First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17
Reflection:
Naaman was a respected army commander from the city of Damascus in the land of Aram (Syria), to the northeast of Israel in about 855 B.C. Naaman suffered from a debilitating skin disease. When his own holy men couldn’t cure him, his wife’s servant girl, an Israelite captured in an earlier raid, suggested he go to the prophet in Israel for curing. Elisha was known throughout the land as a “man of God.” Naaman had successfully led the army in its earlier conquest of Israel, so he expected to wield some power when he arrived in Israel. Naaman was a little put-off, therefore, when Elisha wouldn’t even come out of his house to interact with him. Elisha did this to make the point that it was not he who would bring about the healing but rather the effective word of God. By following Elisha’s suggestion to bathe seven times, Naaman was miraculously cured. Naaman expected immediate results, but found that his healing took time and trust, but in the end he received so much more than simple physical healing, he received the gift of faith in the one, true God. While the rest of the Jewish people would have been tempted to exclude Naaman because of his uncleanness (skin condition and being a Gentile), Elisha saw into his heart and let the power of God bring healing not only to his body but also to his soul.
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Reflection:
The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, who was a church leader in Ephesus, while he was imprisoned in Rome and his martyrdom was imminent. In this reading, he credits his imprisonment to the gospel, stating that he is chained like a criminal for preaching the gospel. Still, “the word of God is not chained.” In other words, nothing (not even the power of the Roman Empire) could keep the gospel message from spreading and the Church from growing. The power of God is greater than the power of man. We, too, can have confidence and joy in the midst of sufferings. We can be reminded that God is greater than our circumstances and He is not bound by the troubles of this world. God is always faithful, even if we are unfaithful. He will never abandon us. Still, sometimes we abandon Him and there are consequences for denying Him. But if we remain faithful, He will reward us by offering us eternal life.
Gospel Reading: Luke 17:11-19
Reflection:
The events in this Sunday’s gospel reading echo the healing of Naaman, the leper, by Elisha in the first reading. In both instances, a non-Jewish foreigner (Naaman was from Syria and the leper who returned to Jesus was a Samaritan) was healed of a skin disease. Lepers were ostracized from society. They were among the untouchables. And to be non-Jewish even further separated them from the Israelites and proper worship of God. For both reasons, the leper in this gospel would have been excluded from the Temple, which was where God dwelt among His people and could be properly worshipped. Jesus instructed the ten lepers to go to the Temple and show themselves to the priests. The priests had the responsibility of declaring people clean or unclean, which would determine whether they would be permitted into the Temple or not. It took faith in Jesus on the part of the ten lepers for them to embark on that three-day journey to Jerusalem. Had they not trusted in Jesus to heal them, it would have been pointless for them to go. Why make that long of a journey only to be turned away from the Temple? Still, they trusted Jesus and went. But once they were all healed, only one returned to offer gratitude to Jesus. It is implied that the other nine were Jews. It would seem odd to the Jewish reader that the foreigner was the one with the greatest faith. The story of Naaman paints the same picture. Surely there were many lepers in Israel at that time, but only Naaman, the Syrian, was healed because he trusted in God. Implicit in these two stories is that God wants to open the door to salvation to all people, including Gentiles. That door is faith. All people, of all nations, can come to Jesus through faith and find healing of their souls.
Application:
- What healing (whether physical, spiritual, relational, emotional, etc.) do you need? Ask Jesus for healing, just as the lepers did, and trust that He is able to heal you, if it is His will to do so.
- Have you experienced sufferings for the sake of the gospel? How did you persevere through those? How can you prepare yourself to follow the example and teachings of St. Paul when facing future sufferings for Christ?
