Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 12, 2025
2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19
In this week’s readings, those explicitly on the “outside”— the Syrian, the Samaritan, the foreigner — show us that God desires healing for all, and they teach us about a faith that “saves” — a surrender of the self, a disposition of humility and trust, and gratitude that begets action.
The first reading recounts the healing of Naaman. The powerful Syrian general consults the prophet Elisha in a last-ditch effort to be healed of his leprosy. Affronted by the prophet’s instructions to bathe in the Jordan (the least majestic river of his domain), Naaman reluctantly washes only after the urging of his foreign servants and returns healed in body and heart.
Saint Luke’s Gospel reading recalls the healing of ten lepers, and of the one leper, the Samaritan and foreigner, who returns to say thank you to Jesus. Although the Samaritan and Jesus share a different belief system, Jesus tells him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.” (Luke 17:19)
It is not Naaman’s adherence to the Law, or even his code of conduct that results in his healing. It is not the Samaritan’s body of beliefs, and we know nothing of his code of conduct, that results in healing.
It is God’s grace on display: God’s grace is freely given to those with open, humble hearts.
It is tempting to equate “faith” with belonging to a certain group of people or body of beliefs. It is tempting to think “I am right. You are wrong. These people share my beliefs. Those other people are idiots.”
On one hand, shared faith is essential — we are a pilgrim people who together share a faith and heritage as children of God, as the second reading reminds us (2 Tim 2:11-12).
If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
On the other hand, the same reading tells us: “But the word of God is not chained (9).”
God is so much bigger than the boundaries we draw around ourselves. It is part of God’s nature: If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. God desires healing for all.
Faith for these cleansed lepers is marked by humility, surrender of self, and dependence on God. Naaman must let go of his own idea of control, and the ten lepers recognize their need for Jesus’ healing hand.
Where I minister in El Salvador, the expression primero Dios — if God wills it — is spoken with such frequency that it first rankled my spiritual sensibilities.
See you tomorrow! If God wills it.
Looks like rain today. If God wills it.
Let’s meet up next week. If God wills it.
At first, primero Dios sounds trite — of course God desires our good! But for my campesino neighbors whose livelihood hangs upon the torrential rain we currently experience, primero Dios is nothing trite. It’s a shot-in-the-dark Hail Mary pass that the Creator will be faithful to them and will protect beans and corn against flooding. Primero Dios: we are not dependent on ourselves, but rather on a loving and faithful Creator.
Like the campesinos incanting primero Dios, like Naaman and the healed lepers, we may lessen our sense of control and be attentive to tiny ways the Lord is healing ourselves and our world, so often manifested through the faith of the outsider, the foreigner, and the oppressed.
And then, like the healed leper of today’s readings, we are sent back home — to be that healing presence in all that is broken and separated.
The LORD has made his victory known;
has revealed his triumph in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his mercy and faithfulness
toward the house of Israel. (Psalm 98:2-3)
Sarah Bueter, who joined Maryknoll Lay Missioners in 2023, serves in La Ceiba, a village belonging to the rural parish of San José in Chalatenango, El Salvador. In her ministry she teaches catechism, co-directs a youth group and leads an aerobics class for women.
To read other Scripture reflections published by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, click here.
Featured image: Maryknoll Lay Missioner Sarah Bueter serves children through educational programs in El Salvador. (Courtesy of Maryknoll Lay Missioners/El Salvador)
