As we gather to celebrate the 28th Sunday of the Church Year, we hear from the Second Book of Kings, Psalm 98, St. Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, and the Gospel of St. Luke.
At this stage in St. Luke’s Gospel (17, 11-19), we see Jesus still making His way to Jerusalem, the goal of His life’s mission. It is in the Holy City that He will be rejected, killed, and raised from the dead by the love of His Father. The closer He gets to Jerusalem, the more we hear about cleansing, healing, wholeness, thanksgiving, and giving glory to God. All of these will be made known (fully) in His rising from the dead, but St. Luke shows us that they are “prefigured” in all of the episodes that mark His journey to the Cross and the Empty Tomb.
Along with the Samaritan leper who returns to Jesus, we all need to be cleansed, healed, and made whole – so that we might give glory to God. After all, the leper doesn’t just say “thanks” to Jesus – he gives glory to God!
Giving glory to God means that we are willing to see like God sees and do as God does. For example, we open our eyes and we become willing to see that there are absolutely no lepers, no outsiders, and no “unclean” people in God’s family. We are all family, we all have the same Father, all of us are His children, and therefore all of us are brothers and sisters to each other. Giving glory to God also means that we give to each other the same love that God gives us.
For reflection: According to St. Irenaeus, “The God we know and love cannot be fully grasped, fully comprehended, or seen entirely, and yet He allows Himself to be seen, comprehended, and grasped by us in some measure, in order that He may give life to those who see and receive Him. Therefore, the glory of God is a person fully alive.”
Let us pray. “O God, grant that we be renewed each day in faith and charity, so that we may always be intent on fostering unity and peace. Help us give you honor and glory by how we live, especially in everything we say and do. Through Christ our Lord.”
