THINK AND THANK
28TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
OCTOBER 10,2010

“Thank you”, “Well done”, “Good job”. We often hear these words of appreciation. This is one of the greatness of American culture. This is biblical too. All our readings for the 28th Sunday express this view. Naman came back to Elisha to show his gratitude. Our responsorial Psalms says, “Praise the Lord for He has done wonderful things for us.” The Gospel reading tells us how Jesus appreciated the Samaritan leper for his gesture of gratefulness.

THANKSGIVING IS AN EXPRESSION OF FAITH

As St. Paul rightly put it, ‘We do not have anything that is not coming from God’. A sense of gratefulness naturally flows from the gifted nature of life. The only value of our life is that it is a gift of God (Thomas Merton). Thinking of one’s blessings should stir one to thankfulness. Hence, Mary said, “My soul glorifies the greatness of the Lord.”

GRATITUDE IS OUR EXPRESSION OF OTHER-CENTEREDNESS

An egocentric person cannot appreciate the goodness in others. They feel threatened by the good of others. People of gratitude reaffirm the fact that ‘I am not the center of the world.” When I acknowledge some one’s contribution, we profess the communal nature of our human existence. “God always uses the man closest to him.”

THANKSGIVING IN ACTION

A Gratitude that is not translated into action is fake, not real. The full expression of thankfulness is commitment. Naaman said to Elisha: “ I will no longer offer sacrifices to any other God except to the Lord.” The leaper not only returned to Jesus but also expressed his willingness to follow Jesus. How do we show our gratitude?

EUCHARIST IS THE CELEBERATION OF THANKSGIVING

The word Eucharist means thanksgiving. When we gather every Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist, we are giving thanks to God through Jesus for the gift of salvation. All the Eucharist prayers and prefaces begin with prayer of thanksgiving. For example, the second Eucharistic prayer begins “Father it is our duty and salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks through your beloved son Jesus Christ.”

Let us try to be people of gratitude. A four year-old boy said he was thankful for his glasses. “Why?” someone asked him. “Because it keeps the boys from hitting me- and the girls from kissing me.”