WC 13/10 GRATITUDE

We take this theme from the Gospel reading of the

28th SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

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GATHER

+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

What good things have happened to you recently?

Did you express your gratitude?

What else is there that you could be grateful for?

WORD

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: Glory to you O Lord.

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.’ When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed.

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ And he said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.’

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

RESPONSE

In Sunday's Gospel passage, we hear about ten men with leprosy healed by Jesus. This was an amazing miracle! They were instantly cured of a terrible, life-altering disease. Jesus simply told them to go show themselves to the priests, and as they walked away, the miracle happened. All ten received the same incredible gift.

But the story doesn't end there. Only one of them, a Samaritan (a person hated by the Jewish people), turned back. He fell at Jesus’s feet, praising God with a loud voice and offering his thanks.

Jesus’s response to the man who returned is where the real lesson is for us:

"‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?"

Then, to the grateful man, Jesus says

"Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."

Notice the incredible difference here. All ten men were healed of their disease. But only one was made well. Other translations read "your faith has has saved you."

The is a big difference between being sick and being not-sick, and another big difference between being not-sick and being well. Many of us only care about our health when we're not well. The rest of the time we're happy to eat rubbish, not get enough sleep, and spend hours scrolling screens. Even when we're told how much these bad habit are negatively affecting our health, we do nothing to change these habits.

The other nine lepers received the physical blessing and rushed off, and the same can happen to us. When good things come our way, a sense of entitlement (the belief that we somehow deserve these blessings) can easily become our response. This can cause us to expect good things, perhaps even turning bitter when good things happen to others and not us. Or when others are preferred to us or get opportunities we don't, we get resentful - even to our friends and family.

A life of entitlement, comparison and contempt is a curse in itself that robs us of freedom and joy. We may not be sick, but we are certainly not living well.

The one leper who returned was healed by Jesus, but made well by his faith. A faith that recognised that he didn't deserve his healing. A faith that recognised his healing as the gift it was. A faith that enabled him to be grateful and receive his healing with joy. Gratitude is a vital step in wellbeing - being made well.

How does Jesus’ message challenge or comfort you?

MISSION

Be actively grateful. Thank everyone that does something for you.

COLLECT

Let us pray…

May your grace, O Lord, we pray,

at all times go before us and follow after

and make us always determined

to carry out good works.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever. Amen.