Homily for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I find it intriguing to learn in today’s Scripture passages of two people, not of the Hebrew or Christian Faith, who approach God making a request for healing, and are granted a miraculous cure in response. This is not to suggest, however, that Naaman and Saint Luke’s un-named Leper were people of no faith — but—whatever their faith situation previously, upon learning of the power of God, or even the nearness of Our Lord walking by, they make a point of turning to Him. Whatever their motivation for approaching God the Father or God the Son, (healing of leprosy being most apparent) both the Father and the Son received their request with mercy… immediacy… and power.

As we look at the figures in today’s stories: Naaman the Syrian and Luke’s Leper, I will add Saint Paul to the mix, since he, too, was a man of conversion upon meeting the Risen Lord. The three figures speak to us about what is necessary on our part for Our Lord, on His part to bring mercy… healing… and perhaps even miracles to us. The three men embody three important, if simple, virtues necessary for each of us in order to discover how God works in our lives.

Naaman embodies the virtue of Humility; Saint Paul teaches us to Hope; Luke’s Leper reminds us of the necessity of Gratitude. Let’s look at these virtues separately in order to see how they work together in our own quest for healing, serenity and holiness.

We’ll look first at Humility as we find it in the story of Naaman:

As we’ve heard before, the word “humility” is rooted in the Latin “humus,” meaning dirt, or ground. It suggests self-knowledge grounded in the truth, not only of who we know ourselves to be, warts and all, but in learning something of how God knows us and loves us, a truly liberating way of looking at life and self. Humility, in this experience, presents a self-awareness possessed of the awareness of God’s greatness and condescension in love and mercy. Humility, then, seeks God for God’s goodness, leaving behind self-interest, wishing to be centered in God’s goodness and holiness.

Now we turn to Saint Paul to learn of human Trust.

Saint Paul writes here of
-our perseverance
-God’s undying faithfulness — and —
-bearing with hardship for the good of others.

We heard him say: “I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory.” (That mention of salvation will be revisited in a moment.) He completes this quote, thusly: “This saying is trustworthy: if we persevere with Him we shall also reign with Him.” Trust and perseverance, building upon humility, believe that there is greater good in God than there is in oneself —and that —those who love — that is —who will the good of another person, will speak the truth because of that love…and look to Revelation rather than to one’s own thought process to come to ultimate truth and trust in God.

Finally, we come to the Virtue of Gratitude.

Gratitude, in the context we have been building, is Faith, be-jeweled with Peace, this peace being a grace-filled serenity. Saint Luke’s Leper, returning to Christ, made simple Gratitude into an act of Faith in that “he glorified God in a loud voice…and fell at the feet of Jesus…” Then Jesus raises an interesting question: “Ten were cleansed, were they not?” “Were they not?” Is the Lord wondering if the other nine were were not actually healed?

No, His question is for the benefit of others, not a question concerning an incompleteness in the Lord’s power to heal — but —in the other nine lepers’ lack of awareness that it is the power of God that heals and saves. Notice that the Lord says to the cleansed and grateful Leper, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” Not “your faith has brought healing…” — but — “your faith has saved you.” This suggests to us that the Lord’s healing power over our bodies and minds is a first step in the process of saving our souls, because the heart filled with gratitude leads the mind further toward God and His ultimate gift of salvation in Christ.

Now, gratefulness goes beyond mere graciousness, toward an awareness of the presence… love… and power of God which leads us to desire His salvation and live as one whose final destination in life is heaven itself. Our own life circumstances may place us in need of healing, whether that healing might be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual or otherwise. Looking to the Lord in humility… trust… and gratitude will place us in the proper sphere for the Lord to reply, perhaps not with a miraculous cure, but with His grace that can bring healing and serenity, even if the egregious circumstances themselves remain the same.

It all begins with the crie du coeur, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”