Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 12, 2025: He fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him...

He fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him…
Do we recognize divine mercy with gratitude? 

    In the Second Book of Kings, Naaman, the army commander of the King of Aram, is a leper, a condition that isolates him, separating him from his community. When, at the word of Elisha, the man of God, Naaman plunges into the Jordan seven times, thus becoming clean of his leprosy, Naaman has no greater desire than to express his gratitude for this miraculous cure: Please accept a gift from your servant, he says to Elisha. When Elisha refuses this gift, Naaman asks for two mule-loads of earth, so that he can continue to worship the Lord God of Elisha even in his own land, for Naaman knows, as Psalm 98 reminds us, that The Lord reveals to all the nations his saving power. Naaman himself is a beneficiary of God’s faithfulness not only to the nations but to all the ends of the earth. 

   During his journey to Jerusalem in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus will also encounter individuals suffering from the affliction of leprosy: ten lepers stand at a distance from him and cry out, Jesus, Master! Have pity on us. Divine healing does not depend upon faith; Jesus clearly heals all ten of the lepers. But only one of them returns, glorifying God, to thank Jesus. This leper knows his life would have been very different had he not met Jesus that day. His gratitude, like ours, is a great response to grace: it is not to acknowledge that we owe God, but as a natural response to God’s action in our lives. The Samaritan leper recognizes God’s action and responds in faith, caught up in his new-found relationship with the Lord God, and with Jesus, the origin of God’s action. 

   Paul will similarly give witness to the God’s action in his life, in his Second Letter to Timothy. Paul knows that, while he himself may be chained, like a criminal, the word of God is not chained. Paul is an ongoing witness, even in the midst of his suffering, to God’s action in his life, knowing, as he tells Timothy, If we persevere, we shall also reign with him. Timothy must therefore remain faithful, in grateful acknowledgement of all that God is doing in his life. Are we called to any less? 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com