TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME October 9, 2016

Contributed by Father Tim Uniac, C.R. Father Tim was ordained in 1986. Over the years Father Tim has served in parish ministry as both Assistant Pastor and Pastor. For a number of years he worked full time in youth ministry. He has served his Religious Community as Vocation Director and as Vicar (Assistant) Provincial. Currently he serves his Community internationally as the Vicar General, residing in Rome, Italy. TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME October 9, 2016 Introduction to the Word: GATHERING TIME (10-15 Minutes) Early on the morning of my 40 th birthday I was being wheeled into an operating room to undergo surgery. I like to think I am somewhat normal, so I admit to being a little anxious, nervous and fearful. The doctor entered the room, greeted me, and once again explained what was about to happen. After that he surprised me a little when he asked for the attention of everyone in the room, when he had their attention he then introduced me, told everyone a little bit about me and why I was in the operating room. I felt some of my anxiety decrease I was not just an unnamed 40- year-old male with the following medical condition, I had a name and my disease did not define who I was. Then the doctor surprised me even further when he then asked everyone in the room to introduce themselves to me and explain their role in the surgery. They were no longer masked, unknown people, they too had names and they were there to take care of me. My anxiety decreased even more. However, my doctor was not yet finished. After everyone was done introducing themselves, he said: Let us pray. At which point everyone in the room laid hands on me as the doctor said a prayer the touch of other human beings was now actually taking away all my anxiety, I felt safe and that everything was going to be okay. As I drifted off into surgery dreamland I did so with a sense of peace. I often think of that experience, perhaps never more so than when I read in the Scriptures about the ill, sick and diseased people, most especially the lepers we meet in today s Gospel. Most certainly the lepers carried the burden of their disease, but I believe they carried an even greater burden. They carried the burden of being outcasts from society, leading an incredibly lonely life, a life that hungered for human interaction, a longing to feel the embrace and touch of another human being. Jesus, the physician and healer, understood this very well. He understood the healing power of 1

human interaction and human touch. Jesus was keenly aware that we as humans are social beings, that interaction with one another is essential to our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. While medical science and doctors are unable to fully and medically explain how human touch can bring healing, there is one thing we know with absolute certainty human interaction, human touch, can indeed heal! Jesus showed this to be true. Warm-up Activity (about 8-10 minutes): The sharing of our life experiences is sometimes a difficult and challenging thing to do, for it requires not only risk on our part, but it also requires the trust of those with whom we are sharing. There are many benefits to sharing with others events that have shaped our very lives, perhaps nothing more so than the hope that our sharing can ignite in others. All too often many of us go through life thinking we are the only ones who had a particular life-experience. There is a certain level of loneliness that this idea can develop within us, a loneliness that can begin to take away our hope. When we share with others, we give them hope, even if we are unaware this is happening. When we share with others, we remind them they are not alone, others have had similar experiences. To the extent that you are comfortable, share with the group a life-experience where human touch and human interaction brought you healing, whether that was physical, emotional or spiritual. The Table of the Word THEME Canadian Thanksgiving It was in 1879 that the Canadian government declared that there was to be an annual national day of thanksgiving, a celebration of the harvest and other blessings of the past year. However, it would not be until 1957 that a fixed annual date for this day of thanksgiving was established when the Canadian Parliament proclaimed: A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed to be observed on the 2 nd Monday in October. It is interesting to note that the Canadian government said that the direction of our thanks was to be towards God, the source of all the blessings which Canadians have received. At its very foundation, Canadian Thanksgiving was meant to be a religious celebration of God's blessings. The lepers in the readings for this Sunday will remind us that for the things we have received from God (in their case a cure) we are to respond with thanks and gratitude to God by praising God with a loud voice. May the celebration of Thanksgiving be loud and boisterous as God is offered thanks for all we have received. Leader: True disciples recognize the need for the graces and blessings of God in order to announce the Word of God to the world. Lord Jesus, grant us the grace to believe in your Word, Christ Jesus, grant us the grace to live your Word, Lord Jesus, grant us the grace to proclaim your Word, Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. 2

Let us pray (together) May your Grace, O Lord, we pray, at all times go before us and follow after and make us always determined to carry out good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. SCRIPTURE REFLECTION TIME (45 minutes) (As Christians we believe that the WORD of God we hear proclaimed each Sunday is an empowering Word, and that God is present in the Word proclaimed. This is the Word that God wants us to hear today. The dynamic of the Small Christian Community, namely, reflecting on our life story within the context of this Word, and sharing the insights of these reflections, is such that God s Spirit becomes present, and the gifts of the Spirit are experienced as empowering and life giving.) FIRST READING (2 Kings 5:14-17) Naaman went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant. But he said, As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing! He urged him to accept, but he refused. Then Naaman said, If not, please let two mule-loads of earth be given to your servant; for your servant will no longer offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god accept the Lord. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. SECOND READING (2 Timothy 2:8-13) My beloved, remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David that is my Gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. GOSPEL (Luke 17:11-19) On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, 3

Jesus, Master, have mercy on us! When he saw them, he said to them, Go and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. Then Jesus asked, Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? Then he said to him, Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well. The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ. Lectio Divina means sacred prayer through sacred reading. It was a popular form of prayer in the early Church. This Word proclaimed today is God's own Word, God's way of speaking to you today through God's own Spirit. So take a few moments to be quiet, allowing this Word you have just heard to touch you or soak into you as you reflect quietly on the three readings. Is there a word or thought that somehow attracts you or has your interest? If so, simply identify it and describe it in a few words. COMMENTARY: The Books of Kings, both 1 st and 2 nd, cover the period from the death of King David (970 BCE) to the fall of the Kingdom of Judah in 586 BCE. Today's passage falls within the time of the prophetic stories of Elijah and Elisha, during the days of the Aramaean wars. Damascus is the center of Aramaean power and is at war with the northern Kingdom of Israel. This information, and the verses immediately preceding today's reading (5:1-13), are important in helping us understand the reading for today. Naaman, a great military general and commander of the army of the King of Aram, from the Aramaean power centre of Damascus, suffers from leprosy. One of his servant girls, a slave captured from the land of Israel, suggests Naaman go to Samaria and seek out the man of God (Elisha) for a cure. Naaman finds Elisha who instructs him to bathe in the River Jordan. Naaman is angered by this instruction for it is too simple a task for such a great man as he after all, the rivers in Damascus are surely better than the River Jordan! The servants of Naaman eventually convince him to bathe in the Jordan by telling him if the task were difficult he would have gladly carried it out, so what s the harm in an easy task? This brings us to today's reading. Naaman is cured, and proclaims there is no greater god than the God of Israel. The great and powerful military leader, from the great city of Damascus, at war with the northern Kingdom of Israel, is cured by the God of his enemies. The Gospel today, like the first reading, presents us with a curing of leprosy, and like the first reading, the cure comes by a simple command: bathe in the River Jordan, and show yourselves to the priest. Like Naaman in the first reading, the cured leper who returns to Jesus does so praising God in a loud voice. Unlike the first reading the Gospel reveals that the cure was the result of faith on the part of those seeking to be cured, the lepers show their faith, twice! The first time is when they ask to be cured, the second time is when they go off to show themselves to the priest. This Gospel passage, and the Gospel passages for the past three weeks, have shown us the importance of faith in God and the importance of giving thanks to God for what was done. A reminder to us that our faith encounter with Jesus should evoke a response of praise and gratitude on our parts. The second reading, from Paul to Timothy, takes on the form of a farewell discourse, for Paul knows he will soon die. In the letter, Paul puts himself forward as an example, an example for 4

others to follow. Paul says he is willing to suffer hardships for the Gospel, and that he does so for the sake of others so that they may also obtain the salvation.... Paul is exhorting Timothy (and us) to remember his faithful testimony of the Gospel, to be inspired by his example, and to follow in his footsteps. Allow 5 10 minutes for the participants to react to the Commentary to identify a newly discovered insight. QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION: 2 Kings 5:14-17 There is no God in all the earth except in Israel The life of Naaman would never be the same due to his encounter with God. What encounters have you had with God that have changed or affected your life? Even the simplest of encounters with God can change our lives forever. 2 Timothy 2:8-13 The Word of God is not chained Paul reminds us that while he himself could be chained, the Word of God cannot. The news that Jesus died for us to set us free can not be chained, cannot be held back. What does it mean to you that nothing can hold back this message of our salvation? What responsibility do we have to proclaim this message? Luke 17:11-19 Your faith has made you well It is interesting that Jesus does not say: I made you well or God made you well. Jesus proclaims that the faith of the leper made him well. It must have been a very deep faith! How can we cultivate that kind of depth of faith, both in ourselves and in others? CARING-PRAYING TIME: (15-20 minutes) Word of the Week: As the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will accept nothing! Suggestion for the Week: During the days of Jesus, lepers were the outcasts of society. They were supposedly being punished for some sort of sin: they had to ring a bell or shout to warn others they were coming near, they lived outside the protective walls of the city, their life was miserable and painful, and they were not to be touched. Jesus was not afraid to encounter lepers, he touched them physically, spiritually and emotionally. Think about how the example of Jesus in this regard can impact and change our lives. Are there lepers in our own lives desperately in need of being touched? (i.e., the sick, the lonely, the bereaved, the homeless, etc.) What graces do we need in order to reach out and touch as Jesus did? Where do we begin? 5

Intercessions: (Response: Lord, hear our prayer) Leader: The Lord Jesus hears those calling out to him in faith, just as he heard the call of the lepers to be cured. With strength of faith, and confidence in Jesus' response, we place our prayers into his hands. For all those who shepherd us in faith, may their example of faith lead us closer to our God, we pray... For those who suffer from life-threatening illness, may their sharing in the Lord's Passion in their lives be rewarded with a heavenly life free from all pain and suffering, we pray... For all the lepers of our world, those who are considered outcasts of society, grant us the graces necessary to touch them physically, emotionally and spiritually, we pray... For the strength to follow in the footsteps of St. Paul, to unchain the Word of God and proclaim it with boldness, we pray... For the people of Canada who celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, may their hearts be filled with joy and thanks for all they have received from God, we pray... For unity and peace among people of all faiths throughout the world, we pray... For the blessings of eternal life to rest upon all who have died in Christ, may they feast with great joy and thanks at the heavenly banquet table, we pray... How can we help you in prayer this week? Let us pray (together) Lord, our help and guide, make your love the foundation of our lives. May our love for you express itself in our eagerness to do good for others. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. With hands and hearts united in gratitude for God's favours today, we pray that all those in our influence be moved to be open to your Word and your Spirit, while we pray as one, OUR FATHER... Celebrating the Word, Resurrection Ministries of the Congregation of the Resurrection Ontario-Kentucky Province (including the former Resurrection Centre), 265 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G7. (Celebrating the Word was founded by Father Frank Ruetz, C.R. deceased 2012). For information: Toll Free: 1-877-242-7935. website: www.resurrectionists.ca. Email: theword@resurrectionists.ca The Scripture version used in this commentary is the New Revised Standard Version (copyrighted by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA). 6