28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Story of the boy prophet Samuel told by Eli to respond to voice of God; “Speak Lord, your servant is listening”. Our prayers are more usually; “Listen Lord, your servant is speaking”!!
Are we not always asking, pleading with God, like the lepers in this Gospel reading?
Today’s Scripture readings are alerting us to the importance of Thanksgiving – saying thanks to God.
Gratitude has been called ‘heart of Prayer’ because it means receiving gifts from God with an appreciation that moves us to return to God with praise and thanksgiving – and when we return we then notice so many more gifts that we have been given and perhaps taken for granted.
If we start our day by thanking God for the new day we will begin to notice that there are many other gifts that we have been given in that day and we will be drawn to thank God for them also.
We thank God for at the table and perhaps then notice that we should thank God for those who provide it and share it with us.
We thank God for our successes and then remember that it was God who gave us the means to be successful, to do Good, to make a difference.
It will get to the stage that we don’t need to ask for anything because by being in touch with God like that means that God knows us through and through and will provide the healing, understanding, and hope that we need.
This is the message that God’s Word gives us today and we hear it as we celebrate the Eucharist. Eucharist which means Thanksgiving – the greatest and most complete Thanksgiving we can offer to God.
Perhaps we could make a commitment to use our Sunday Eucharist every Sunday to thank God for all we have received during the past week, in the certain Hope that God has more to give us.
Praise and thanks to God for all that we have been given!