Homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Give Thanks to the Lord Always!

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Mary of Assumption Church, Whittier, CA

October 9, 2016

During the time of Jesus, lepers were seen as persons under a sentence of death. They were regarded as sinful, unclean and impure to be part of the human society. Leprosy was regarded as a punishment from God. As such, lepers were ostracized from their families, friends and the rest of the society. No one dared come near to them; and no one would touch them or handle anything they had touched. The rule laid down in the Old Testament is that: “The leprous person shall wear torn clothes, and let the hair of his head hang loose, he must cover the lower part of his face and cry out, ‘Unclean, Unclean.’ He must also live outside the camp away from others” (Leviticus 13:45-46). Lepers were not allowed to enter the synagogue or Temple for worship. They were forbidden to work, so they begged. They were the most lonely, rejected, discriminated, and dejected people. This was the condition and situation that the ten lepers in today’s gospel found themselves before they met the Life Changer, Jesus Christ. 

Jesus was traveling through Samaria and Galilee. As soon as he entered a village, ten lepers ran after him, but still maintained the legal distance they must keep between them and others, and shouted: “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” Folks, these lepers were dead men walking. They were dead physically and socially, but not spiritually. When they saw Jesus, they saw hope. When they saw Jesus, they saw the end of their affliction, the turning point of their lives, the restoration of their locust years and the reaffirmation of their dignity. Because of leprosy, which was not fault of theirs, they lost so much. But in Jesus, they found the restoration of all they had lost. In Jesus, they found God and found a new beginning. Their greatest desire was healing, restoration, a return back home to a normal life, and a chance to just be like other people. That was all they wanted.  

Before their healing and restoration, they were shunned and avoided by all. When “healthy” people looked at them, they saw sinful people. But when Jesus saw them, he saw something else. He saw their pain, not only physical pain but also psychological pain of being isolated from their families, friends, neighbor and familiar environment. He saw their pain of being shunned and avoided by everyone. He saw their anguish, loneliness, and homelessness. He saw human beings’ inhumanity and injustice against their fellow human beings. He saw that those who needed more help from the society weren’t getting it and he decided to do something about it: “Go show yourself to the priests,” he said to them. 

On their way home, they were cleansed and healed. Nine of them went away, but “One of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” The nine that did not come back to thank Jesus were all too ready to accept what their priests would offer them: their old lives. The priests would certify the cure, and then they would return home and have their old lives back.

When we are confronted by tragic events, sudden reversal of fortune, loss of jobs or homes, sickness or advancing years, we yearn to have our old lives back. But this one Samaritan who was healed from leprosy perceived that with Jesus, something more beautiful, something better, something new, which is far more important and far greater than simply having his old life back is going to be given to him. He realized that his old life is not sufficient for the life of discipleship, so he returned to do two things: to thank Jesus and to accept him as his Lord and Savior. The gospel says, “…he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” That’s a symbolic act of surrender to Jesus.

Jesus was surprised that he was the only one that returned to give thanks. Our society is more like this scene where, not a whole lot of people come to the Eucharist, which means “Thanksgiving” every week to give God thanks. Our prayer is mostly about asking and asking without giving thanks to God for the blessings we have already received. In times of need, we passionately pray for God’s help. But as time passes by, we also pass God by and forget God. God has given us so much. He gave us his Son Jesus Christ, and often we never even give him a word of thanks. Psalm 103:2 says: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all his benefits.” Psalm 107:1 also says, “Give thanks to the Lord for his good, for his love endures forever.” Thanksgiving is not an added extra. It’s absolutely central to the life of a Christian. Showing gratitude helps us to persevere in our faith journey. A thankful Christian may not be a lukewarm disciple. Gratitude can lead to faithfulness. Gratitude is a product of reflection. Counting our blessings and naming them one after another can only come from reflection. Such a reflection opens our eyes to see all that the good Lord has done for us. And a realization of what he has done is capable of launching someone into shouts of thanks and dance-steps of gratitude. Let’s therefore learn to thank the Lord at all times. In season and out of season, thank him for blessings received and blessings yet to receive. Grateful people are positive and happy people. A grateful heart is a colony of joy and hope.