A Reflection for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C).
2Kings 5:14-17 – 2Timothy 2:8-13 – Luke 17:11-19.
Here’s a little story for you. “Once upon a time…” there was a little boy called Malcolm. Malcolm was five years old and in Primary 1 at Glenbog School. He was a nice, polite little boy, and whenever he wanted to ask his teacher a question, he put up his hand and waited for the teacher to notice him.
“Yes, Malcolm, what would you like to ask?” enquired his teacher. “Please, sir, why does a cock crow when the sun is coming up?” The teacher smiled. “Malcolm, that’s an excellent question. Well done to you. Now then, class, who can think of some noises that different animals make? What does a cat do?” “Miaow, miaow,” chorused the class. “Well done!” said the teacher. “What does a dog do?” “Woof, woof,” chorused the class. “And what does a duck do? “Quack, quack,” chorused the class gleefully. (They were enjoying this.) The teacher went on, “Now then, class, a cock crows. It goes, “cock-a-doodle-doo!” The class wriggled with joy. The teacher was being funny, and they liked that. The decibels rose as the youngsters practised lots of ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’-ing. After restoring peace in the class, the teacher went on, “the cock crows very early in the morning, sometimes while it’s quite dark and you’re still tucked up in bed and fast asleep. Now, the rooster’s job is to let everybody know that it won’t be dark for much longer, that the sun’s on its way back, and that it won’t be long before it’s light again. The sun will soon rise, and it’ll be time for you to get up”.
The teacher turned to Malcolm. “Malcolm, did you know that when a cock crows, he crows all on his own? There aren’t any others around because the cock is shouting at them. He’s shouting, “this is ma street,” and “keep off.” The class squealed with delight.
It was a good explanation by the teacher for the tinies. Little Malcolm already had an answer up his sleeve from his dad.
“My dad,” he said confidently, chin up, “my dad says that a cock crows to say ‘Thank You to God.”
“My dad says that a cock crows to say ‘Thank You to God for a new day.”
“My dad says that a cock says ‘Thank You to God for giving him life.”
There was a pause. Malcolm gulped. The chin went down, his shoulders sagged, and he said sadly,
“My dad says there aren’t many grown-ups who remember to say ‘Thank You to God’ every day.”
Gratitude is what each of us owes God for His abundant blessings in our lives. The last verse of the psalms commands: let everything that breathes praise God. Praise God! (Ps 150:6). If Creation sings praise to God, so will I! At every moment of our lives, we ought to thank God for the wonder of our being. That is the focus of our Reflection today.
In the First reading, Naaman returned to offer the prophet Elisha a tangible reward for healing him physically. The prophet refused to accept any gift from Naaman, partly because the healing was a gift from God and partly because Elisha sensed Naaman felt indebted and was trying to return the mighty favour. Elisha got him to understand that neither things nor money could buy the gift of miraculous healing – the gift of restoration to the fullness of life – that he had received from God. The value of what God did for him was immeasurably greater than that of any form of material wealth.
Think about this long and hard. Yes, Naaman was physically healed, which restored his confidence and his bodily strength. But more than that, he was socially healed, fully restored to society, and in the position he’d held until he became an outcast through disease. Such a marvellous gift is worth far more than material wealth. Naaman understood he owed his restoration to the fullness of life to the God Elisha served. Naaman asked permission from Elisha to take earth from Israel home to his own country. Why did he do that? The answer is that Naaman was signalling his submission to the God of Israel – the living God Elisha worshipped – and was committing to worship Him alone. There is nothing else that God wants from you and me in return for the life of grace and the daily life He gives us to enjoy except our thanksgiving and faithful worship of Him. Psalm 116 makes this plain for us: What shall I render to the Lord for all His bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the Name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all His people. I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving (vv.12-14, 17).
How many people offer thanksgiving to God every day? My story of the Cock’s crow heralding the dawn and today’s Gospel reading tells us that many people don’t say Thank You to God.
In the Gospel reading, Our Lord’s healing of the ten lepers paved the way to their reinstatement into society. But only one of them remembered and returned to thank Jesus. The other nine, where are they? (v.17). We don’t know why they didn’t return. The statistic would be embarrassing and shaming if only one out of every ten people alive today remembered to thank God day by day. As Christians, our job is to ensure that we are part of the one. When we pray, we don’t always remember to begin with offering thanksgiving to God. Perhaps we may feel (mistakenly) that we have a right to the blessings that God showers upon us, that we have a right to receive what we ask God for (Mt 7:7f). Indeed, we may become so hardened and full of pride that we don’t feel any need to thank Him. God is always faithful with His blessings to us because giving is in His nature. Let us be faithful too in giving thanks to Him, walking with the Lord, dying and rising with Him, and surrendering our whole selves to His service.
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, my Lord and God, for everything in my life. Amen. God bless you.