Sunday Scripture Readings: Studies and Meditations, October 10

[Fidelis]

I find it hard to answer some of the personal reflection questions like: What happened to the other 9 lepers? The difference between God’s saving power and healing power…

Actually, we have no way of knowing precisely, because St. Luke doesn’t tell us. But this is one of those things we are free to speculate about, based on what we know about the Gospel and about human nature, about in the hope that it gives us further personal insight into this passage. Here is the question again:

• What do you think

 

[Fidelis]

Returning Thanks
from Dr. Scott Hahn

A foreign leper is cleansed and in thanksgiving returns to offer homage to the God of Israel. We hear this same story in both the First Reading and Gospel today.

There were many lepers in Israel in Elisha’s time, but only Naaman the Syrian trusted in God’s Word and was cleansed (see Luke 5:12-14). Today’s Gospel likewise implies that most of the 10 lepers healed by Jesus were Israelites - but only a foreigner, the Samaritan, returned.

In a dramatic way, we’re being shown today how faith has been made the way to salvation, the road by which all nations will join themselves to the Lord, becoming His servants, gathered with the Israelites into one chosen people of God, the Church (see Isaiah 56:3-8).

Today’s Psalm also looks forward to the day when all peoples will see what Naaman sees - that there is no God in all the earth except the God of Israel.

We see this day arriving in today’s Gospel. The Samaritan leper is the only person in the New Testament who personally thanks Jesus. The Greek word used to describe his “giving thanks” is the word we translate as “Eucharist.”

And these lepers today reveal to us the inner dimensions of the Eucharist and sacramental life.

We, too have been healed by our faith in Jesus. As Naaman’s flesh is made again like that of a little child, our souls have been cleansed of sin in the waters of Baptism. We experience this cleansing again and again in the Sacrament of Penance - as we repent our sins, beg and receive mercy from our Master, Jesus.

We return to glorify God in each Mass, to offer ourselves in sacrifice - falling on our knees before our Lord, giving thanks for our salvation.

In this Eucharist, we remember “Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David,” Israel’s covenant king. And we pray, as Paul does in today’s Epistle, to persevere in this faith - that we too may live and reign with Him in eternal glory.

 

[Fidelis]

The difference between God’s saving power and healing power…

This is the other question you are asking about? It’s from the “Word Among Us” meditation:

1. The response in the responsorial psalm is, “The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.” What is the difference between God’s healing power and his saving power? How have you personally experienced the Lord’s saving power?

I would say this: both kinds (all kinds) of power come from God, but he directs them in different ways, to different purposes and are, in a sense, dependent on our response for their efficacy. Very simply:

1. Healing power - When God breaks into out daily lives as we turn to him and heals our infirmities and sorrows. Some of these can be physical, but more often the healing takes place in our hearts and minds as we are healed of sorrow, old hurts and patterns of sin in our lives. This type of healing power is often neccesary to enable us to be open to God’s saving power.

2.** Saving power - **The power of God that leads us to salvation; saving us from the corruption of this world and making our destiny live eternal with him–provided, as the Second Reading tells us, we persevere a do not deny Christ in our words and our deeds. This also involves our response to God’s initiative of grace (God always take the initiative, and even gives us the grace to respond to it; we need only say ‘yes’).

 

[Fidelis]

From Presentation Ministries:

SKIN-GRAFT

*“His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child.” *—2 Kings 5:14

We have all become spiritual lepers through sin. Many of us are ashamed of what we’ve done. Although we’ve asked for God’s forgiveness, we don’t feel forgiven, but “dirty” and defiled. The Lord wants not only to heal us but to restore our innocence. When God healed Naaman of leprosy, Naaman did not receive the skin of an adult, but “his flesh became again like the flesh of a little child” (2 Kgs 5:14).

Do you recall the innocence, delight, and carefree nature of childhood? God wants to give us a new, fresh, untarnished outlook on life. By His grace, we can “acquire a fresh, spiritual way of thinking” (Eph 4:23). We can recover our lost innocence by:

1. forgiving those who have hurt us,
2. repenting of our sins and going to Confession,
3. asking others to pray over us for healing,
4. washing in God’s word (see Eph 5:26; Jn 15:3),
5. praising and thanking the Lord, and
6. fasting.

To sum up, we are purified by obeying the Lord. He will thoroughly wash us of our guilt and cleanse us of our sins (Ps 51:3-4).

**Prayer: **Father, purify me “from every defilement of flesh and spirit” (2 Cor 7:1) so I strive to fulfill my consecration perfectly.
Promise: “If we have died with Him we shall also live with Him; if we hold out to the end we shall also reign with Him.” —2 Tm 2:11-12
Praise: Praise You, risen Jesus. You promise to give us not just life after death, but a glorious, completely new life. Alleluia!

 

[kelvinf]

Actually, we have no way of knowing precisely, because St. Luke doesn’t tell us. But this is one of those things we are free to speculate about, based on what we know about the Gospel and about human nature, about in the hope that it gives us further personal insight into this passage. Here is the question again:
My personal feeling is that they did as Jesus told them to and were healed of their leprosy. But that was as far as it went; they probably didn’t gain a complete healing like the Samaritan leper. Why not? Because, by all indications, they did not have the gratitude that he possessed and the great humility to return to his healer and savior, Jesus, and thank him for the good he had done him. This man, I would wager, went on to become a great saint. The other lepers, as far as we can tell, just went on with their ordinary lives.

 

[Fidelis]

Ok, the common denominators: suffering, faith and salvation.

Paul was suffering for the sake of the Word. He died with him and shall therefore live with him. Naaman and the lepers were also suffering. Because of faith, they were healed and the Samaritan was also saved. If we persevere in faith, we shall also be saved and reign with him.

I think that’s an excellent insight. The faith that overcomes or makes sense of suffering seems to be the overriding connection between the three Readings: even in the face of the unknown (Naaman), in the midst of suffering for the Gospel (Paul) and in a grateful heart toward the one in whom he had placed his faith (the Samaritan leper).

 

[Fidelis]

**Washed and Healed of the Leprosy of Sin

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, October 10, 2010** | Carl E. Olson

Recently, while preparing to teach a Bible study, I was reading the story of Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). I was struck again by how difficult it is for modern-day Americans to appreciate how radical it was for Jesus to have had a conversation with a woman who was a Samaritan and who was living a life of dubious moral quality, to put it mildly. After all, an ancient rabbinic saying declared that it was better to drink the blood of a pig than to accept Samaritan water! Thus, many ancient Jews often went out of their way to avoid contact with non-Jewish people, often for fear of embracing pagan practices, but sometimes because of the belief that they alone were meant to be God’s covenantal people.

This exclusive attitude is addressed in varying ways in today’s readings. The Old Testament reading describes the plight of Naaman, the army commander for the king of Aram, who was both a pagan and a leper. With these two strikes against him, it was understandable that the king of Israel would view with distressed suspicion the king of Aram’s request for Naaman to be cured by Elisha, “the prophet in Samaria” (2 Kgs 5:1-7).

Elisha, however, intervened and directed Naaman to wash in the muddy waters of Jordan, which elicited a cranky response from the impatient warrior: “Are not the rivers of Damascus … better than all the waters of Israel?” That response is a fitting metaphor for how many people today, used to the seemingly neatly packaged answers of modernity, are perplexed by the apparent dustiness of the teachings of the Catholic Church. How can something that seems so muddied by human weakness offer forgiveness of sins?

But Naaman, at the urging of his servants, finally relented and was “plunged into the Jordan seven times.” Here, too, is an appropriate reminder of how the lowly—the “servants” of society—often have a more clear and reasonable understanding of what God is doing. The number of plunges symbolizes the complete nature of the cleansing, for seven is the biblical number of perfection and of the covenant. Thus, Naaman’s washing in the Jordan River foreshadowed the waters of baptism, which wash away the leprosy of sin and make a new creation—“a little child” of God. For, the Catechism states, “just as the gestation of our first birth took place in water, so the water of Baptism truly signifies that our birth into the divine life is given to us in the Holy Spirit” (par 694).

Namaan, who was not a Jew, represents those countless peoples and nations who will finally be drawn into the new and everlasting covenant established by the greatest prophet, Jesus Christ, who not only utters the words of God, but is the Word of God. This same truth was proclaimed by Jesus at numerous times, including in the actions described in today’s Gospel.

In this story, which is unique to Luke, Jesus encounters ten lepers. Unclean and shunned by society (cf., Num 5:2-3), they call to him from a distance. Apparently they had heard something about this mysterious traveling teacher, for they address him as “Master,” the only time Jesus is called such by a non-disciple. Also remarkable is their faith. Having been told to go to the priests, who would see if they were clean and able to rejoin society, they obeyed—and were healed. Yet only one, a Samaritan, returned to offer thanks to the one who had delivered him from a living death. “By this,” writes Cyril of Jerusalem in his commentary on Luke’s Gospel, Jesus “shows that Israel is hard of heart and utterly unthankful.”

Like the Samaritans, the pagans, and the lepers, we also were once outcasts in need of God’s mercy. Through the waters of baptism and the saving work of the Master, we have been cleansed. May we present ourselves daily at the feet of Jesus, glorifying God and giving thanks for His gift of faith.

(This “Opening the Word” column originally appeared in a slightly different form in the October 14, 2007, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

 

[kelvinf]

The 3 “Good” Samaritans

IMO, one could say that there were actually 3 “Good” Samaritans:

1. The good Samaritan himself.
2. The thankful Samaritan leper who did homage to Jesus.
3. The missionary Samaritan woman who spread the Word and to whom Jesus acknowledged the messianic title.

 

[Fidelis]

The 3 “Good” Samaritans

IMO, one could say that there were actually 3 “Good” Samaritans:

1. The good Samaritan himself.
2. The thankful Samaritan leper who did homage to Jesus.
3. The missionary Samaritan woman who spread the Word and to whom Jesus acknowledged the messianic title.

That’s true. And recall that these Samaritans were to the Jews (Jesus’ original audience) just about the worst people imaginable (Jesus was even insulted one time by being called a Samaritan. See John 8:48).

 

[Fidelis]

Thanks to all who followed this thread to the end and to those who offered (name removed by moderator)ut. God willing, we’ll start another one next week.

 

[Crumpy]

WOW, this has been a spiritually refreshing romp through this scripture.

I’ve only had time to scroll, and that rather hastily, through all the posts.

But, what hits me about the question about the relevance of the second reading (Paul to Timothy) is that he is encouraging his sense of prophetic mission to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There is a commonality about faith–formative faith-- in that Naaman develops some vague sense of faith to listen to the Jewish slave woman.

I’m not in my league, saying this, but the slave woman herself has enormous faith to tell Naaman to go to Israel. I don’t remember the verses, but doesn’t it seem that Naaman is perhaps led off-course, to go to the Israel king? and, he’s carrying all that wealth to bribe whoever needs it, for whatever spell he is hoping for.

The Israel king is obsessed with the whole politics of this, and isn’t primarily even concerned with the gold and silver. There’s a revealling separation of church and state going on there. Joman (?) is so clueless, Elisha has to prompt him to send Naaman to him, the prophet.

Naaman is getting whip-sawed around but he still has some faith, in fact it is growing. I mean, he’s going all the way, no matter where it takes him. I guess that also parallels Paul’s advice to Timothy, to remember hiim faith and go where it takes him.

Elisha, too, is deflecting Naaman, to the river, and essentially telling him that he has to have faith in the God of Israel. That seven-fold washing, even in dirty water, is the ultimate trial of Naaman’s faith – faith with a good dose of humility. Humility is somehow essentially connected to faith, faith which leads us to the humility of service, even if the service is targeted at one’s self.

Other OT espisodes repeat this theme of perseverence. Abraham had to walk a distance of three days with Isaac, to the mountain of sacrifice. There’s a lot of time there for Abraham to waver in his faith and think of alternatives, for example.

Another example is the three days of bathing and preparation of the Israelites before they went up to the foot of the mount of Sinai to receive the covenant. Lots of time to think about matters of faith, humility, and perseverence.

Naaman’s humanity comes out, in the narrative. Today, if anybody said to repeat what Naaman did, the response would probably be “x” “y” and “z” reasons why he/she is not going to do it.

The gospel narrative teaches the lesson of coming to Jesus. The Jewish lepers who had been healed are probably racing to Jerusalem, and there is the idea that the reputation of Jesus is going to precede Him. That’s a separate part of the story. We wonder where those lepers were later on when Jesus was on trial, etc. The Samaritan leper has a special insight to return to Jesus.

I can’t say it. The Samaritan leper is not bound up with the rituals of the Jewish Law, which is something that Jesus condemns, at various points. Somehow his faith is larger and he sees the divinity in Jesus.

 

[Fidelis]

WOW, this has been a spiritually refreshing romp through this scripture.

I’ve only had time to scroll, and that rather hastily, through all the posts…

It looks like you were able to pick up some good insights.

There is a commonality about faith–formative faith-- in that Naaman develops some vague sense of faith to listen to the Jewish slave woman.

I’m not in my league, saying this, but the slave woman herself has enormous faith to tell Naaman to go to Israel. I don’t remember the verses, but doesn’t it seem that Naaman is perhaps led off-course, to go to the Israel king? and, he’s carrying all that wealth to bribe whoever needs it, for whatever spell he is hoping for.

The Israel king is obsessed with the whole politics of this, and isn’t primarily even concerned with the gold and silver. There’s a revealing separation of church and state going on there. Joman (?) is so clueless, Elisha has to prompt him to send Naaman to him, the prophet.

The interplay and the contrasts between these characters amused me too. Here we have the mighty general (Naaman) the mightier king of Aram, and the king of Israel (Joram) all clueless to the fact that there was such a mighty prophet in land as Elisha. It took the simplicity of the Israelite slave girl to show them all what they needed to know. The Aramaic king (probably Ben-Haddad II) shows his pomposity by addressing his letter to Joram, whom he presumed would command the prophet in his land. Joram thinks the king of Aram is trying to pick a fight with him, and Naaman still has his pride hurt when Elisha doesn’t even come to the door or perform some elaborate ritual over him. Lots of humbling going on here.

Anyway, thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut.

 

[Genesius]

Any other thoughts…anyone?? Anyone at all???

 

[Fidelis]

NOTE: I don’t know where Posts 51 and 52 came from, but I’ve contacted the Mod about it,

Any other thoughts…anyone?? Anyone at all???

I agree-- if anyone would like to add any additional insights, ask questions, or otherwise have some constructive comments about these Readings, please share them. The discussion doesn’t have to end because the study and meditation resources have !

 

[Genesius]

I’m a bit confused. I started a thread entitled, “Today’s Reading (Sunday, October 10, 2010)” on Sat evening, which was October 9. Nobody was responding even though there were over 40 viewers, so I posted the next one asking for any additional (name removed by moderator)ut. Then when I went to my profile to find any responses, all of a sudden I see 52 responses since yesterday…then I noticed the title of the thread had changed, and there were posts dated earlier than my original one. How does that happen?

 

[Fidelis]

I’m a bit confused. I started a thread entitled, “Today’s Reading (Sunday, October 10, 2010)” on Sat evening, which was October 9. Nobody was responding even though there were over 40 viewers, so I posted the next one asking for any additional (name removed by moderator)ut. Then when I went to my profile to find any responses, all of a sudden I see 52 responses since yesterday…then I noticed the title of the thread had changed, and there were posts dated earlier than my original one. How does that happen?

Actually it looks like the Moderators combined your thread with my thread (that’s where the 50+ responses came from).

 

[Genesius]

Oh, okay, Fidelis…thanks for clearing that up for me…