OT XXVIII [C]: II Kgs 5:14-17; II Tm 2:8-13; Lk 17:11-19

In ancient Israel, nothing was more pitiable than a leper. They were prohibited from entering any town, since the disease was so contagious. They had to continuously shout “Unclean!” so people knew a leper was approaching and could clear the area. They couldn’t come within 50 yards of a healthy person. Theirs was a life of total isolation: no friendship, no sense of belonging, no affection. And in today’s gospel we meet 10 of them. They stood off at a distance and shouted to Jesus, “Jesus, master, have pity on us!” And Jesus heard them.

He told them to go and show themselves to the priests. In Jewish law a priest had to declare someone free from leprosy before that person could re-enter society. And on their way to the priest, the 10 were healed.  But only one of them realized that he’d been healed, and returned to thank Jesus and glorify God. Isn’t that amazing? Leprosy is a painful disease, and if you were healed you would notice. The other 9 simply took the healing for granted, and didn’t realize the incredible gift they’d just received.

G.K. Chesterton once said: “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”

Gratitude opens our hearts to God and to others. Gratitude makes us more fully human. Gratitude sets our minds on eternity. Gratitude is the secret to true flourishing both as individuals and as a society.  This is the great lesson from today’s gospel. Receive the gifts of God with gratitude.

Although we receive so much from Him, we often take everything as our due, without recognizing and appreciating that everything we have or receive is His free gift. We are often thankful only when we compare ourselves with less fortunate people. In times of need, we pray with desperate intensity, but as time passes, we forget God.

The virtue of gratitude helps us experience the interior joy that comes from knowing we are loved by God, without limits or conditions. It is such an important virtue, that God put it at the very center of Christian worship: the celebration of the Eucharist. This is why we don't just to stay home and say some prayers, or to go to the mountains and enjoy the view. Those are good things to do. But what happens here, in this community and on this altar, goes much, much deeper.

Fr. Roger Landry beautifully explains the connection between the Holy Mass and Jesus’ thanksgiving. At every Mass we’re called to grow in this spirit of thanksgiving, because the Eucharist is Jesus’ own prayer of Thanksgiving to the Father. The Greek word from which we derive the word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.” During the Mass, the priest says, “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” Everyone responds, “It is right and just.” And then the priest replies with a saying of great theological depth: “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, Holy Father, almighty and eternal God.” 

He gave thanks because it would be through his passion, death, and Resurrection, that Jesus would institute the means by which we would be able to enter into his own relationship with the Father. The Mass is the school in which we participate in Jesus’ own thanksgiving, the thanksgiving the Church makes continuously from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Gratitude makes us more like God, and opens our hearts to a deeper relationship with him. We must be grateful to God for everything, even suffering, for that is a means of sanctification and love for God Incarnate Who suffered for us and all mankind.

This week, let's warm someone else's heart by saying thank you. We owe a debt of gratitude to so many people:

our parents, first of all; our teachers and coaches, and all those people who dedicated themselves to us in our years of education; our first boss, who was patient with us and gave us a second chance; the relative or neighbor who inspired us with their good example; the soldiers who have fought to protect our freedom; the police, firefighters, and statesmen who dedicate themselves to keeping our communities safe and prosperous.....

 

Jesus has reminded us today that gratitude is a Christian virtue, that his followers should spread the aroma of gratitude in this thankless world, for our own good, and for the good of those around us. Today, when he comes to us in Holy Communion, let's promise him that this week we'll follow his directions and will be grateful like the Samaritan who returned to thank him or like Naaman the Syrian; and follow the example of the Virgin Mary who demonstrated her gratefulness to God through her obedience and Faith.