Podcast: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Hi and welcome to the Modern Psalmist Podcast. I’m Rebecca De La Torre.

This weekend we celebrate the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. The readings for today focus on the Lord healing his people and blessing those who seek him. There is also emphasis placed on the importance of thanking the Lord for his blessings.

The first reading, from 2 Kings, recounts the story of the leper Naaman being healed when he washed in the Jordan as instructed by prophet Elisha. In the latter part of verse 14 we read:

“His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child,
and he was clean of his leprosy.”

Naturally, after being healed from one of the most miserable diseases of the time, Naaman wanted to thank Elisha by offering him a gift. But Elisha, knowing that the power came from God and not himself, refused the gift, saying

“As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it”

Therefore Naaman promised to never offer sacrifice
“to any other god except to the LORD.”

Following the first reading, we have the Psalm, taken from chapter 98, which is itself a song of thanksgiving and praise:

“The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.”

The verses therein proclaim the Lord’s wondrous deeds and invite us all to sing his praise.

The Communion Antiphon for today is taken from Psalm 34:11:

“The rich suffer want and go hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no blessing.”

On initial inspection, it might not seem to fit as well with the theme of healing and thanksgiving. However, it is cleverly chosen, I believe, because if you read the full story of Naaman the leper, it’s clear that he must have been quite wealthy since he was the army commander of the King of Aram. Also, when Elisha sent Naaman the message for him to go wash in the Jordan river, he was indignant and angry – too proud to wash in the “waters of Israel”. He was truly one of the rich who suffer want.

It was only because his servants pleaded with him to do what Elisha said that Naaman finally *did* wash in the Jordan river, and was thus healed of his leprosy. And then Naaman returned and gave thanks to the Lord, just as the verses in the communion antiphon proclaim.

Like the first reading, the Gospel for today, taken from Luke chapter 17, is a story of healing, as Jesus heals the 10 lepers. There is emphasis placed on the fact that only one of the lepers, a Samaritan, returned and placed himself a Jesus’ feet to give thanks to God. But Jesus says to him in the end in verse 19:

“Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

Although this is a somewhat subtle statement when we’re focusing on the importance of thanking God for his blessings, still, Jesus specifically said

“your faith has *saved* you”

He wasn’t just talking about being healed from leprosy. He was talking about the Samaritan’s salvation.

As humans in this material plane of existence, we tend to think of healing as corporeal primarily, as it was in the case of the ancient Hebrews. But Jesus came not only to heal the physical bodies of those who put their faith in him, but also to heal us in a greater way – to heal our souls and save us from death.

“Healer of My Soul” by John Michael Talbot is one of my favorite songs of all time that I find appropriate for this weekend’s liturgy. I’ve also composed Spanish lyrics for it and titled it “Sáname, Señor” but here I present you with the English version that I hope you enjoy.

That was John Michael Talbot’s popular song “Healer of My Soul” for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C. Links to recordings and sheet music for the songs featured on this podcast can be found in the show notes as well as on TheModernPsalmist.com.

Thanks for tuning in to The Modern Psalmist Podcast. Have a blessed week.