Fr. Peter T. IBIMILUYI

 

On this 28th Sunday in ordinary time, the liturgy of the word calls us to reflect on the theme: GRATITUDE. In the first reading, we heard of Naaman, the Syrian commander who was cured of his leprosy through the Prophet Elisha. This man came back to the prophet and was very grateful for the favor received, He offered gifts that were refused by the prophet because the prophet wanted Naaman to know the true source of his healing which is God.

 

My dear people of God, how many times have we helped people only to expect some tips from them? How many of us have turned ourselves into demigods because we were privileged to help others? Prophet Elisha

returned all glory to God who is the source of every good gift. Ps. 115 says: "Not to us O Lord, not to us but to your name give the glory." St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians chapter 4:7 says: "What have you, that you did not receive? If you then received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift?"

 

All that we have and are have been given to us by God and so we should not feel superior if we have been privileged to offer some help to others. To help others is to be given an opportunity by God to praise His name, do not use that avenue to gain some cheap popularity or domination for yourself. No one is too poor to offer help, use your time, talent, and treasures for the betterment of others. Many today do not give God more of their time, some hide their talents and treasures which are to be used in the house of God.

 

In the Gospel reading, we heard of the ten lepers cured by Jesus and only one of them returned to give thanks. Jesus was indeed happy about the gratitude shown by this man and at the same time complained about the ingratitude of the other nine. "Were not ten made clean? Where are the nine?"10 as we know stands for whole/totality in Biblical account. Hence, the ten lepers, represent the state of sin, represent sin, human misery, and human separation from His creator and one's neighbor. Hence, Luke through this account tells us that we all need to encounter and meet Jesus. Not one of us is upright, and none of us is exempt from the leprosy of sin, we are all seeking salvation. At various times dearly beloved we encounter and meet with Jesus in the sacrament of penance. Are we like the nine or that one who turned back to give thanks to God?

Gratitude is an attempt of repaying favors received. Our story is one of those who take for granted the blessings of God as if to say it is our right to have them. It is not our right because not everyone has it so for you to have it, you should be grateful for it. We often see God's gifts as our inalienable right and so we only complain if we do not have them and fail to appreciate God when we have them. Dearly beloved, we cannot prove ignorant of God's blessings in our lives.

 

How many blessings have we received from God that we have not returned thanks at all? The problem is that many of us concentrate on what we do not have thereby neglecting to thank God for the things that we have. In case you do not know, the little you think you have is what someone out there is praying to God every day to have. Science and technology have also made most of us think that we can do things without the help of God thus pushing God into the background. How did the seed germinate, the farmer would say that it's because of the fertilizer I added but for a Christian, it's God. This is not to undermine the effectiveness of science and technology but all are to be at the service of God not above. We are all called to develop a grateful heart, for an ingrate is like a thief.

 

In the Eucharist, we experience the greatest expression of Thanksgiving, for in the Eucharist we thank the Lord for creating us, for maintaining us in life, and for saving us. The priest says: "Lift up your hearts" and we respond: "we lift them up to the Lord." And the priest continues: "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God" and we respond: "It is right to give Him thanks and praise." Thanks are the only thing we can offer to God. The Common Preface IV reads: "For, although you do not need our praise, yet our thanksgiving is itself your gift since our praises add nothing to your greatness, but profit us for salvation." Our praise and thanks to God are in fact for our benefit. We are to express this not only in mere words but also in deeds.

We must therefore do all the good we can, by all means, we can, in all the ways we can, in all places we can, at all times we can, to all the people we can, and as long as we can. The smallest act of kindness we render will not go unrewarded. You may not have everything you need but in all circumstances give thanks for God is not done with you. "God gives and forgives, human gets and forgets" We should never forget the deeds of the Lord.

 

Let us pray: May God accept our Thanksgiving today and always. Amen. Happy Sunday, Stay Safe and Stay Blessed.