Realization
through Expression
October 9, 2016 THE TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR C
Inventory
What
encourages you to keep trying to change the world? When you see or hear about
the bad things people do, is it your constant practice to remember the good
things you have seen or heard about God doing? Do you take note and acknowledge
these good things by explicitly thanking God for them?
Input
The
Responsorial Psalm states a fact that
the Alleluia verse calls us to celebrate:
“The Lord has revealed to the
nations his saving power” (Psalm
98). Therefore “In all circumstances,
give thanks….” (1Thessalonians
5:18). The readings show us people doing this in order to encourage us to do
likewise. But if we sometimes fail to give thanks and remember, the Entrance Antiphon assures us that the
most important thing is not what we do, but what God is: “But you are forgiving, God of Israel.” That is also something to
give thanks to God for — repeatedly.
In
the Opening Prayer(s) we ask God to
make his “love the foundation of our
lives.” For this to be effectively real, there has to be an abiding awareness of his love that underlies
everything we think, do and experience.
We need to notice and acknowledge repeatedly that “the hand of God’s loving kindness” is guiding “all the moments of our day.” In order to assimilate his love for
us, we ask “may our love for you express
itself in our eagerness to do good for others.” Loving makes us aware of being loved. When God gives us the
power to love others — even our enemies — we begin to realize the scope of his
power to love us.
Experience
made aware
In
the story of 2Kings 5: 14-17 Naaman
made a common mistake. When he asked Elisha to cure him and was told to just go
wash in the river, he did not think that was impressive enough:
“I thought that for me he would surely
come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave
his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! Are not … the rivers of Damascus,
better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?”
He turned and went away in a rage.
But
his servants convinced him:
If the prophet had commanded you to do
something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he
said to you was, ‘”Wash, and be clean”?
And
he was cured.
But
the story doesn’t end there — just as none of our prayers to God should end
when they are answered. Naaman “returned with his whole retinue” to Elisha to
thank him and he acknowledged, “There is no God in all the earth, except in
Israel.” His awareness of who God was
and what he had done for him became complete in his expression of faith and gratitude: “I will no longer offer burnt
offering or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD.” The “dynamic
triangle” of life, both human and divine, is awareness (cp. the Father) and expression
(cp. the Son) augmented by sharing (cp.
the Spirit) with others.
Faith
experience
In
Luke 27: 11-19 we see the same
dynamic triangle: Jesus cured ten lepers, but when they became aware of their
cure, only one returned to express that awareness in thanksgiving. And he
shared the experience with everyone in hearing: “Praising God with a loud
voice, he prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him.” To him alone
Jesus spoke the confirming words: “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
The
other nine were physically healed, but for them the event did not become the
faith-experience it should have. And when God answers our prayers, the
experience does not become for us the faith-experience it should be until we
acknowledge his response with an expression of gratitude; one — depending on
the nature of the event — preferably shared with others.
Stewardship
Support
In
2Timothy 2: 8-13 St. Paul declares
he will “bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen” — and
entrusted to his care. Why? Because he believes in Christ’s power and victory:
“we shall live with him… reign with him.” He is not discouraged: even “if we
are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”
God’s
power and fidelity, not ours, is the foundation of our hope: “The Lord has revealed to the nations his
saving power.” Therefore “In all
circumstances, give thanks….” “You
are forgiving, God of Israel.”
For
whom and for what are we responsible as stewards
of Christ’s kingship? For the whole world and every person in it. We are
committed by our baptismal consecration as “kings
in the King” to bring every human heart, every area and activity of human
life on earth, under the lifegiving reign of Christ. This is overwhelming. To
persevere we need to remain aware, that “the
hand of God’s loving kindness” is guiding “all the moments of our day.” To support us, “the Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.” But we need
to recall his great deeds and express
the faith and hope to which they call us. “In
all circumstances,” we need to “give
thanks.”
The
support of stewardship is faith-sharing and celebration.
Insight
How have you
experienced God answering your prayers, intervening in your life? Did thanking
him or sharing the experience with others add anything? What?
Initiative:
Form
the habit of asking God for everything you need and thanking him for everything
you receive.
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