28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sunday 9th October 2016)
Jesus heals ten lepers – (Luke 17:11-19)
The Gospel this Sunday presents to us the story of the healing of ten lepers by Jesus. We are told that the Lepers stood “some way off” and called out to him to heal them. They stood away because they did not want Jesus to be contaminated by their dreadful disease; this standing away too was a testimony of their faith in the power of Jesus to heal even from a distance. They called, and he heard, asking them to go to the priests and show themselves. We are told that when they turned to go they realised they were healed, but only one turned back to praise God and fell at the feet of Jesus to say thank you. This gospel could be called the return of the grateful leper.
Thomas Aquinas teaches us that we should render thanks for all we have received both in word and in deed in accordance with our circumstances and opportunities. He teaches us also that in order to repay a favour received and in estimating our debt to the other person; we must take into consideration the disposition of our benefactor even more than the gift he has bestowed.
We are asked by Aquinas therefore not to just look at the gift and say thanks but to think deeper than what we have just received and to think of the giver, the goodness, mercy and love that flows from the heart of our benefactor.
Christ Jesus wants to give us a share in the intimacy of his life. He wants to answer all our prayers and needs, and in doing so he wants us to be grateful for all we have received. In order to be grateful he wants us not just to see the gifts but to see and perceive his love for us through the gifts.
He wants us to look deeper into his heart which is full of mercy and to understand the love that he has for each one of us from the beginning oftime. The true gift is the relationship that our Blessed Lord wants to invite us in to. That gift is to know that we are loved.
The question that must be asked is; have I given thanks for the goodness and mercy I have received throughout life? Have I even looked at my life properly and recognised the goodness and love shown to me in so many ways? When we can do this, we will discover not just the gifts, but the gift of God’s love for each one of us, whose source is found deep in the heart of Jesus. The heart of Jesus calls us to intimacy and trust built on love and mercy.