TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
9 OCTOBER 2022
Naaman
is a very important and powerful Syrian general. But he is also afflicted with leprosy, a skin
disease that causes terrible physical pain and the destruction of his
body. This contagious and incurable skin
disease also separates Naaman from his community. One of his Jewish slaves tells him about a
prophet in her homeland known for healing people. Naaman travels to Israel and meets Elisha,
the prophet. Elisha tells him to plunge
himself seven times in the waters of the Jordan River. Naaman is insulted, because the rivers in
Syria are much more impressive than the Jordan.
But he humbles himself and does what Elisha tells him to do. After emerging from the Jordan completely
healed, he wants to give Elisha a gift.
But Elisha refuses, because he has been the Lord’s instrument in a
grace-filled healing that is freely given.
Instead, Naaman takes two mule-loads of earth back with him to
Syria. He will give thanks to the God of
Israel, and not to the local pagan gods he had previously worshipped.
The ten
people who encounter Jesus in today’s Gospel are afflicted with the same
painful and isolating skin disease. They
recognize the power of Jesus and call him by name. They beg him to have pity (mercy) on them,
using the same Greek word that we pray during the Penitential Act in Advent and
Lent. He tells them to go and show
themselves to the priests, because only a priest can verify an authentic healing
and return lepers to their rightful place in the community. On their way, they are all healed.
Only one
returns to fall at the feet of Jesus in humility to thank him. He is a hated Samaritan who has nothing in
common with the other nine Jews. Jesus
asks where are the other nine. We do not
know. We tend to think negatively of the
nine who do not return to give thanks. However,
before we pass judgment, we might consider different reasons for not returning
to give thanks. Maybe one of them is a literalist
with a narrow focus on obeying Jesus’ instruction to show himself to a
priest. It could be that another is
keeping a vow to immediately give himself in humble service to the poor if he
is healed. Perhaps another is so
overwhelmed with joy that he simply forgets.
The others might be thinking of nothing else other than running back
home to accept the welcome embraces of family members and neighbors.
In both the
first reading and the Gospel, those who return to give thanks are foreigners –
Naaman the Syrian and the Samaritan. In
humbling themselves to express their gratitude, each one experiences a much
deeper healing. Both are healed of
bigotry, racism, national pride, and self-righteousness. The Samaritan in particular displays an
overwhelming desire to continue a relationship with Jesus Christ, the same
relationship Saint Paul describes to Timothy and recommends to us.
We gather
every Sunday to express our gratitude for all that has been given to us when we
celebrate the Eucharist (a Greek word which means “to give thanks.”) But this communal expression of thanksgiving
can become routine. I became aware of my
own tendency to experience the Mass as routine during the Easter Season earlier
this year. I watched as those who had
received the Sacraments at the Easter Vigil came to Mass overwhelmed by our
parish fellowship. They wept when they sang
the hymns. They received the Eucharist
with amazement and awe. They eagerly heard
the Scriptures. They reminded me that I
can take these mysteries too lightly.
They restored my sense of wonder at the presence of Christ in the
Sacraments.
At this
Eucharist, we humble ourselves to thank the Lord for everything he has given
us, especially for his self-giving sacrifice made present here as we remember
it. We listen to the Lord inviting us to
encounter him more deeply and to know the deeper healing of the Samaritan.
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