A deepening sense of gratitude will allow us to speak God’s word and lead people to healing instead of division
Although Psalm 77 is not used in the readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, it certainly could be. A phrase that appears in that psalm is “never forget the works of the Lord.”
In the first reading, we hear about Naaman and Elijah. Naaman wants to reward Elijah for curing him of leprosy, but the prophet Elijah is smart for not taking any of the reward offered. Elijah knows that he just pointed Naaman in the right direction and that God healed him. Elijah’s job is speaking God’s word to the people he encounters.
Take a moment to imagine what brought Elijah to the point where he is faithful to his call. Elijah remembers God’s faithfulness and works. One of the essential parts of being prophets in our world today is to be able to remember God’s faithfulness and goodness to us. Without that, we can become cynical and negative. Remembering God’s goodness, even in difficult times, allows us to live one day at a time, professing His faithfulness even when it is not apparent.
The Gospel passage of the 10 lepers cleansed has a bit of a different slant to it, but it’s still part of the important lesson of remembering God’s works. A very quick observation or understanding of a story might lead us to focus on the literal first level of this story, in which 10 lepers present themselves to Jesus, who gives them instructions about what to do. They do it and they are all healed. Most of them will remember that for the rest of their lives, because once they showed themselves to the priest, they could reintroduce themselves to religious and social society. What a life-changing event that would be.
The strange twist of the story is that only one returns in gratitude to Jesus, and that was one of the folks belonging to the Samaritans, who were looked down on and seen as impure. Obviously, that is not truly who they were, but that was the societal and religious prejudice against them. So the odd twist is the enemy of Jesus returns to Him with gratitude. Not only was he courageous and humble enough to approach Jesus for healing, but he was also courageous and humble enough to go back into His presence and offer gratitude. Jesus’ response must have taken his breath away and hopefully healed some of the prejudice that he might’ve had in his heart.
Remembrance and gratitude seem to be the keywords for this 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. If we are to take these Scriptures seriously, we should certainly spend some time in this coming week remembering the works of God in our life. Try not to start where we are right now and look for something even better. Start at ground level. Are we grateful for pure drinking water and a safe house to live in? Are we remembering the numerous times that we were touched deeply by God’s mercy? Most of us live on a level way beyond safe drinking water and have what we need and more. Maybe a deepening sense of gratitude will allow us to be that person in the world who speaks the word of God and leads people to healing instead of intensifying the prejudice, hatred and division.
