HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
HOMILY THEME: FAITH AND THANKSGIVING
BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon
HOMILY:
(Lk. 17:11-19)
In the day’s Gospel Jesus cured ten lepers but only one came to give thanks. In the process, he was also healed of his iniquities while the other nine were healed only of their physical leprosy. The Gospel reminds us of the importance of faith and giving thanks to God. Faith and gratitude are very much connected. When we have faith in God, we cannot but recognized His goodness and end up expressing our gratitude.
It was a difficult life for lepers during the time of the Lord. Leprosy was incurable back then. They suffer the stigma of being unclean and sinners. They were not allowed to mix with the people. Their place is outside the city where they mingle among fellow lepers. They were left there to die in pain in agony of their leprosy. You can just imagine their happiness when Jesus healed them. They were not only astounded by the miracle but also the opportunity to go back to their families and live like any other normal person.
But the one who went back saw more and got more. He was filled with gratitude that he took time to go back to Jesus and express his thanksgiving. Jesus saw his humility and faith. His emptiness provided for another miracle which is his spiritual healing. Faith and thanksgiving are not only avenues for physical healing but also spiritual healing. In fact, the latter is what Jesus wanted for us more. Spiritual healing is what we should always pray for.
How many times had we received healing from the Lord? How many times had we given thanks to the graces He had bestowed on us? Are we faithful even during sickness and weakness? Faith and gratitude should always be with us. There should never be a time to be without them. Healing, physically and spiritually, is what we always need and God is just happy to grant them always. Have faith, have gratitude, will be saved.
