Saint Rita Catholic Church and School in Webster, NY - An Introduction to Sunday's Scripture Readings

“Stand Up And Go, Your Faith Has Saved You”

Our Readings this Sunday continue our discussion from last week about the importance of faith. But also this week, we hear of God’s healing touch in response to our faith and then, our response to God’s healing.

Our first reading from the Second Book of Kings (2 KGS 5:14-17) compliments today’s Gospel reading very nicely. It is the story of Naaman, a pagan army general who was healed of his leprosy by the Prophet Elisha. In the pagan world, there were many local gods, but no overarching God of all. Naaman, in his gratitude, recognized the Lord as the one true God of all the earth. Naaman’s response to his healing went beyond gratitude to actual conversion.

In our Epistle reading (2 Timothy 2:8-13), St. Paul reminds his readers of the Gospel he preached and his suffering in prison for preaching the Gospel, gladly on their behalf. He offered encouragement to remain faithful despite their current sufferings. But he also offered a word of caution of the consequences of denying that which they knew to be true—that Christ brought salvation to the world through His death and resurrection. “If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with Him.“

In our Gospel reading (Luke 17:11-19), we hear the story of ten lepers who came to Jesus begging to be healed. Jesus sent them off to show themselves to the priests. On the way, they were healed. One of them, a Samaritan, realized he was healed and immediately returned to the Lord in thanksgiving. The others, presumably, went on to show themselves to the priests. The Samaritan, though, had his priorities straight—first, give thanks and praise to God. As a result, he was not only healed physically, but spiritually. "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

The Greek word used for “Thanksgiving” in today’s Gospel reading is, “Eucharist”. Coming to Jesus in the Eucharist could be our surest way to give praise and thanksgiving to God for His healing touch in our lives. Today, it might be good to take stock—in what ways have we been healed by God? Has there been healing in our lives where we haven’t even noticed? How have we responded to God?

This is a good thought to have in our minds the next time we come to Jesus in the Eucharist.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101225.cfm