Scripture is full of stories about people looking for God in booming voices, dramatic miracles and spectacular fireworks. Elijah sought God in strong winds, an earthquake and fire but God came to him in a tiny, whispering sound (1 Kings 19:11-13). Naaman the Syrian, a gentile, came to Israel seeking healing for his leprosy (2 Kings 5:1-19). He expected an extraordinary display of power from Elisha who merely told him to “go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” Naaman was so incredulous that he had a big temper tantrum after which he followed Elisha’s instructions. And this is where our first reading today begins. Naaman is healed physically and spiritually, not by flashy magic but by the “word of the man of God.” His heart was so full of gratitude that he offered Elisha gifts of gold and silver. But Elisha refused the gifts because God healed Naaman and Naaman’s newfound faith is more than adequate recompense.
The healings we read about in today’s gospel (Luke 17:11-19), are similar to Naaman’s in that the simple words of Jesus, “go show yourselves to the priests,” are sufficient to heal the ten lepers. However, only the Samaritan realizes that his healing is the work of God. Rather than run off to show himself to the priest, he returned to glorify God and thank Jesus. And, like Naaman, the Samaritan was saved because of his faith.
If we go through life looking for the hand of God only in the spectacular we run the risk of missing God in all the wonderful, ordinary manifestations of His love. God works miracles everyday through our simple acts of kindness, friendship, faith, love, sacrifice and giving. It is easy to remember to thank God for all the big, life-saving events of life. It is much more challenging to remember to thank God for His simple gifts. During this next week let’s show our gratitude to God by remembering to thank Him for each day, for the food we eat, for the gift of life, for our families, for our friends, for our health and mostly for His love and for the gift of salvation that Jesus Christ won for us.
How great is your goodness, dear Lord!
Blessed are you forever!
May all created things praise you, O God,
for loving us so much that we can truthfully speak
of your fellowship with mankind, even in this earthly exile;
and however virtuous we may be,
our virtue always depends on your great warmth
and generosity, dear Lord.
Your bounty is infinite.
How wonderful are your works!
St. Teresa of Avila
