XXVIII Sunday Ordinary Time (C) – October 13, 2013 ~ Gospel reading: Luke 17: 11-19

XXVIII Sunday Ordinary Time (C) – October 13, 2013 ~ Gospel reading: Luke 17: 11-19

Fr. Charles Johnson, O.P.

 

Have you ever been frustrated by thinking up the perfect comeback in a discussion or argument, but well after the fact?  Or, maybe you have thought of how you should have acted in a similar moment, only to regret that the opportunity is now part of the past.

Personally, I have, on occasion, found such experiences, and my posterior thinking, to be a little frustrating.  However, maybe the Holy Spirit is at work in ways we might not fully appreciate in those moments.

Very often, our “reactions” run the risk of not being the most charitable.  We can often regret what we might say in certain moments of tension.  So, being slow to react can sometimes be a good thing.  Maybe we should be thankful.  Perhaps, such experiences of minor frustration have more to do with wishing we could have reacted better in a particular situation, instead of how we should respond.  

Reacting and responding might appear to be very similar and spontaneous in character, but they can be quite different.  They can be very different in origin, intention and effect. 

Reacting, very often, is more reflexive in nature and can be harsh.  Even the terms we use, such as to make a good come-back or get the last word, to snap back or recoil, do not conjure up images of cooperation and friendliness.

To distinguish the two, let’s consider the Samaritan leper who Jesus healed.  I would say that responding has as much to do with our interior disposition as it does with what we experience from others or on the outside. 

Jesus healed spontaneously and, I imagine for those ten lepers, unexpectedly.  Keep in mind that lepers in the time of Jesus were not the recipients of much care or concern from others.  Sadly, though, even rejection and the pain of isolation can harden the hearts of those who suffer. 

They all wanted to be cleansed, but it seems that the one grateful Samaritan believed that Jesus would do the good deed they clamored for because he trusted in the Lord’s compassion for them. 

That one man’s inner disposition was obviously different from the rest.  The Samaritan responded spontaneously because he had a grateful, not hardened, heart. 

He not only knew who to thank first, he also knew the good that had been done to him.  He was not only cleansed, but more than that, he was healed.  There one can discern the distinction – react or respond. 

In the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, St. Maximillian Kolbe saw the ten men pulled aside for execution.  When he realized that one of them had a wife and children, the saint stepped forward and offered himself in place of the husband and father.  A reaction?  No, it was a response born of love.

On the surface, St. Maximillian’s gesture seems spontaneous.  It was, but it was far from being rash or impulsive.  It was, truly, a response and not a reaction. 

Spontaneity in the name of love has deep roots of faith and gratitude.  

Gratitude is one very simple and holy way to make the sometimes mindless movement of the world slow down.  Try saying, “thank you” to others and notice the reactions you get.

As the healed Samaritan ran back to Jesus to give thanks, he seems to put time in reverse.  But in that moment, there was no backing up, but a going forward in faith.  

Fr. Henri Nouwen writes that one of his turning points in life occurred when he realized that his life belonged to others just as much as it belonged to himself.  He understood that because he trusted that no matter what, he was, like all of us, God’s beloved. 

With that a your starting point, be assured that while you might not always react in the most winning fashion, your response will be one that does not bring you regret, but more faith.

First, be grateful, then you will know the “who, what, when, where, how and why” of saying “thank you.”  Perhaps, it will be the first step of making the world more like a home for others, and for Christ.