Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 141

Reading 1

Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4

How long, O LORD?  I cry for help
 but you do not listen!
 I cry out to you, "Violence!"
 but you do not intervene.
 Why do you let me see ruin;
 why must I look at misery?
 Destruction and violence are before me;
 there is strife, and clamorous discord.
 Then the LORD answered me and said:
 Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,
 so that one can read it readily.
 For the vision still has its time,
 presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
 if it delays, wait for it,
 it will surely come, it will not be late.
 The rash one has no integrity;
 but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
 let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
 let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
 let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
 and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
 "Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
 as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
 they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Reading 2

2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14

Beloved:
I remind you, to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me,
in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit
that dwells within us.

Alleluia

1 Pt 1:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever.
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
The Lord replied,
"If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.

"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?
Would he not rather say to him,
'Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, 'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'"

 

DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

 

There is a comforting essence given off by a campfire. Its glow illuminates everything around it, forcing back the darkness. The heat envelopes those around it with a deep coziness that encourages everyone to slide softly into a semi-conscious state of half-sleep. The leaping flames become hypnotic, adding to the feeling of slowly melting into a contemplative state. As the fire slowly dwindles into smoldering ashes, someone usually gets up with a stick and stirs these barely glowing embers and then, suddenly, the flames leap to life again, aided then by a few more pieces of wood. The circle of darkness, preparing to consume everyone  is once again forced backward as it is once again defeated by the light. This is what comes to my mind when reading the first few lines of Paul’s Letter to Timothy:

 

“I remind you, to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.”

 

We have all received spiritual gifts from God. We constantly receive His Love through the gift of grace. We have been redeemed through The Blood of the Cross. So, here we are. At times we will feel the Holy Spirit moving through us and then know that God is with us. At other times, the presence is a faint glow like those fading embers in the campfire. It is then that we must call ourselves to account and stir that fire. We must remind ourselves who it is exactly that we are serving and who is responsible for our very existence. The more we act on our faith then the brighter that light will shine. The negative is forced back and the light shines through.

It is the negative thoughts and our own inaction that threatens the flame in our hearts. It is usually us who withdraws from God, not God from us.

Each new day becomes an opportunity where we can ask ourselves what we can do both for God and for our faith-experience. When we wake up, we can either commit ourselves to serve God or to serve ourselves. That question, along with a quick examination of conscious from the night before, sets our course correctly for the rest of the day. This is sort of a deflation of our will; an act of surrendering to God. Many times even the greatest of prophets lamented their situation or,  like in the case of Habakkuk, questioned what God was doing. In response, God was either abrupt in nature or comforting: “The rash one has no integrity; but the just one, because of his faith, shall live.” This goes directly back to our faith. Faith is not strong if it is not tested. It is useless unless it brings about a reaction from us, such as in the form of good works. It is meaningless if it does not bring comfort and trust. Stirring the coals is a continuous task. We stir them and God will then throw more logs on the fire.

 

In the Gospel reading today, the Apostles appeared to be demanding something of Jesus. “Increase our faith,” they said. Faith is strengthened through an exercise thereof. It is naturally progressive. The more things we do because of our faith, the more it is increased. We cannot expect the embers to leap forth into a raging fire without it being worked on first. This takes time and effort. Small increments of time invested over a long period of time will produce results. It is inevitable. That small amount of faith that we might have can explode forth if we nurture and care for it. There is a process, and that process is called GROWTH. When building a fire, you always start small with paper, twigs, and leaves. You then add kindling and branches. Finally, logs are added when the flames are large enough. We add all the little stuff, then God adds the match. He will then throw the logs on. When the fire gets low is when God is asking, “Do you love me? Our response is the stirring of the embers. “Yes, I love you!” Here come the logs.

 

God gives us everything. What we do in reaction is entirely up to us. We can build on it and do what is necessary to keep it, or we can let the fire go out. When the flames grow higher, we will experience less darkness and more light. The darkness can never conquer the light, but we can certainly welcome the darkness by not paying attention to the fire. There is no need to fear the darkness when we can easily stir those embers to life and then we can expect a reaction to that stirring. And yes, then another log will come from our God.

 

Deacon Tom