Theme: “Where are the other nine?” – Living with an Attitude of Gratitude
First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14–17 Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2: 8-13 Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19
Brothers and sisters in Christ,
The Word of God this Sunday brings us to the heart of something simple yet deeply spiritual: gratitude. Not just the polite “thank you” we offer in passing but a deep, faith-filled response to the love and mercy of God.
In our first reading from 2 Kings, we meet Naaman, a Syrian military commander afflicted with leprosy. He was both physically and spiritually on the margins: sick, foreign, and outside the covenant community of Israel. Yet, when God healed him through the prophet Elisha, Naaman did not just walk away rejoicing. He returned. He came back to give thanks, and in that act, his heart was changed. He declared his faith in the God of Israel.
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.” (2 Kings 5:15)
Gratitude, for Naaman, was more than good manners. It was a conversion of the heart.
In our second reading from 2 Timothy, St. Paul writes from a place of suffering. He is imprisoned, enduring hardship for the sake of the Gospel. And yet, he speaks not with bitterness, but with trust in God’s faithfulness:
“If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful.” (2 Timothy 2:13)
Paul teaches Timothy and us that gratitude is not only for the sunny days. True Christian gratitude endures through trials, because we believe that God is always faithful.
Then in the Gospel from Luke, Jesus heals ten lepers. All ten are cleansed. But only one a Samaritan, a foreigner, someone despised by the Jews comes back. He falls at Jesus’ feet, glorifying God and giving thanks. And Jesus asks that piercing question:
“Were not ten made clean? Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:17)
The other nine, perhaps, took their healing for granted. Maybe they were eager to get their lives back. But the Samaritan saw more than the gift; he recognized the Giver. And because he returned in gratitude, Jesus not only healed his body He made him whole:
“Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” (Luke 17:19)
This story is not just about them. It’s about us. How often do we receive blessings big and small and forget to return and give thanks?
y dear friends, we live in a culture that can make us feel entitled: we expect health, comfort, and security as if they are our right. But the Gospel reminds us that everything is a gift from God. Life itself. Family. Faith. This parish community. Every breath is grace.
Gratitude is not only a feeling it’s a spiritual posture.
- We show gratitude to God when we pray together as families, even just pausing before meals to thank Him.
- We show gratitude when we forgive, as we have been forgiven.
- We show gratitude when we care for our elderly parents, recognizing the sacrifices they made for us.
- We show gratitude when we serve in parish ministries, share our talents, and reach out to the poor and forgotten.
At the centre of our faith is the Holy Eucharist. The very word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving. Every Mass is our chance to be like that Samaritan leper to return to Jesus, to fall at His feet, and to say, “Thank you, Lord.”
When we gather at this altar, we thank God for the gift of His Son in the Eucharist, for the gift of the Holy Spirit who guides and strengthens us, and for this parish family where faith is lived and shared.
As a community, our gratitude is not meant to be quiet or hidden. It must be visible in our worship, in our service, in our love for one another. When we give thanks as a parish, we become a living witness to the world that God is good and faithful.
here’s a story once told by Winston Churchill. A little boy fell off a pier into the deep ocean. A sailor risked his life to dive in and rescue him. Two days later, the boy’s mother came to the pier to find the sailor. She asked, “Are2 Kings 5:14–17 you the one who saved my son?” He said yes. She looked at him, frowned, and demanded, “Then where’s his hat?”
How often are we like that mother missing the miracle because we’re focused on the small things we think we deserve?
A call to action
This week, let us be like Naaman and the Samaritan leper. Let us return to the Lord with grateful hearts.
Let us notice the blessings that surround us daily seen and unseen and respond with thanks. And above all, let us gather around this altar not as the nine who forgot, but as the one who remembered.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 107:1)
Amen.