Mass Readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
- First Reading – 2 Kings 5:14-17: "If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD."
- Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 98: "The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power."
- Second Reading – 2 Timothy 2:8-13: "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."
- Gospel - 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?"
Themes for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
The readings for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C are focused on faith. In the first reading Naaman, a foreigner, believes and is healed. In the second reading Paul reminds us that God is always faithful to us. In the gospel Jesus heals ten lepers, and one returns to give him thanks.
- Our willingness to let God do things his way
- Gratitude
- Respect for other cultures
- Entitlement
See the Homilies and Reflections section and the More Thoughts section for further expansion on these readings and some reflection questions for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C.
Resources for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Grateful
This lesson plan will help youth understand that we must remember to thank God every day for the blessings in our lives.
Make a Gratitude List Every Day and Pray with It
Practicing gratitude daily is a practice which can change your whole attitude and it doesn’t have to take a lot of time.
Homilies and Reflections for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Where You Stumble, Dig for Treasure
From Bishop Robert Barron. "Friends, our first reading for this Sunday is a section of the marvelous story of Naaman the Syrian from the Second Book of Kings. The spiritual lesson is this: where you stumble, dig for treasure. We all have some leprosy—some ailment or struggle or weakness that embarrasses us or makes us suffer. Precisely because it leads us on the path of humility, this leprosy, this debility, leads us to God."
The Grateful Leper was Probably Grateful Before His Healing
From Fr. Richard Rohr of the Center for Action and Contemplation. We either tend to be grateful in general or not thankful. We need to fight our inner negativity. Either our energy is flowing out of us, toward God and love, or we are sucking everything in with a sense of entitlement.
Faith in Surprising Places
From Loyola Press. "Today we hear about how Jesus, continuing on his journey to Jerusalem, heals 10 lepers. This story is a lesson about faith and reminds us that faith is sometimes found in unlikely places." Continue reading.
Returning Thanks
From Scott Hahn. "A foreign leper is cleansed and in thanksgiving returns to offer homage to the God of Israel. We hear this same story in both the First Reading and Gospel today. We return to glorify God in each Mass, to offer ourselves in sacrifice—falling on our knees before our Lord, giving thanks for our salvation." Continue reading.
Paul on the Meaning of Gospel
Also from Bishop Barron. "We have a wonderful text for our first reading today from Paul’s second letter to his disciple and friend Timothy. One of the many things that makes it wonderful is that it contains a very pithy summation of what St. Paul meant by the word 'Gospel.'” When we unpack this summation, we hold the key to transforming the world."
More Thoughts for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
A true disciple must live in an attitude of gratitude, not entitlement. We must not think of the blessings in our lives as things we deserve or have earned. There are others with less blessings who are just as good and just as beloved as we are. When we live in gratitude, we understand that God has given us gifts to share with others.
Jesus heals all ten lepers in the gospel. And he tells them that their faith was essential to this healing. In fact, he does not even touch them, as he often does when healing people. Instead he just tells them to go to the priests. They believe his word and are made clean. But nine of them don't seem to realize that this healing is a gift from God. Only the foreigner, who worships differently than the Jews, returns to give thanks.
In a similar way, it can be easy for us to forget that we receive gifts from God every day. And we can take our faith for granted. This can be especially true for cradle Catholics. We go to Mass on Sunday without really thinking about what we are doing. We think that we are deserving of salvation because of the good things we do. But salvation is a free gift from God, it is not earned. So let us thank God for it every day.
Reflection Questions for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
- Do I give thanks to God regularly?
- What has happened to me lately which I need to show gratitude for?
- How can I use the gifts God has given me to express my thankfulness?
Quotes and Social Media Graphics for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
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