HOMILY FOR THE 28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C.

2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 97:1-4; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19.

“GRATITUDE NOT ATTITUDE!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·       It is often said that familiarity breeds contempt. And over-familiarity with spiritual things can lead to a closeness to Christ without intimacy with Christ. This familiarity can oftentimes lead us to attitude rather than gratitude.

·       Today we reflect on the theme “the power of gratitude or thanksgiving”. A lot of us have become so used to God that the things of God do not matter to us anymore. We have become used to enjoying favours from God that we think that thanking God is unnecessary.

·       We have been unfaithful to God but God has always been faithful hence we take God for granted that he will always be God while we can be anything we want to be. 

·       Today we must ask ourselves when last we offered God a sincere thanksgiving. When last did we reflect on the troubled spots in our lives from where God delivered us, have we thanked him enough? A lot of us have our personal stories of how we were delivered miraculously from awkward spots and terrible situations. At those difficult moments, a lot of us made promises to God that we are yet to fulfil.

·       Dearly beloved in Christ, the act of thanksgiving is for our good because “it adds nothing to the greatness of God but profit us for us salvation”. Our acts of thanksgiving guarantee our salvation. It was at the point of returning in thanksgiving that the Samaritan was saved. Hence ten were cleansed, but only one got salvation.

·       The mass itself is called ‘Eucharistia’ which means thanksgiving. It’s the highest prayer of the church. It means that for our acts of worship and devotion to be real, they must be inspired by a heart full of thanksgiving. 

·       Closeness to God and fervent prayers may bring us testimonies but a sincere act of thanksgiving makes permanent our divine testimonies. A lot of people say to me “I was doing well and suddenly my world is crashing”, I simply say to them have you fulfilled your promises to God? 

·       In the first reading (1 Kings 5:14-17), we see Naaman coming to thank God for the miracle he received. Yes! Even though the gift was not received, the gesture was acknowledged by God and that became a turning point in his life. 

·       Elisha did not receive the gift of gratitude from Naaman because he did not want him to think that his healing was his work. It was God who healed Naaman and no amount of gift can quantify God’s benevolence. And when Naaman understood this, he made a profession of faith “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel” (2Kings 5:15-16).

·       The healing of Naaman gives us the requirements for God’s healing testimonies. He was humble enough to listen to the instruction of the prophet, he did not remind him of his rank in society or how busy he is. He was fervent in seeking God’s intervention and he acknowledged the supremacy of God in all things.

·       In the Gospel reading (Luke 17:11-19), also we see the healing of ten lepers and in the end, only came back to give thanks. We were not told if leprosy came back after the initial healing, but from the response of Jesus, we understand that offering thanks made permanent the healing of the one leper (a foreigner) that came back in thanksgiving.

·       The ten lepers represent the state of sin, it is the symbol of sin, human misery, of separation from God and one’s neighbour. But their contact with Jesus changed all that.

·       Today we must examine ourselves and ask ourselves about the various situations we have cheated God, situations we thought we have fooled God, and situations we played a smart one on God. For your healing to be permanent, for your testimony to be permanent, go back and give God thanks and fulfil your promises to him. 

·       The acts of thanksgiving do not necessarily mean material things it could be in the form of a total change of a sinful lifestyle. Offering prayers for the dead, visiting the sick and the less privileged, and supporting the church in various ways. 

·       Today it may seem impossible but we must know that we hold our destiny and testimony in our own hands. God will always be God but God cannot be fooled or outsmarted.

·       Today the responsorial psalm reminds us that God has shown his salvation to the nations. What is that salvation? That we now know the truth and we must now let that truth set us free. We must stop robbing God, we must stop promising and failing God. We must stop being unfaithful to God because he is always faithful. 

·       The alternative gospel acclamation tells us “For all things give thanks because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18). When last did you give God thanks despite all odds, even when you do, are you compelled to do it or is it spontaneously because it is the right thing to do?

·       Living a life that is full of testimony comes with a prize which may not come easy but St Paul in the second reading (2 Timothy 2:8-13) guarantees us that we have a saying that we can rely on: “if have died with him, then we shall live with him, if we hold firm, then we shall reign with him, if we disown him, then he will disown us, we may be unfaithful, but he is always faithful” (2 Timothy 2:12).

·       Today going forward, we must make our daily life an attitude of gratitude so that it can lead to beatitude! May God give us the grace to remain thankful so that our healing and testimonies may be permanent through Christ our Lord, Amen!!! 

·       Happy Sunday!!!