The theme of the readings last Sunday is gratitude. We reflect on two powerful stories of divine healing.
The first reading tells of the cure by the prophet Elisha of Naaman, a Commander in the Syrian Army. He had contracted leprosy, the most dreaded of all diseases in the ancient world. Naaman learned about the prophet Elisha through a young Israelite servant girl who was captured during a raid into Israel. Despite her circumstances, she displayed remarkable faith and compassion when she told Naaman’s wife that there was a prophet in Samaria who could heal Naaman. Her mention of the prophet Elisha proves to be the turning point for Naaman, revealing that help could come from an unexpected source. This demonstrates that God’s plan for redemption often involves the humble and the overlooked, emphasizing that everyone can be an instrument of God’s grace. He then travelled to Samaria expecting a dramatic miracle befitting his status, but instead, was told by Elisha to do something simple, to bathe seven times in the Jordan river and he would be healed. He was a bit indignant at first but then bathed as directed and he was completely healed of the leprosy. Full of gratitude, he offered gifts to the prophet who refused them, so he then asked to take loads of soil from around the Jordan back to Syria. He would construct an altar upon the soil and from now on he would worship the Lord, the only true God in all the earth.
In the second reading St Paul is in prison and bearing all his sufferings for the salvation of others and good of the Church. This reminds us that we can also offer our sufferings and crosses in life to Our Lady to give to Jesus for the salvation of others.
In the Gospel, ten lepers cry out to the Jesus asking for healing. They didn’t come close because they had to practice social distancing of about fifty metres. In those days leprosy was the most dreaded disease. It is high contagious, and lepers were cut off from their families, friends, Temple worship and the whole community. They had to find shelter in caves or wherever they could.
Jesus tells the lepers to go and show themselves to the Priests. This was a necessary for the Priests to verify their healing and to permit them back into the community. On their way to see the Priests they were completely healed and one realizing the miraculous healing returned to Jesus and prostrating himself before the Lord, thanked and praised God at the top of his voice; this man was a Samaritan. Jesus then asked him:
Where are the other nine?
The other nine who were Jews seemed to have taken the healing for granted. The Samaritan received far more than they did, for him, it wasn’t just a physical cure. He received the gift of Faith. It was a healing in body and soul, whereas the others only received bodily healing. This passage of the Gospel stresses the need to show gratitude. God expects this of us too, as he expected of the nine.
We come to Mass to worship and thank God in obedience to the third Commandment and Precept of the Church. The word, Eucharist is a Greek word, meaning thanksgiving. Just as the Samaritan praised God, so we also praise God in the Gloria at the beginning of Mass. As we are a unity of body, soul, mind and spirit, our lives must be in sync. For example, the Good Thief who was crucified alongside Jesus finally got his life in sync and found salvation. The Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes the importance of gratitude in strengthening a man’s heart. For gratitude is like a river that feeds a huge reservoir of water. If we dam up the river, the reservoir will continue to be useful for a while, but little by little, it will dry up. If we neglect the virtue of gratitude, that is what happens to our souls, they dry up because we forget that we are loved by God and forget to give thanks. People then end up becoming bitter, angry, frustrated or depressed because their reservoir is getting low. Then there is the need to open the floodgates again with gratitude.
This reminds me of the story of Ben, who grew up on a farm in the country. When he was eight years old, he had a pony named Frisky. One morning when Ben was rounding up the cattle, Frisky suddenly got the bit between his teeth and bolted off at a breakneck speed. Ben held on for his very life and miraculously he emerged unhurt when Frisky finally ran out of puff. That night Ben’s Dad accompanied his son to his bedroom and asked Ben to kneel down with him, and thank God, that he was not hurt. That incident happened around sixty years ago, and Ben never forgot this. It gave him a greater appreciation of his Dad, and above all, taught him to be grateful. Gratitude opens our hearts to God and to others. The more we remember to thank God and our neighbour, the more we will love God and one another. Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever.