Bible Study for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
2 Kings 5:14–17 — Naaman the Syrian is cleansed of leprosy
Psalm 98:1–4 — “The Lord has revealed to the nations His saving power.”
2 Timothy 2:8–13 — “If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.”
Luke 17:11–19 — Ten lepers cleansed; one returns in gratitude
I. The Unifying Theme: Faith, Gratitude, and Universal Salvation
At first glance, these readings appear simply to tell two stories of healing. But the Church presents them here for a deeper purpose:
to teach that salvation is not only the cleansing of sin but the conversion of the heart into gratitude and worship—and that this grace is offered to all nations.
In other words: God saves universally, but only the grateful heart truly receives salvation.
This Sunday’s liturgy therefore bridges two doctrines:
The universality of grace (extra Israel nulla salus was never the divine plan; Israel was to be the means, not the limit, of salvation).
The Eucharistic life of the believer—faith expressed through thanksgiving (eucharistia).
II. The First Reading: Naaman’s Cleansing — A Sacramental Prelude
Naaman’s story (2 Kings 5) mirrors the sacramental logic of grace. He is an outsider, proud, and initially refuses Elisha’s humble command: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan.” But when he finally submits, he is made clean.
Naaman’s journey is a type of baptism: grace mediated through simple material means (water) and divine command. It prefigures the Church’s sacramental economy—obedient faith opening the channel of divine power through material signs.
“Faith needs the visible signs of the Church.” — CCC 1084–85
Naaman’s washing points forward to the sacraments; his gratitude points forward to the Eucharist. Notice his reaction: he returns, confesses the one true God, and asks for Israel’s soil to worship upon. This is the Old Testament’s anticipation of the Church’s universality: a Gentile becomes a believer.
St. Irenaeus saw this as a foreshadowing of the Gentile Church:
“Naaman the Syrian was cleansed because he believed and obeyed the prophet. Thus the Gentiles are made clean through faith and obedience to Christ.” (Against Heresies IV.30.1)
III. The Psalm: The Response of the Redeemed
Psalm 98 proclaims, “The Lord has made known His salvation; His justice He has revealed to the nations.”
It is a song of missionary thanksgiving—Israel rejoices not for herself alone but because God’s saving power is revealed to all nations.
This is why the Responsorial Psalm always stands between Old and New: it is the voice of the Church responding to revelation with praise.
The Catechism describes praise as “the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God” (CCC 2639).
Naaman praised God with offerings; the Psalmist calls the whole world to sing. The Church answers that call at every Mass when she chants the Gloria: “We give You thanks for Your great glory.”
IV. The Second Reading: Enduring Faith and the Fidelity of Christ
In 2 Timothy 2, St. Paul is in chains, preparing for martyrdom. His words to Timothy are the New Covenant echo of Habakkuk’s promise from the previous Sunday: “The just man shall live by faith.”
Paul insists:
“Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead… If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.”
This reading anchors the day’s theme: healing is not an end in itself. It is entrance into the Paschal mystery, the pattern of death and resurrection.
Naaman’s washing foreshadowed baptism; the Samaritan leper’s gratitude anticipates Eucharist; Paul connects both to the cross.
The Magisterium summarizes this in Sacrosanctum Concilium:
“From the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, as from a fountain, grace is poured forth upon us; and the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God are achieved.” (§10)
V. The Gospel: Gratitude as the Completion of Faith
Ten lepers are healed, but only one returns. Why? Because gratitude is not merely good manners—it is the recognition of grace.
The nine obey the command to show themselves to the priests; the one Samaritan perceives that the true High Priest is standing before him.
Jesus’ question—“Where are the other nine?”—is not indignation; it is revelation: salvation is not complete until thanksgiving becomes worship.
His final words, “Your faith has saved you,” use the Greek verb σέσωκέν (sesōken), which means not merely “made you well” but “brought you salvation.” Physical cleansing has become spiritual restoration.
This is why the Eucharist (thanksgiving) is the center of Christian life. As Deus Caritas Est teaches:
“The Eucharist draws us into Jesus’ act of self-oblation… We enter into the very dynamic of His self-giving.” (§13)
VI. The Interconnection of the Readings
These readings form one continuous movement of grace.
It begins with Naaman, the proud foreigner who obeys the prophet’s simple command to wash in the Jordan. His humility opens him to healing—and to faith. Cleansed in body and soul, he returns in thanksgiving, confessing the one true God.
The Psalm picks up right where Naaman leaves off: “The Lord has revealed His salvation to the nations.” Gratitude becomes worship. The song of one healed man becomes the hymn of a redeemed world.
Then Paul, chained for the Gospel, carries that same melody forward. “If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.” Healing must mature into perseverance; the one who has received mercy must now share in the Cross. Even when we fail, “He remains faithful.”
Finally, Luke’s Gospel shows all this fulfilled in the ten lepers. All are healed, but only one returns—and he is a foreigner. His gratitude completes his faith. The others receive cleansing; he receives salvation.
Together they tell one story: God’s grace reaches beyond all boundaries, heals the humble, calls forth praise, and endures through the Cross until it flowers in thanksgiving.
We are Naaman washed, Paul tested, the leper healed—and the Church’s song of praise is the echo of their faith.
The Church thus presents a full catechesis on faith, gratitude, and the Eucharist—not merely intellectual belief, but sacramental, enduring, and worshipful faith.
VII. Why These Readings Now in the Liturgical Year
By early October, Ordinary Time is moving toward its final stretch. The Church’s pedagogy shifts from the formation of disciples (summer readings) to the perseverance of disciples (autumn readings).
In late Year C, Luke’s Gospel emphasizes three maturing virtues of the Christian life:
Faith that endures (27th Sunday – the mustard seed),
Faith that gives thanks (28th Sunday – the grateful leper),
Faith that perseveres in prayer (29th Sunday – the persistent widow).
The sequence is deliberate:
First we are taught to believe;
Then to give thanks;
Then to persevere. [next week]
This Sunday therefore forms the bridge between inward faith and outward endurance, expressed in Eucharistic gratitude. It prepares us for the closing Sundays that speak of vigilance, judgment, and Christ the King.
As Pope Benedict XVI summarized in his catechesis on the liturgical year:
“Ordinary Time educates the Christian heart to fidelity, gratitude, and vigilance—three movements of the same virtue of faith.”
VIII. Takeaways for Catholic Life
Faith must become gratitude.
Miracles without thanksgiving remain incomplete. The Mass is the supreme act of gratitude, where healing becomes worship.Salvation is universal but personal.
God’s mercy reached Naaman and the Samaritan—signs that no nation or sinner is beyond His grace.Grace demands perseverance.
As Paul teaches, we must “die with Him to live with Him.” Gratitude must endure beyond emotion into fidelity.Live Eucharistically.
Every act of thanksgiving, every work of mercy, extends the logic of the altar into the world.
IX. Summary
The Church sets these readings before us not to recount miracles, but to form Eucharistic hearts. Like Naaman, we have been washed; like the leper, we have been healed; like Paul, we are called to endure; like the Psalmist, we must sing.
As the liturgical year draws toward its conclusion, the Church teaches us that the mark of mature discipleship is not merely faith professed, but faith expressed as perpetual thanksgiving.
The Christian life, in the end, is Eucharistic: healed by grace, sustained by gratitude, and awaiting the day when all nations will sing, “The Lord has revealed to the nations His saving power.”