Oct. 13, 2019: 28th Sunday C
Oct. 13, 2019: 28th Sunday C
Do you recognize the following song?
“The sun'll come out, tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun!” In the musical play, as little Annie flees the orphanage she encounters a stray dog who is fleeing a dog catcher. As she comforts him, Annie tells the dog of better days yet to come by singing the song, ‘Tomorrow.’ “When I’m stuck with a day that’s grey and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say Oh! The sun'll come out tomorrow. So ya gotta hang on ‘til tomorrow.” Aren’t there days when we wake up and even when the sun is brightly shining, we just don’t feel the warm rays in our hearts? Do we thank God for the mere fact that we woke up, or do we grumble and whine because we have to get out of bed? Sometimes we forget that even on cloudy days, the sun is shining brightly behind the clouds. Similarly, our faith in a loving God should assure us that even in challenging times, God provides and remains with us.
In today’s scripture, ten lepers cried to Jesus for God’s mercy, and they obeyed his word to go on their way to the temple. All ten of them received the physical healing for which they prayed. One leper returned to Jesus to glorify God and thank him for the miraculous healing. What? What happened to the other nine? Did they take for granted the miracle they received, or were they too busy thinking about what they were going to do with their new lives, thus they forgot all about Jesus? The lone thankful leper who returned to Jesus represents those whose yearning is beyond this earth, hungering and thirsting for God’s eternal love. But the nine represents those of us whose focus is only on this earthly life and neglect a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
For Christians, every moment of our life is a gift from God and an opportunity for us to praise and give thanks. St. Ignatius of Loyola said that our greatest sin is our failure to be grateful for what God has accomplished through the sacrifice of His Son. The thankful leper was told by Jesus, “Your faith has saved you.” When Jesus invites us to be his disciples, do we respond with the desire to know, love, and serve him? If we understand and glorify the miracle of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, then we must respond by living our life in imitation of His life.
The sweet song, “Tomorrow,” in some spiritual way, reminds us that following the dark day of Calvary, the SON rose the next day. Through his life, death, and resurrection, we all received a gift that neither clouds nor darkness can take away. Jesus united us to His Father, and we are promised eternal life. The hymn we sing in church reminds us to remember and give thanks:
We remember how you loved us to your death,
And still we celebrate, for you are with us here;
And we believe that we will see you when you come,
In your glory, Lord, we remember, we celebrate, we believe.
Are we like the short-sighted nine lepers? Or, are we grateful like the one who returned to God to give glory and thanks? What keeps us from having an ‘attitude of gratitude’?
Do you recognize the following song?
“The sun'll come out, tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there'll be sun!” In the musical play, as little Annie flees the orphanage she encounters a stray dog who is fleeing a dog catcher. As she comforts him, Annie tells the dog of better days yet to come by singing the song, ‘Tomorrow.’ “When I’m stuck with a day that’s grey and lonely, I just stick out my chin and grin and say Oh! The sun'll come out tomorrow. So ya gotta hang on ‘til tomorrow.” Aren’t there days when we wake up and even when the sun is brightly shining, we just don’t feel the warm rays in our hearts? Do we thank God for the mere fact that we woke up, or do we grumble and whine because we have to get out of bed? Sometimes we forget that even on cloudy days, the sun is shining brightly behind the clouds. Similarly, our faith in a loving God should assure us that even in challenging times, God provides and remains with us.
In today’s scripture, ten lepers cried to Jesus for God’s mercy, and they obeyed his word to go on their way to the temple. All ten of them received the physical healing for which they prayed. One leper returned to Jesus to glorify God and thank him for the miraculous healing. What? What happened to the other nine? Did they take for granted the miracle they received, or were they too busy thinking about what they were going to do with their new lives, thus they forgot all about Jesus? The lone thankful leper who returned to Jesus represents those whose yearning is beyond this earth, hungering and thirsting for God’s eternal love. But the nine represents those of us whose focus is only on this earthly life and neglect a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
For Christians, every moment of our life is a gift from God and an opportunity for us to praise and give thanks. St. Ignatius of Loyola said that our greatest sin is our failure to be grateful for what God has accomplished through the sacrifice of His Son. The thankful leper was told by Jesus, “Your faith has saved you.” When Jesus invites us to be his disciples, do we respond with the desire to know, love, and serve him? If we understand and glorify the miracle of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, then we must respond by living our life in imitation of His life.
We remember how you loved us to your death,
And still we celebrate, for you are with us here;
And we believe that we will see you when you come,
In your glory, Lord, we remember, we celebrate, we believe.
Are we like the short-sighted nine lepers? Or, are we grateful like the one who returned to God to give glory and thanks? What keeps us from having an ‘attitude of gratitude’?
