Return to Give thanks To God
october 12, 2025 | 28th sunday in ordinary time, Year C
2 kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19
“Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” “Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Today’s liturgy invites us to give thanks. The Acknowledging of God is a dominant subject in the entire Scriptures. The Bible, in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". However, like the ten lepers, very few of us have made gratitude for their attitude. Yet, through the one leper who returned to give thanks, Jesus is inviting each of us to express our profound gratitude to God’s goodness, mercy and unconditional love in our daily lives.
Stand up and go; your faith has saved you
We note that all the ten lepers were physically healed but this was only a kind of superficial healing. But only to the one who came back to give thanks, the Lord said: “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you” (Luke 17:19). Brothers and sisters, true profound healing is “salvation” (Late Pope Benedict XVI). It is our personal relationship with God, which is expressed through gratitude. Faith is that instrument of salvation for, “Those who died with Christ will live with him and those who persevere with him, shall also reign with him” (2 Timothy 2:12). It is faith that led Naaman to plunge into Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God, and he was healed from his leprosy.
True faith leads to gratitude
Gratitude is a direct result of faith. Gratitude comes from the recognition that everything one has is a gift or blessing from the loving and merciful God. In the first reading Naaman returns with his whole retinue (all his tithing) to Elisha and pleads with him to accept his offering because he is aware that, not the river Jordan, but God is the source of his healing. He now decides to offer his love, worship and sacrifices to God alone. Faith changes our attitude towards worship and how we worship God. True Faith means trusting in the divine sovereign plan at work even in times of trials and adversity. In the Gospel, the only leper who was deeply healed was the one who returned to give thanks out of faith in the God who healed him.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good (Psalm 118:1)
Through every Eucharist, let's approach the Lord with thanksgiving (Col. 3:15) in response to his gift of salvation. As we bring him every aspect of parish life, family life, social, and all other concerns, worries, and dreams, let’s remember to give Him thanks for the gift of our salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord. "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus". (Philippians 4:6-7). This Sunday we are told to avoid being like the nine ungrateful lepers but to always return to God’s house with thanksgiving and praise and “through Jesus, we continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God” (Hebrews 13:15)
Fr. Georges Roger Bidzogo sac
Living The Gospel This Week: Importance of gratitude.
Going through today’s readings, I wanted to share with you a living example of gratitude. That is our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. On his 70th birthday, Pope Leo XIV expressed his gratitude to God, stating, "I give thanks to the Lord." Thanking God for his parents and God’s faithfulness in his past, he recognizes gratitude is a spiritual act with significant weight, capable of shifting atmospheres and connecting one to heaven. Paul says in today’s 2nd reading: “This saying is trustworthy: if we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”
(2 Timothy 2:12-13).
Gratitude is another way of declaring our faith and trust in God’s power even in the midst of struggles, inviting divine power to create a positive mindset. When we say thank you, we allow heaven to open and unleash God’s grace and breakthroughs.
Fr. Georges Roger Bidzogo sac