Reading I: 2 Kings 5:14-17
Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of Elisha, the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean of his leprosy.
Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.
Please accept a gift from your servant.”
Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it;”
and despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused.
Naaman said: “If you will not accept,
please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth,
for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
to any other god except to the LORD.”
The Gospel Luke 17:11-19
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”
After the Gospel:
When is the last time you gave someone a gift, did someone a favor … and are still waiting…
for a Thank You, a simple acknowledgment……
Maybe that’s why they say: “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”
From the Book of Kings, we heard about Naaman, an important personage, the commander of the Syrian army. Naaman was a Gentile with a serious health problem: leprosy.
We don’t know what cures he had already tried, just that he came all the way to Israel, to ask a Hebrew man of God for help, and was healed by Elisha the prophet.
At Elisha’s word, Naaman washed in waters of the Jordan;
his flesh suddenly became like the flesh of a little child; he was clean of his leprosy.
Naaman saw his healing as the work of God, and knew what he had to do.
As he breathed a sigh of relief, he felt so grateful that he and his whole retinue returned so that Naaman could acknowledge his gratitude to the God of Israel.
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel,” he said.
Grateful to Elisha, also, whom he begged to take payment for healing him. When Elisha repeatedly refused, Naaman ended by making an unusual request.
“Then let me have two mule-loads of dirt to take back with me.”
The dirt and Naaman’s new allegiance to the God of Israel go hand-in-hand.
Naaman was a man with significant duties in his home country, he couldn’t stay in Israel, but he could take Israel back with him.
“From now on,” he said, “your servant will not offer sacrifice to any god but the Lord.”
Naaman would continue to pray to the God of Israel, continue to thank Him, his prayer would arise from the carpet of that dirt.
Was Jesus disappointed when he asked: “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?”
Imagine those ten lepers walking to the Temple, to the priests, the only ones allowed to give them a clean bill of health, when they felt a tingling, felt their flesh suddenly became like the flesh of a little child; all ten were clean of their leprosy.
Imagine their relief … they could now lead a normal life!
Without this healing, where would these lepers be?
They’d still be living under all the prohibitions of the Mosaic Law, walking around in white rags, their faces covered, forced to remain at a distance from healthy people, yelling “Unclean! Unclean!” when travelers got too close, still living apart, in caves or the woods, separated from wives and family. Basically reduced to begging and scavenging in an enforced solitude.
Their healing was probably the greatest gift they ever received!
They had to be overcome with happiness! Eager to start living their new life!
But only one understood why it happened – it was the work of God – only one returned to give thanks, glorifying God in a loud voice, and he was a foreigner.
Brothers and sisters,
why is it that only foreigners were grateful?
Naaman was a foreigner, that one-out-of-ten lepers was a foreigner…
Knowing they were outsiders, they had no claim, didn’t feel entitled to any favors from the Hebrew God, had no expectations of His generosity. Their gratitude came from the reality that though they didn’t deserve it, they had received generosity from the Hebrew God.
The other nine lepers were Hebrews, God’s Chosen people.
They felt entitled to a little favoritism, took God’s generosity for granted,
received what they asked for, and moved on, with no word of Thanks to God.
Which may be the trap in front of us.
We’ve each received our share of miracles,
our share of healings, of forgiveness, of help from others.
But we may be just like those nine – taking our blessings for granted.
After all, we say our prayers, go to Mass, receive the sacraments … so doesn’t God owe us?
We pray, we expect an answer, we count on God’s generosity, then just take the blessings when they come.
It’s a comfortable expectation which can dull our sense of gratitude.
They say Gratitude is a necessary social custom or courtesy.
Psychologists add that Without gratitude, we become trapped in a cycle of dissatisfaction, always wanting more yet never feeling fulfilled.
If we’re thankful for what we have, we’ll end up having more —
but when we concentrate on what we don’t have, we’ll never have enough.
They even say that a thankful heart shows up in our faces,
that a grateful heart leads to a happy life,
while Ingratitude eats away at our happiness and becomes the gateway to disaster.
The Saints have a lot to say about Gratitude, not just in good times but in all circumstances.
They see Gratitude much more than a source of our happiness, it’s a virtue, the source of all other virtues.
St John Chrysostom called Gratitude the parent of all virtues, because it leads to humility, compassion and a broader perception of God’s handiwork in the world.
Other Saints insist that gratitude in prayer is essential for spiritual growth.
They encourage us to say prayers of Thanks to God for His blessings, as well as for people who help us.
Maybe the joyful St Francis of Assisi said it best: “Brother Juniper, if the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is Thank You, it will be enough.”