Two weeks ago, a friend of mine passed away. My friend, a good guy who, from my perspective, lived a life full of joy—he will be missed. He left behind a wife and two school-aged children. It has made me reflect on my life and my shortcomings as a Christian, husband, and father.

The truth is that for the past two weeks, I have been wondering how to capture that joy. In many ways, I believe it is my failure to thank God for the blessings he has bestowed on me in my life that prevents me from living said joy. The Church, in its wisdom, has paired two readings together in the Liturgy of the Word that are intimately connected to this act of giving thanksgiving to God.

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In our first reading, Naaman, a commander of the Aramean army, is a leper in need of healing. Naaman is sent by his king to the king of Israel in search of the “prophet of Samaria.” Naaman finds the prophet Elisha, and he is told to go and wash in the Jordan seven times. Naaman is angry, but as Alice L. Laffey remarks, “He expected the extraordinary; the ordinary was sufficient to his need. What he needed was to believe the word of the prophet!”[1] Naaman is convinced to finally wash by the instructions given to him by Elisha, which causes him to profess faith in the God of Israel.

In our gospel for today, Jesus is met on the road traveling through Samaria and Galilee on His way to Jerusalem by ten lepers. Note the mention of Jesus traveling through Samaria because it is unique to the Gospel of Luke. Luke is framing Jesus typologically as the new Prophet of Samaria. Of course, both the readings in the Old Testament and the gospel deal with healing from leprosy and the thanksgiving given to God. In the gospel narrative, ten lepers are healed by faith by following the directions of Jesus to present themselves to the priests at the temple. However, one former leper returns to thank Jesus once he discovers the reality of his healing.

Jesus tells the former leper, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? 18 Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” 19 Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”[2]

Michael F. Patella notes something unique in Luke’s gospel, “Luke’s eschatological vision comes into focus with the emphasis on faith in verse 19…that his faith has “saved” him. The leper is not only saved from his leprosy but gains eternal salvation—all from faith.”[3]

But there is something deeper at work with Luke’s understanding of faith tied to thanksgiving by giving glory to God. The Greek word used by Luke is related to our word for Eucharist, which means thanksgiving.[4] The truth is that I don’t know how much longer I will be here on earth with my wife and my kids. They are the greatest blessing given to me by God. My family is my path to becoming a Saint. They help inspire my faith in God which leads me to salvation. They are my joy. May I never tire of giving thanks for them to God—and let me never forget to do so while present at the celebration of the mass.

Take a moment to examine your own blessings and thank God for what He has given you.

[1] Alice L. Laffey, First and Second Kings, ed. Daniel Durken, vol. 9, The New Collegeville Bible Commentary (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2012), 102.

[2] New American Bible, Revised Edition. (Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011), Lk 17:17–19.

[3] Michael F. Patella, “The Gospel according to Luke,” in New Testament, ed. Daniel Durken, The New Collegeville Bible Commentary (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2009), 281.

[4] Pablo T. Gadenz, The Gospel of Luke, ed. Peter S. Williamson and Mary Healy, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2018), 294.