This week, the readings have a message of healing and gratitude. Underneath this message, is the effect of faith. The lesson in the first reading complements the message of the Gospel. God’s love and graciousness is given even to the non-Jews which makes it incredible to Jesus’ disciples with their closed mentality.
The Gospel acclamation invites us to give thanks to God in everything, and the Psalmist is praising and thanking God for his gift of healing which he refers to as Salvation. This psalm somehow could be the expression of Naaman’s or the Lepers’ feelings after the healing. We might want to hear them singing:
“O sing a new song to the lord, for he has worked wonders…Shout to the Lord all the earth acclaim forth into joyous song” (Ps 98:1-4).
Their faith is a proclamation of the good news as Paul notes that faith in Christ brings freedom from our hardships hence, the good news of the risen Jesus Christ from the dead cannot be chained. By way of remembrance, last Sunday we learned that faith is a dialogue between human experience and reason, is a light that illumines human life and its horizon, and that faith is proper love and hearing God’s Word revealed in our relationship with him. Today, we can learn what faith does to a believer. Faith opens the person to the Lord’s grace and the knowledge that everything is a gift, a grace and therefore, these two words communicate faith: Thank you!
For this reason, Salvation and health are gifts, a grace to be grateful for. The healing evoked in the readings is of twofold: Salvation which is total and definitive, and it concerns the heart, then it spreads through the entire life of the person. It’s radical and saves while the other dimension of the healing concerns the body.
Similarly, for the Christian disciple, hope-filled faith and humility searches for healing and God’s healing power transforms a sinner from his/her leprosy of sin and restores one into the ecclesial communion.
Christian Action This Week: Exercise for your physical fitness and health and take the sacrament of healing/penance. Then with Eucharist you will grow in salvation and build community.
Joy and Peace.