Martin Jumbam
Mother Church celebrates Sunday, October 09, 2016, as the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time in the Church’s Year C. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “If you, O Lord, laid bare our guilt, who could endure it? But you are forgiving, God of Israel. Amen.”
One of the lessons from the readings of this day is Christ’s call on us to be men and women who recognize the good things done to them and who are grateful for them. Let us be like the Samaritan in the Gospel, who comes back to express gratitude to Christ for curing him of the dreadful disease of leprosy. Many times the Lord works great things for us, cures us of our own leprosy of sin, but we fail, like the nine other lepers, to come back and thank him for it. Today is the day we should take stock of our lives and see where we have been ungrateful to God or to our neighbor and make amends for it. In the first reading, from the second Book of Kings, the prophet Elisha cures the Syrian leper, Namaan, and through that cure attracts him to the true religion, a much greater gift than the health of the body. In his second letter to Timothy, in the second reading, Paul advises his faithful companion to put up with his own share of the difficulties of preaching God’s word, like the good soldier of Christ that he is. In the Gospel, Saint Luke tells us the story of the ten lepers whom the Lord cures of leprosy and only one of them, a despised Samaritan, thinks of coming back to give thanks to God. The curing of Namaan, the Syrian leper, in the first reading, and of the Samaritan, in the Gospel, clearly shows us that our God is a God whose mercy knows no frontiers. He is not for any one people alone, but for humanity as a whole. We pray in the course of this Holy Eucharist for the grace of gratitude to God for the wonderful things he never fails to do for us whenever we turn to him for assistance.
First Reading: Second Book of Kings 5: 14-17
Naaman the leper went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child. Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. ‘Now I know’ he said ‘that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel. Now, please, accept a present from your servant.’ But Elisha replied, ‘As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing.’ Naaman pressed him to accept, but he refused. Then Naaman said, ‘Since your answer is "No,” allow your servant to be given as much earth as two mules may carry, because your servant will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any god except the Lord.”
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
There are two books of Kings in the Bible, commonly known as First and Second Kings. The African Bible tells us that the two Books of Kings cover about four centuries of Israel’s history, marked by three main events: the first is the united monarchy (during which time Israel and Judah remained united under Solomon as they had been under Saul and David); the second event is the divided monarchy (from the rebellion of Israel against the rulership of the Judean kings until Israel was carried off into captivity by the Assyrians); and the third is the period of the surviving kingdom, which record Judah’s history from the deportation of Israel to Judah’s own defeat and exile by the Babylonians.
Both Books of Kings serve, therefore, as a record of the kings of both Israel and Judah, showing the decline of the northern and southern kingdoms and pointing out the reasons for this decline and the fate of each king. The sacred author seems to have intended to teach the people of Israel in exile in Babylon the reasons for their plight so that they could learn from the errors of the past. He instructs the exiles by demonstrating to them that through their kings they have been unfaithful to God’s covenant but that God, far from abandoning Israel, has remained loyal and patient with them.
Two prophets play a significant role in the Books of King: Elijah and Elisha. Elijah, whose name means “my God is the Lord”, is an itinerant prophet who, like the Patriarchs, moves around the country in obedience to the word of the Lord. He is a very courageous man, who does not hesitate to denounce the abuses of power and the violation of justice by those in authority. He has to flee from the fury of those in power to take refuge in the desert. That is where he receives God’s command to anoint Elisha as his successor. Elisha is important to Elijah because he will carry on Elijah’s mission. Elisha is to Elijah what Joshua is to Moses, each completing his master’s work.
Shortly before the passage of our meditation, the prophet Elisha has asked Naaman, the Syrian army general, who has come to him for a cure for his leprosy, to go and bathe seven times in the Jordan. The Syrian general, who has seen bigger rivers in his native Syria, feels insulted that the prophet does not even care to come out to welcome him and perform some magical act to cleanse him of leprosy. It is with difficulty that his escort manages to persuade him to do what the prophet has asked him to do.
Before receiving a cure, Naaman has to obey the prophet’s words. When he does, he realizes that it is not the waters that cure him, but God himself. He then makes a profession of faith as he recognizes the God of Israel as the true God. The Lord uses this miracle to bring Naaman to the faith, a greater gift than physical healing. His act of thanksgiving finds echo in the Gospel of this day where Jesus cures ten lepers but only one, a stranger, returns to thank him (Lk 17: 11-19). Naaman, the Syrian, and the Samaritan leper in Saint Luke's Gospel, underline the fact the God is not bound by national frontiers. He is not the God of the Jews alone, but the God of all of us – Jew and Gentile alike. We give thanks to God who is always willing and ready to welcome us and cure us of the leprosy of sin, irrespective of our race, colour of skin, tribe or ethnicity. Amen.
Second Reading: Second Timothy 2: 8-13
Remember the Good News that I carry, ‘Jesus Christ risen from the dead, sprung from the race of David’; it is on account of this that I have my own hardships to bear, even to being chained like a criminal – but they cannot chain up God’s news. So I bear it all for the sake of those who are chosen, so that in the end they may have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and the eternal glory that comes with it. Here is a saying that you can rely on: If we have died with him, then we shall live with him. If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him. If we disown him, then he will disown us. We may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful, for he cannot disown his own self.
V/ The word of the Lord.
R/ Thanks be to God.
Comment
What I said last Sunday, and it is worth repeating, is that Saint Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy is similar in style and teaching to the other two ‘pastoral’ letters, that is, his First Letter to Timothy and his Letter to Titus. It however differs in tone as Saint Paul is portrayed as writing this letter from prison in Rome during the final years of his life. It would seem many of his friends had deserted him and he was facing the certainty of death, which came around 62 or 63 AD.
As in the other two pastoral letters, Saint Paul is concerned, among other things, with how ministers of the church conduct themselves and what doctrine they teach. Through Timothy, he is addressing all the ministers in the church, warning them against false doctrine and any conduct that might bring shame to the church.
In the passage of our meditation, Saint Paul comes to the heart of his Second letter to Timothy when he exhorts Timothy to put up with his own share of difficulties, ‘like a good soldier of Christ’ (2:3). Saint Paul again points to his own life as an example. Even though he is in prison, he continues to preach the Gospel, in season and out of season. God’s word cannot be chained and even though he himself is in chains, he has the obligation to preach God’s word. He asks his companion to remember Jesus Christ because memory of Christ is a primary force that shapes our lives as Christians.
The Apostle’s words are full of consolation, especially when he tells Timothy: “If we die with Christ, we will rise and live with him. If we hold firm, then we shall reign with him” (vv 11-12). He however warns that if we deny the Lord and disobey him, he too will disown us when the time of judgment comes. Christ also makes this point in Matthew’s Gospel when he tells his followers: “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father” (Mt 10:32-33).
Let us pray for the grace of courage to stand firm in our own faith no matter the difficulties we may face. We cannot do this, on our own; we need the support of the Holy Spirit, who comes to us from the Father through his beloved Son. ‘Come, Holy Spirit and strengthen our faith. Amen.’
Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus travelled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered one of the villages, ten lepers came to meet him. They stood some way off and called to him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us!’ When he saw them he said ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed. Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice and threw himself at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. This made Jesus say, 'Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’ And he said to the man, ‘Stand up and go your way. You faith has saved you.’
V/ The Gospel of the Lord.
R/ Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ.
Comment
On his final journey to Jerusalem Jesus passes between Samaria and Galilee and is met by ten lepers, who stand at a distance from him and his followers. The law forbids lepers from coming into close contact with other people. In Leviticus, for example, we read that the one who has leprosy should cry out “unclean, unclean!” whenever he approaches others and must dwell apart, making his abode outside the camp (Lv 13: 45-46). So the lepers coming to ask Jesus for physical healing cannot come any closer to him or his followers.
Among the lepers was a Samaritan. Under normal circumstances, Jews would have nothing to do with Samaritans, whom they consider their traditional enemies (2 Kg 17:24, Jn 4:9). However, disease, shame and segregation have brought these traditional enemies together. They lift up their voice to Jesus in petition: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Christ, the fount of mercy, is not indifferent to their call and reacts immediately. He simply asks them to go and show themselves to the priests. They obey and are healed on their way to meet the priest. Their obedience to the word of the Lord leads them to physical healing.
Their excitement at suddenly finding themselves healed again is understandable. They are happy that they will once more be admitted into the company of their fellow brothers and sisters and take their place inside the camp again. In their joy, however, they forget to turn back to the Lord of mercy to thank him. Only one of them does, the lone Samaritan among them.
On the one hand, Christ is delighted that this foreigner has come back to express gratitude for what he has done for him; but, on the other hand, he is understandably disappointed that the others, his fellow Jews, have not deemed it necessary to also come back to thank him. 'Were not all ten made clean?’ he asks in surprise. ‘The other nine, where are they? It seems that no one has come to give praise to God, except this foreigner’ (vv 17-18).
What lesson do I draw from this reading? I hear in my mind’s ear the Lord also wondering why I have not been coming back to thank him for all the graces he has bestowed on me. He has blessed me with a never-ending stream of graces but do I always go back to him? Do I thank him for my family (my wife and my children)? Come to think of it, I see that I have been ungrateful to God for all the good things I have for asked and received from him without thinking of thanking him for them. I am often accustomed to turn to God in times of difficulties but forget him when things go well.
Christ is telling me in this Gospel that physical healing is not all that matters; it should bring me closer to God, just as the Samaritan’s healing brought him closer to Christ. As the Psalmist reminds me: “Remember the wonderful works that He has done” (Ps 104:5). Today in my prayer l ask the Lord to forgive me for the all the times I have failed to thank him for all his goodness to me. My life – and I am sure yours too -- has been full of divine cures, invitations and encounters; but how many times, Lord, do I remember to thank God for it? In the celebration of the Eucharist – which means ‘thanksgiving’ – let my voice re-echo the Eucharistic prayer: “Lord, I thank you for counting me worthy to stand in your presence and serve you.” Amen.
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