Homily
for October 14, 2007
Liturgical Year C - Cycle I
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Andrew Moyo Topic:
Give Thanks
+ + +
"Lord
Jesus, have mercy on us." Introduction Today’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus has not
ended the journey to Jerusalem
which he had resolutely
set out to reach (Lk 9,51).As he
travels in the borderlands of Samaria
and Galilee,
he is sure of course
to come into contact with outcasts. Hence, today he comes across the
ten lepers
and more interestingly with the Samaritan leper.This
is actually the first case in the Gospel
of Luke that Jesus meets with lepers and the first time with a
Samaritan. The Situation: As Jesus was entering a village ten lepers met
him. In
Israel,
the disease of leprosy
was greatly feared.What Aids is to our
society today, leprosy was to the Jews. According to Leviticus 13,
45-46, any
one suffering from a contagious skin disease of any kind, would be
isolated
from the community and live on his or her own because the person was
thought to
be unclean.“A leper shall live alone:
his dwelling shall be outside the camp.” (Lev 13, 45).The lepers lived on the outskirts of the
village.This is clear from the
description of Luke; they met Jesus as he was entering a village. The
lepers had to wear shredded clothing and go with their head uncovered
in spite
of the fierce sun. They had to wear a bell around their neck like
cattle. They
had to shout warning calls; Unclean! Unclean!lest anyone came near them.The
lepers were really like dead people walking. Encounter
with Jesus. When the ten lepers see Jesus, they profess
their faith.Jesus, Lord have mercy on
us; that is, show us the mercy, which only you, God can give. They
suffered
much from isolation from the community. They had lost their dignity as
persons.Leprosy really made the person
an outcast. As we know, the worst punishment one can give to a person
is solitary
confinement. No one dared to talk with them. The only words that they
had from
the people were insults. Now what does Christ do? He talks with the
lepers. No
Rabbi in ancient Israel
dared to talk with the
lepers. Some rabbis openly declared that if ever they met a leper, they
would
throw stones at him shouting: “Go back to your place! Do not
contaminate other
people!”This could probably be the
first time a non-leper had talked with them since they caught the
disease.
Christ thus looked at their eyes with compassion.He
saw in their eyes deep pain and isolation.
Then Christ showed them compassion, he showed them love. He loves the
sinner
but hates the sin. He says, “Go show yourselves to the priest. Be
healed of
your leprosy. Attain your dignity as Sons of God.” By
talking with the lepers, Christ broke with tradition. He simply showed
these
people love. He removed the barriers that separate the people. What is
our
attitude towards the sick, the lonely, and the housebound? Do we not
create
barriers and isolate them?Do we look at
them we prejudice?Christ is calling us
to break the barriers. To show love, compassion, care, to give them our
time.
Spend time with them. This
is what Mother Teresa did.She never saw
a leper.She saw each person, leper or
not, as a person loved by God, a person sacred and to be cared for with
love.
She would reach out to the lepers, touch them and embrace them with
love.
Seeing this, one millionaire said, “Mother, I would not do that job
even for a
million dollars.” She turned and smiled and said to him, “Sir, I do
this not
for money but I do it for love.” Brothers and sisters, this is our
challenge:
to show love, compassion and care. Reaction
of the Lepers. One
of the lepers,on realizing that he had
been healed, returned, glorifying God. Jesus asks were there not ten,
where are
the other nine. Only one leper, a Samaritan, returned to give thanks.
He
thanked Jesus for giving him back his life, his dignity and his hope.
The same
is true with Naaman.He showed his
gratitude by making a vow, to worship only the God of Israel. We
too must show gratitude and thank God for the blessings. Meister
Eckhat, a
mystic, once said, “The most important prayer is just two long words:
Thank
you”.We live now in a world in which
these words are coming to be used less frequently, not only to God but
even to
one another. A man was riding on a crowded bus. He offered his seat to
a woman.
She fainted. He brought her around. Opening her eyes, she thanked him.
And he
fainted. A
young boy was sitting in the front seat of a bus when a very old man
entered.
He looked around for an empty seat. So, the young boy got up and gave
him his.
After a while, the boy asked the old man, “What did you say?” The
sitting
passenger said, “I didn’t say anything.” At which the boy remarked, “I
thought
I heard you say thank you.” The
fact that only one leper came back to thank Jesus, just shows us how
difficult
it is for people to say thanks.One out
of 10 people give thanks to God. As
we hear today’s Gospel reading, let us ask ourselves,“Do we give thanks to for what we receive, or
do we feel we have the right and no need to give thanks.” Let us make
the habit
to give thanks. Every week we receive the Eucharist. This word as we
well know
means to give thanks.We thank God for
all he has done and is doing for us.We
should thank God for the simple events of life, for the people who love
us and
whom we love. We should thank God for the prayers that have been
answered the
way we wish, they should be answered and for the prayers that have been
answered in ways different than we have asked.St Paul
says: “…give thanks
always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God
the
father” (Eph 5, 20). Let us imitate the grateful leper. Remember also
this line
that teaches, “God has two homes, one in heaven and the other in a
thankful
heart.” “O give thanks to the Lord, for his
is good;
His steadfast love endures for ever” Ps 118, 1