Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C 9th October 2022
Lectionary Readings: 2 Kings 5 v1-3, 7-15b; Psalm 111; 2 Timothy 2 v8-15; Luke 17 v11-19.
Respect and obedience.
“Respect and obey the Lord! This is the first step to wisdom and good sense.” (Psalm 111 v10).
Try telling that to Naaman! In the story from the book of Kings, Elisha the prophet issues orders via one of his servants to Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, to go and wash himself in the River Jordan. Naaman was not happy. He expected to be treated with respect, to be greeted in person by the prophet and invited to partake in some cleansing ceremony. Naaman wasn’t used to taking orders from anyone apart from the King of Syria.
Fortunately for Naaman, his servants had the courage to challenge his lack of humility, and encouraged him to do as God’s representative commanded in order to be cured of his leprosy. Naaman had the good sense to acknowledge that God was the source of his healing. He returned to Elisha and said, “Now I know that the God of Israel is the only God in the whole world.” Elisha replied, I am a servant of the living Lord.” (2 Kings 5 v15b,16a).
Luke recalls an encounter between Jesus and ten men with leprosy on the border of Galilee and Samaria. “They stood at a distance and shouted, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Jesus looked at them and said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” On their way they were healed. When one of them discovered he was healed, he came back, shouting praises to God. He bowed down at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.” (Luke 17 v12b-14). Only one of the men returned to thank Jesus for what God had done for them through Jesus. The healing happened once they had obeyed Jesus’ command to go and show themselves to the priest. Did he other nine seek out Jesus to thank him after they had been pronounced clean by a priest? Luke doesn’t say, we will never know.
In the letter to Timothy, Paul writes about the ‘true’ message he wants Timothy to convey to others.
In part it says, “If we are not faithful, he will still be faithful. Christ cannot deny who he is.”
(2 Timothy 2 v13). Jesus cannot do anything other than love us in the same way as God loves us. We may be unfaithful but Jesus cannot be. We may be unloving towards others but Jesus cannot be. We may be unjust but Jesus cannot be. Thanks be to God for sending us his son.
Hymn writer Martin Leckebusch ponders God’s gift to us, (Singing the Faith No 246).
He came to earth in poverty, a child uniquely holy,
forsaking heaven’s majesty to live among the lowly:
Emmanuel means God has come, a child of human birth –
and here with us he made his home, the Son of God on earth.
A servant toiling with his hands, his sovereignty concealing,
our daily lives he understands with perfect fellow-feeling:
In meek obedience stooping down to taste humiliation,
he freely took a thorny crown for reconciliation:
Emmanuel! Our God is near, our every sorrow sharing:
he knows our feelings – he is here, our human frailty bearing.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English version.