28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME--10/10/10
by Msgr. Eric R. Barr, STL
READING: LK 17:11-19
I. Gratitude Equals Discovery
A. Okay, I'm going to give you the basic point of this homily right from the very beginning: WHEN I AM GRATEFUL TO GOD, I DISCOVER GOD. Doesn't sound so profound does it? But it is; it is! That's why it won't be just enough to remember the basic point but you have to remember what it means to your life, to the lives of all of us here at St. Rita Parish.
B. The basic point of this homily is the basic point of the Gospel. Jesus has just cured 10 lepers of their hideous disease. That disease was the most horrific disease of its day--it took years to die from and was very disfiguring. Yet Jesus heals 10 of them, and 9 of them simply accept the fact and go about their business. But one–a Samaritan–comes back and says thanks, and Jesus says--"You are truly saved for you have come to me and proclaimed your belief in me, and because you are saved, go now, go your way." And what Jesus meant was not, "Get out of here, you bother me." No, he sent him on his way because he knew that man would go out into the world and tell the Good News. "When I am grateful to God, I discover God, I actively respond to God." That's what the cured leper did. But the other 9--well, they may have been happy, but the cure didn't really change their lives because they didn't allow the cure to touch their hearts. The awesomeness of the miracle wore off and they went back to the dull drudgery of their lives. In fact, I can just hear them now, griping and moaning: One says, "He cured my leprosy but he didn’t make me rich." Another says, "Where was he when I was younger? I’m sixty-five now. If he would have cured me earlier I would have been young and handsome and could have had my pick of any of the pretty girls in the village. What good will my cure do now?" Another says, "I deserved that cure; I’ve always been faithful to God; now it’s time he did something for me." And on and on they speak in their ingratitude.
II. Practical Applications
A. Look, gratitude is an attitude. It leads us to God. Ungratefulness is hatefulness. Ingratitude leads to negativity. And Jesus wants to point out the tremendous spiritual power of gratitude and the great destruction negativity causes. First of all, let’s look at the downside–negativity. The lepers were ungrateful and presumably had excuses, negative ones, for not coming back to thank Jesus. You’ve met these lepers before; maybe you are even one yourself. You know, you are on the job, a co-worker or supervisor has nothing good to say to you, always carping, always making the worst out of a good situation. Or perhaps you yourself are negative–never seeing the good, always pointing out the bad. Ever noticed something about negative people? They never say thank you. You can do something good for them; they only see the bad or the things you didn’t do. They cast a blight of sorrow wherever they go. They feel bad, they make you feel bad, they suck the joy out of every occasion. Look what happened to the lepers who did not come back to thank Christ. God was here; they were over there. Their lack of gratitude led them away from God.
B. On the other hand, a spirit of thankfulness leads us to God. It’s simple really. When I’m a thankful person, I’m on the lookout for those who have blessed me, helped me, supported me. Gratitude gives dignity to another person. When that leper came back and thanked Jesus, he wasn’t just saying thanks, he was professing his faith, "You are my Lord and God; you healed me; I thank you, my Savior." Think about it. Only when the leper realized that God had touched him, only when he felt gratitude, only when he returned and expressed faith in Christ, was he allowed to approach the Son of God. He had to accept the touch of God in his life before he could really begin to have a relationship with Christ.
C. The burning crisis in our faith today is the lack of a personal experience of God, of Christ. In the matter of knowing Jesus, most of us are lepers. We keep our distance from God, we allow bad times and bad experiences to overwhelm us, and when times are rough or we are in danger we cry out to him in a crisis–"Have mercy God; save me!" And if God responds, we do not–we go our own way, we may mutter a thanks, or we may blame our good fortune on luck–but we do not take advantage of that touch of God in our lives to go back to our Lord and say, "My God you really do exist–I want to know you, love you, serve you!" But what if we did? What if we had the attitude of gratitude? Then just like the leper who recognized that the one who touched him was God, we will discover that God is very active in our lives.
D. Did you notice how Jesus healed? He had the lepers go show themselves to the priests–a common ritual Jewish act–and on the way he healed them. No sound and light show, no special affects–they we just doing what their faith prescribed. What if we did the same? What if we prayed more, did the normal religious things with a little extra fervor, paid better attention at Mass, noticed other human beings who help us and support us–and had an attitude of gratitude while doing all that? Maybe like the one leper, we would see the hand of God in the touch of a friend, hear the voice of God in prayer, see the face of God in the eyes of someone who needs us. A grateful heart leads us to God.
Comments