Mass readings, reflections and activities for The Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
Reflection
In a parallel to the First Reading from 2 Kings 5:14-17, this passage from the Gospel of Luke also features the healing of an outsider and a subsequent confession of faith. Both readings depict the sharp contrast between our human tendency to exclude, reject and ignore foreigners, and God’s lavish showering of mercy on both insiders and outsiders, on both the grateful and the ungrateful. The bitter irony in this lesson is that if we reject God’s gift of salvation, it will nevertheless be offered and even accepted by those whom we have written off as “not belonging.” God’s mercy will not stop at divisions and boundaries of any kind.
(Reflection: Diocese of Saskatoon)
Background on the Gospel Reading Today we hear about how Jesus, continuing on his journey to Jerusalem, heals 10 lepers. This story is a lesson about faith and reminds us that faith is sometimes found in unlikely places. Ten people afflicted with leprosy cry out to Jesus. Struck with pity, Jesus heals all 10. However, only one is described as glorifying God and returning to thank Jesus. The one who returns is a Samaritan, a foreigner. In the Jewish circles in which Jesus lived, Samaritans were looked down upon because of the differences between the two communities in their observance of Judaism. It is significant, therefore, that Jesus commends the Samaritan for his faith, which has been his salvation. Throughout Luke's Gospel, faith is found in surprising places. Another lesson for us in this Gospel has to do with salvation. All 10 of the lepers were given the gift of healing, but in his gratitude to God for this gift, the Samaritan found salvation. Our salvation is found in recognizing the gifts we have been given and knowing to whom we must offer our thanks. Source Loyola PressReflections
