TWENTYEIGHTH SUNDAY IN OT (YEAR C)
First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14 - 17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Gospel Reading: Luke 17:11-19
Reflection: In today’s Responsorial Psalm we responded, “The Lord has revealed to the
nations his saving power.” God’s hand is mighty. It is powerful and can do anything.
Since we are tiny creation, our minds may not be able to see and comprehend God’s
plans and that what he does in our daily lives. Our inability to see and comprehend the
works of God in our midst prevents us to return thanks, praise and glory to Him in the
appropriate time and manner. I am always fascinated with little children who are taken
care 100% with their parents and caregivers. Their parents love them, protect them, and
provide them. These children may not comprehend the amount of dedication their parents have for them. Sometimes they may even whine and complain to their parents only because their parents have failed to buy them those toys they want at the time they want them. In today’s First and Gospel readings, God makes his mighty hand known to the people of the nations through the act of healing. Naaman, the army official who suffered from the severe skin decease is cured of his decease after he obeyed the directions given to him by God through his prophet. Naaman is told to plunge himself seven time into the waters of Jordan. In this miraculous healing, Naaman makes this confession of faith, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” In today’s Gospel Reading, ten leapers who requested Jesus to have pity on them are cured of their leprosy. Upon being cured, one of them (the Samaritan) returns to Jesus glorifying God in a loud voice and fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. When Jesus saw this Samaritan return to him, he raised up the question, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Truly, the other nine experienced the cure of their leprosy from Jesus but they failed to experience the mighty hand of God in their life. This limitation failed them to have that inner joy which would have translated into thanking, praising and worshiping God who cured them. They were blinded. Naaman (in the First reading) and the Samaritan (in the Gospel Reading) experienced that inner joy from the healing they received from God and immediately surrendered themselves to God and began to worship him. As we mature in faith, our level of recognition of God’s presence in our lives becomes very obvious. It is this recognition which leads us to consciously express our admiration to God in the acts of praising him in our words, thoughts and actions. It is this awareness which lead us to publicly and privately make the profession of faith. St. Paul in today’s Second Reading is writing to his disciple Timothy (and to all of us) reminding him of that what Christ is to him. He wants us to recognize the role of Christ in our salvation and through this recognition we may remain faithful to him as we praise and worship him. “The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.” Yes! Amen! Fr. Severine.