1st Reading – Kings 5: 14-17;
2nd Reading – 2 Timothy 2: 8-13;
Gospel – Luke 17: 11-19
God has a prominent place in the life of every individual. He is the one who has created every person and has given life and sustenance, while continually giving his protection and care. What is expected of us is grateful to him and becoming aware of how much we have been given. Gratitude is an expression of the heart, counting the blessings and acknowledging everything that a person receives. It means learning to live one’s life as if everything were a miracle; Gratitude shifts our focus from what our life lacks to the abundance that is already present. In addition, behavioural and psychological research has shown the surprising life improvements that can stem from the practice of gratitude. Giving thanks makes people happier and more resilient, it strengthens relationships, it improves health, and it reduces stress.
The readings of today present the theme of gratitude that should come spontaneously from the heart of every individual. The central theme of today’s readings is gratitude in particular , the expression of gratitude God expects from us. By describing Jesus’ miraculous healing of the ten lepers from a physically devastating and socially isolating disease, today’s Gospel presents a God Who desires gratitude from us for the many blessings we receive from Him, and Who feels pain at our ingratitude. Naaman, the Syrian Military General in the first reading, was an outcast not only because of his illness; he was also a non-Israelite. But he returned to thank the Prophet Elisha for the cure of his leprosy. His rich reward having been declined by the Prophet, Naaman, as a sign of his gratitude, transferred his spiritual allegiance to the God of Israel. St. Paul, in the second reading, advises Timothy to be grateful to God even in his physical sufferings and amid the dangers associated with spreading the Word of God, because God will always be faithful to His people. Today’s Gospel story tells us of a single non-Jewish leper (a Samaritan “heretic”), who returned to praise God and to thank Jesus for healing him, while the other nine newly-healed Jewish lepers went their way , perhaps under the false impression that healing was their right as God’s Chosen People. They did not seem to feel indebted to Jesus or to God for the singular favour they had received. Instead, they hurried off to obtain a health certificate from the priests. “Where are the other nine?” Jesus asked the Samaritan leper and the crowd rhetorically. “Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Today’s readings also remind us that Faith and healing go hand in hand, as do Faith and reconciliation. It was Faith that prompted Naaman to plunge himself into the waters of the Jordan River , and it was Faith in Jesus which prompted the lepers to present themselves first to Jesus and then to the priests.
No story in the gospel shows so emphatically the ingratitude of human persons. The ten lepers were gradually healed on the way and one of them the moment he realised that he was healed, realised that Jesus had healed him and returns to him before going to the priests to fulfil the obligation. He came and prostrated before Jesus, a sign of deepest respect and honour. Jesus expressed his surprise that the other nine did not come back to him to express their gratitude. “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” . We need to learn to be thankful to God and to others. Often, we are ungrateful to God. Although we receive so much from Him, we often take everything as our due, without recognising and appreciating that everything we have or receive is His free gift. We allow the negatives of our lives to hide the blessings He is giving us — minor negatives like some health problems, financial worries, conflicts with a neighbour , co-worker , or spouse. Besides, we are often thankful only when we compare ourselves with less fortunate people. In times of need, we pray with desperate intensity , but as time passes, we forget God. Many of us fail to ask a blessing on our selves and the food God has given us before our meals, to offer Him a prayer of thanksgiving after each meal, or to allot a few minutes of the day for family prayers of praise, thanks, contrition, and petition. God gave us His Onlybegotten Son, but we seldom give Him a word of thanks. Often, we are also ungrateful to our parents and consider them a nuisance, although in the past we were dependent on them for literally everything. Similarly , we owe a great debt of gratitude to our families, friends, teachers, doctors, bosses/employees, and pastors– but we often do not think to thank them. Hence, in the future, let us be filled with daily thanksgiving to God and to others for the countless gifts we have received. Let us show our gratitude to our forgiving, loving God by forgiving others and by radiating His love, mercy and compassion to others in whom He dwells. We must strive to be like Naaman the Syrian, and like the one leper who returned to thank Jesus, and to follow the example of the Virgin Mary who demonstrated her gratefulness to God through her obedience and Faith. We must be grateful to God for everything, even suffering, for that is a means of sanctification and love for God Incarnate Who suffered for us and all mankind. We need to turn back to Him daily in repentance and gratitude.
“Then where’s his hat?” Winston Churchill loved to tell the story of the little boy who fell off a pier into deep ocean water . An older sailor , heedless of the great danger to himself, dove into the stormy water , struggled with the boy , and finally , exhausted, brought him to safety. Two days later the boy’s mother came with him to the same pier , seeking the sailor who rescued her son. Finding him, she asked, “You dove into the ocean to bring my boy out?” “I did,” he replied. The mother angrily demanded, “Then where’s his hat?”