The Miracle of Gratitude

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C                                                 October 13, 2019
Fr. Albert                                                                                St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette

In the developed world, we can cure leprosy with medicine. But in ancient times, leprosy was basically a death sentence. It was also a permanent exile from the community. When leprosy was healed by some act of God, it was a big deal, a rare life-changing miracle.

And yet, for the ancient Israelites, it wasn’t all that rare. In Leviticus, the book of laws that God gave to the Israelites, there was a ritual, a standard practice for what to do when you were cured of leprosy. That means that being cured of leprosy was something that happened often enough that it needed its own ritual. Priests had to be ready when those who were healed came forward.

God plans to show the Israelites miracles. He prepares them for it to be part of their life. Being the chosen people of God came with a great number of benefits, including God’s supernatural help. Yet, like all fallen human beings, this hope could sometimes become entitlement. That’s why the entire Old Testament is basically a cycle of God rescuing his people, them getting complacent, God allowing his people to get conquered, and God rescuing them again.

Jesus walks into the midst of this dynamic. He works miracles, he interprets scripture, he loves like no other. And how do the Jews respond? With entitlement, with boredom, with hatred. The Jews are God’s chosen people, so they expect great things. They are not amazed, they are not moved to faith, they are not grateful for most of what Christ does. Nine of the ten lepers were Jewish. After being saved from isolation and death, do they show gratitude to Jesus? No. They keep moving because, even though it’s a great miracle to be healed of leprosy, it’s not unheard of for Jews.

But you know who is grateful? Foreigners. Samaritans. Pagans. Roman soldiers honor Jesus’ authority. Foreigners beg Jesus with profound faith. This Samaritan leper reacts with wonder and gratitude, returning to express that. Because he was not entitled, he was not too familiar with God’s favor, he was able to see this miracle for what it was worth and respond accordingly.

Now, Samaritans are not pagans. They believe in one God, Moses, and Scripture, thought they are missing some books. They know the truth and can be genuine followers of God, but they don’t have the whole truth. Samaritans were to the Jews what many protestants are to Catholics today. And just like it is in some places still today, these two groups, despite their common ground, really didn’t like each other.

So, this Samaritan did know of the one, true God and the covenant of Moses, but he did not belong to the inner circle, the chosen people. Jesus clearly teaches that the Jews are the chosen people and yet, Jesus constantly treats the Samaritans with respect, love, and even admiration. Hence the parable of the good Samaritan. Then, we come to this scene where only the Samaritan, the “foreigner” responds appropriately. Because he wasn’t too familiar with God’s power.

This scene, then, is a powerful lesson for Catholics, especially life-long Catholics. Jesus makes it clear that simply belonging to the right group is not enough. Simply being Jewish did not impress him then and simply being Catholic does not impress him now. He looks into the heart. He looks for genuine faith… and not just belief, but faith that expresses itself in love. All ten lepers believe in God’s power to heal and all ten are healed by Jesus, but only the Samaritan is told that his faith has saved him… only the foreigner reacts with love. And what does love look like when you are miraculously healed of a deadly disease? Gratitude. Joy expressed out loud. He gives thanks and does so gladly.

Catholics, like the ancient Israelites, expect God to do miracles because he promised to. In fact, the miracles are so consistent that we have a whole system of laws and practices that assume a miracle will always happen in certain circumstances. Those miracles are called the Sacraments. God forgives our sins in confession – a miracle. God turns bread and wine into his own body and blood at Mass – a miracle. God does these things and how do we react? “Oh, yeah, that again.”

The problem with this familiarity isn’t that the miracle will stop happening. The problem is that it will prevent others from ever experiencing it. Our complacency with the Sacraments puts other souls in danger. In the psalm, we just proclaimed that God has revealed to the nations his saving power. How does he do that? Through us! But, evangelization requires joy! If we have no joy, no gratitude, no excitement about daily miracles, how can we fulfill our mission?

We see the evangelical power of miracles in the first reading. Naaman is a pagan Syrian, yet he has heard that God is with the Jews. So he goes to Judah to be healed. And he is healed! Immediately, he gives up his pagan belief and promises to only offer sacrifices to the one true God in the future.

Pagans, Protestants, ex-Catholics; They don’t have what w have. Yet, how many of them put us to shame in their love for their neighbor? Their enthusiasm for what they do know? We daily walk among miracles that would astound many of them if only they knew. But until they encounter someone grateful enough, joyful enough about God’s power, they will probably never get curious enough to find out.

The salvation of other people may very well depend on our joyful gratitude for God’s work in our lives. Our own salvation is definitely at stake – only the grateful leper is saved though all ten are healed. Only a grateful Catholic is saved, even though all of them receive communion. Eucharist means thanksgiving. Mass is here for you to worship God, to give him thanks for the miracles he works every day in the world, in your life. If you come only to take, to receive a miracle and then walk away without even a moment to give thanks, are you really any better off than non-believers, than foreigners and pagans?

Gratitude is not just a feeling. It is a choice and a duty. Choose to spend real time thanking God, to praise him regardless of how you feel. Be grateful because your soul – and the souls of many others – depend on it.