28th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Prayer
Father of Life,
You are the creator and giver of all good things. We thank You for giving us life. We pray that we will respond to our calling to be Stewards of Your creation and respect and cherish life in all its forms. Amen.
Commentary
1st Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17
We have been focusing on the theme of Stewardship for Life. Last week we looked at two types of people who are reluctant to share the Gospel of Life – the complacent and the cowardly. The complacent sees the
world from a pessimistic point of view: “What’s the point of sharing Good News in such a violent world?” The cowardly buries her God-given talents as a proclaimer of His Kingdom for fear that she may be rejected.
This week, we focus on a third type of person who is unable to share the Gospel effectively. This person is the ungrateful servant of Christ. A true steward recognizes – with a heart of gratitude – our One True God from whom all blessings flow.
Naaman, the Syrian, after being cleansed of leprosy in the Jordan River, acclaims, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” Recognizing the One True God from whom all blessings flow, Naaman declares that he will only offer thanksgiving to the Lord alone. A Christian steward and servant is grateful to God for heavenly blessings. When we fail in our gratitude, we fail in our calling as stewards for life.
Question:
How are you perpetually grateful to our God from whom all blessings flow?
2nd Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-16
“If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with him,” says St. Paul. These are two very critical points as we consider life with Christ. To live and to reign with Christ are tremendous gifts that all people should acknowledge, especially Christians.
There are many who would think of living and reigning with Christ as future-oriented rewards. While these rewards are certain for all who die with Christ and persevere with Christ now, living and reigning with Him is also a present reward.
The danger of thinking of these rewards as something to be received in the future is that we may become complacent in our relationship with Christ now. Dying with Christ now and persevering with Christ now reaps immediate rewards. We get to live with Christ and reign (have a share in his royal household) now.
Now is the key word for a servant of Christ. Now is the time. Now is the hour.
Question:
How are you living with Christ now? How are you reigning with Christ now?
Gospel: Luke 17:11-19
Our First Reading focused on a foreigner – Naaman – who acknowledged Israel’s God as the One True God. Our Gospel takes up the theme of a foreigner who accepts Jesus as Lord. Falling at Jesus’ feet, the Samaritan who had been cleansed was the only one to give thanks to God.
The spirit of gratitude is the proper response from anyone who receives a gift. In this case, the gift of health and life is received with three acts of thanksgiving: A return to the source of blessing, a “loud” prayer of gratitude, and an act of humility (falling at the feet of Jesus).
In many ways, even full-fledged Christians are prompted to return to the Lord with prayers of thanksgiving and with humility. These are outward expressions of our continuing conversion – our dying and perseverance – toward becoming authentically Christian – living and reigning with Christ.
Those who are complacent, cowardly, or ungrateful are failing the test to be truly Christian. They cannot expect to live and reign with Christ in the future, unless they gratefully return to the Lord now, sing His praise now, and die and persevere with Him now.
Question:
In what way are you returning to the Lord daily with praise and thanksgiving?
This Week’s Task
Write down three things for which you are thankful. Place this list at your bedside and thank God for these things before you get out of bed the next day.
Group Prayer
The group now recites this tradition Prayer of Thanksgiving:
O God, of Whose mercies there is no number,
and of Whose goodness the treasure is infinite; we render thanks
to Your most gracious majesty
for the gifts You have bestowed upon us, evermore beseeching Your clemency,
that as You grant
the petitions of them that ask You, You will never forsake them,
but will prepare for the reward to come. Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The prayer continues with Psalm 98.
Psalm
Response: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm
R: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel.
R: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands:
break into song; sing praise.
R: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Conclude with an Our Father