Naaman, “the army commander of the king of Aram [Syria],” was an enemy of Israel. The wife of Naaman had a Hebrew servant girl, who suggested that he see the prophet Elisha. At first, Naaman did not want to follow the advice of the prophet to bathe in the Jordan River. It seemed too simple, and the prophet was not directly involved. But he couldn’t be directly involved! It had to be clear that it was the power of God, which healed Naaman. His obedience led to his cleansing from leprosy, a skin disease.
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Contact between the soldier and the prophet started out as a communication through intermediaries. Now, there is a personal dialogue between Naaman and Elisha. Naaman acknowledges the God of Israel as the only one to whom he will offer sacrifice. He says: “There is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” He takes “two mule-loads of earth” from Israel, either on which to pray to God or from which to build an altar for offering sacrifice. Naaman recognized the source of the power, which healed him.
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Remembering is more than just recalling a past event. It is renewing a relationship with another. Timothy is reminded to be loyal to Jesus Christ and to Paul. By mentioning Jesus as a “descendant of David,” Paul is referring to the promise in 2 Sm 7:12: “I will raise up your heir after you. . .” The “word of God is not chained,” because it continues to be preached by others and even the life of Paul in prison is a proclamation of the Gospel. His suffering is joined with Jesus Christ.
Paul describes his treatment as that of a criminal. This word for “criminal” is literally a “doer of evil.” It is the description for someone, who has committed a serious crime. It is used for the thieves, who were crucified with Christ in the Gospel of Luke.
The author of this pastoral letter has two contrasting “ifs.” One pair is positive: “if we have died. . .if we persevere. . .” There is a corresponding blessing, which follows. The two negative ones are: “if we deny. . .if we are unfaithful. . .” The future case, that “He will deny us,” probably refers to the final judgment and addresses the apostasy of former believers. The following one is a promise to those who fail and lack perseverance, but who have not given up. Christ Jesus “remains faithful” to those who repent and seek forgiveness. It is the doctrine of the immutability of God. He is consistent in His work of salvation.
Gospel: Luke 17:11-19
Luke emphasizes the journey of Jesus to His goal to be achieved in Jerusalem. The mention of Samaria and Galilee explains the mixture of Jews and Samaritans among the lepers, who were instructed to “show yourselves to the priests.” Only the “foreigner” returned to “give thanks to God.” The evangelist mentions this act of thanksgiving twice. It anticipated what Jesus was about to do for everyone in Jerusalem, when He would suffer, die and rise.
The passage concludes with a reference to “your faith,” which “has saved you.” Those who have experienced the healing power of Christ are invited to worship and give thanks. Ten pleaded for mercy and were cleansed. . .but only one was saved. It is an important lesson for those who follow the Lord.
One of my worst experiences in ordained ministry was teaching a seventh grade, after school class in religion education. The topic was awful (Case for Faith), the all-boy class was completely unruly, and I dreaded every week! I thought that I had accomplished nothing. Years later, when I returned to the parish for a celebration, a young man named Paul came up and thanked me for having taught him in the seventh grade. I recognized him as one of the people in that class. That was over thirty years ago, and I still remember that one young man, who gave thanks for that time that I spent with them. That incident stays in my mind, whenever I stand in front of a class now. I have had some very difficult classes to teach – not topic-wise, but students-wise. There are times when it all seems like a very thank-less task. But, perhaps, there may be something that I do there that may have a lasting (good!) effect.
I remember that young man that came up to me years later, because he was still active in his faith, when so many of his generation no longer came to Church. It was something that caused me to give thanks to God. I hope that his gratitude for something that I had done may have helped in giving him a reason to keep coming back to celebrate the Eucharist, a word which means “thanksgiving” for all that we receive.
Fr. Richard C. Macey is pastor of Our Lady of the Woods Parish, Woodhaven.
