Sunday Homily

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR C

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09
Oct

2 Kings 5:14-1/Psalm 98:1,2-3,3-4/2 Timothy 2:8-13/ Luke 17:11-19

 

Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai

BE GRATEFUL

 

Gratitude is a word used to express thankfulness and praise. One of the marks of a true Christian is the ability to be thankful in both the trials and blessings of life. Eph 5:20 says “always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. If you think there is nothing to thank God for, thank God for life because you need to be alive to pursue other things and that is why Isaiah 38:19 says “The living, the living, he thanks thee, as I do this day; the father makes known to the children  thy faithfulness.” Every Living soul, every living soul praise the Lord!

Ten people were healed, but only one returned to say ‘thank you’. Jesus took note of him and blessed him with the grace of salvation. If we have a grateful heart, God will bless us beyond measures. A man who does not give thanks does not move forward no matter how much he prays. It takes gratitude to become great. A man that is not grateful does not live a great life. Until we thank God for where we are, we cannot move to where we are meant to be. Every time the devil reminds you of what God has not done, speak forth what God has done. Let us be thankful if we want our tank to be full.  “Where are the others?” Jesus said. Ingratitude is another form of leprosy. Oftentimes we take things for granted. Many people labour for breathe, thank God for life and be happy. An author says “When you take things for granted, the things you are granted, get taken”. Be grateful! With the way things are today; it is only a great fool that will not be grateful for life.

In the gospel Jesus gave the ten lepers an instruction: “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” In the same way, Naaman the Syrian received healing by obeying the instruction of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 5:14). Obedience is a very powerful tool for healing, when given instruction obey. Instruction saves us from destruction.  We are sick and we know too well that we are sick yet we don’t obey the prescription of the doctor; neither do we follow the pastoral care of the priest.

One higher dimension of gratitude is worship. The first reading tells of how Naaman decided to worship the God of Israel. Apart from being grateful to God,  Naaman worshipped the God of Israel; similarly, the leper that was healed came to Jesus and on fell his face; an act of worship and praise.  Worship is a higher form of gratitude wherein we are not just saying thank you Jesus but making it our life style. The relationship between thanksgiving and worship is seen in the Eucharistic celebration.  The Eucharist itself is thanksgiving. The priest says: Lift up your hearts and we respond we lift them up to the Lord; and the priest continues “let us give thanks to the Lord, our God” and we respond: “it is truly right and just” the mass continues: “Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In another place the preface of the Eucharistic celebration says “Our praises adds nothing to his greatness but profit us for salvation.” So the man that came to meet Jesus to thank him gained for himself salvation. Jesus said to him “your faith has made you well.” Well here means saved.

Gratitude must equally be concrete. Elisha rejection of Naaman’s gift does not condemn material offerings to the Church in appreciation of God’s goodness. This is because, “the Church is the visible sign of God on earth. So, our offerings of thanksgiving to the Church are offered to God, for building up his visible body – the Church and for the merit of our salvation. Don’t come forward empty handed in thanksgiving. William Arthur Ward said “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a gift and not presenting it”. Be grateful in words and deeds! You can afford to plan for loud celebration for testimonies and favour received but you won’t dare present quality gifts for thanksgiving.

 

Fr Galadima Bitrus, OSA

KINDNESS FROM UNLIKELY QUARTERS

Our readings this Sunday inspire us to reflect on kindness which we receive from unlikely quarters, inviting us to show gratitude and be thankful.
In the 1st Reading (2 Kgs 5:14-17), we read of the story of Na’aman, a great Aramean army commander who suffered from leprosy and found healing in unlikely quarters, in Israel, an enemy nation.
A few things to note. First, the maid to Na’aman’s wife who revealed that Na’aman could find healing in the hands of the prophet of Samaria, was taken from Israel in a raid carried out by the Arameans against Israel (2 Kgs 5:2). In other words, the girl was a war booty, a war captive or slave. Yet it was she who revealed to her captor where he could find healing and salvation from a sickness that threatened to humiliate him and end his military career.
Note too that Na’aman’s hesitation to obey the prophet’s instructions to bathe seven times in the Jordan river and thus receive restoration and cleansing, was overcome by the wise counsel of his servants who came to him and said: “If the prophet told you to do something difficult, would you not do it? How much more when he has only said to you, ‘Bathe and be clean’” (2 Kgs 5:13).
In the captive maid, we see in action what Jesus will later make a rule of life for his disciples when he said, “But I say to you that listen, love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who abuse you” (Lk 6:27-28; cf. Mt 5:44ff.). In the servants who advised Na’aman to obey the bidding of the prophet, we see that courageously speaking truth to power and being honest with those in authority, can be a charitable and even salvific act, when done out of love and in love.
In Na’aman, we see that being a brave leader is not incompatible with being a humble and listening leader. Although he is described as a commander of the army of the king of Aram, important to his lord and high in his favour since through him the Lord granted victory to Aram (2 Kgs 5:1), he humbly listened to the advice of his wife’s maid and of his own servants and thus received not only cure of the affected spots of his skin but complete restoration and cleansing, through an act of immersion that probably prefigures baptism.
May those in authority have the humility to listen because help comes from unlikely quarters but only to those who can humbly listen. And may those who are under authority seek not only their good through sycophancy, but also the good of their superiors by honouring the noble calling to be honest and speak truth, because only the truth can ultimately set us all free (Jn 8:32). Above all, may we have the courage and generosity to be good, not so much to repay any good done to us but because it is good to be good.
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Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai is a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi, Edo State, Nigeria. He was ordained October 20th, 2018. He offers his daily homilies, talks and articles that bother on, faith, theology, morals and many other burning issues in religion and politics. Fr. Daniel writes poems, inspirational quotes and clips.

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