Msgr. John N. Fell

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)  Our readings this Sunday focus upon both God’s goodness and the proper human response to that goodness. The first reading as well as this week’s excerpt from St. Luke’s Gospel present miraculous cures of leprosy as opportunities to experience God’s mercy and to give thanks.

“Make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Lk 16:9). Jesus’ advice highlights a theme change in his teaching in this Sunday’s Gospel. Having previously spoken of the care with which God seeks out the lost and the joy with which he celebrates their return, Jesus’ words now turns to the proper use of material possessions.

Our readings this Sunday focus on faithfulness amid trials as a means of witnessing to God’s goodness here on earth and ultimately achieving glory in heaven. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that “for the sake of the joy which lay before him, [Jesus] endured the cross, despising its shame” (Heb 12:2b). Our readings depict both Jesus and Jeremiah as models of patient endurance, tolerant of the suffering they encountered for the sake of their divine mission.