Readings: 2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19
Grace and peace to you, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. Today is the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. Today’s Gospel gives us the beautiful story of the cure of ten lepers, with one of them returning to thank the Lord.
Today, I shall be preaching on what I have titled, “Different Depths of Faith.” We shall look at five depths of faith.
1. The Faith that Believes in God’s Power to Help Me
The ten lepers believed in God’s power to help them, and that was why they cried to Him, called Him Master, and asked Him for mercy.
Naaman also eventually believed when his slave girl told him that the God of Israel could heal him. This is the faith that drives us to come to the Lord.
Many claim to believe in God but deny His power to help or save them (2 Timothy 3:5).
Do we believe in God’s power?
Do we trust in His power to heal, to transform our lives and situations, to make the impossible possible?
2. The Faith that Obeys
This faith is deeper than the faith that brings us to the Lord. It is the faith that obeys God even when what He asks us to do seems unreasonable or difficult.
This is the faith that trusts in the wisdom of God. Naaman struggled with this. He did not think it was wise to wash in the Jordan River as instructed by the prophet Elisha and almost missed his healing because of his reluctance to obey.
The ten lepers, however, had this faith. Without being cured, they were told to go and show themselves to the priest as instructed in the Law (Leviticus 14). They obeyed, even though their leprosy was still visible. They knew that coming before the priest in that state could mean being stoned to death according to the Law.
Sometimes we want God to act first before we obey Him, but often God acts while we are obeying or after we have obeyed. Many have delayed or denied themselves of blessings because they would not obey the Lord.
3. The Faith that Returns
While the other nine lepers had the faith to come and the faith to obey, they lacked the faith to return. Naaman, however, had the faith to return.
Whenever we return to God in thanksgiving, we acknowledge that it is He who has done it, not we ourselves or chance.
The faith to obey is great, for it is built on information, but the faith to return is deeper, for it is built on revelation.
What do I mean?
While the other nine lepers proceeded to the high priest as they had been told (information), the one leper received a revelation that the true Supreme High Priest was the one who had cured him (Hebrews 2:17, 4:14). So he went back to the true Priest to say thank you.
Take note that Jesus did not send him again to the high priest; He told him to go on his way. In other words, the man had met the Supreme High Priest and had been declared saved and made whole (sesōken, from sos, meaning to save or deliver). The other nine received physical health, but this man received fullness of health, life and salvation.
Many of us have the faith to ask Jesus, the faith to receive, but we do not have the faith to return in thanksgiving. We lack a spirit of gratitude. Yet it is only when we return to say “thank you” that the blessing is perfected.
4. The Faith that Thanks God Even When the Miracle Has Not Yet Happened
This is the faith that thanks God in the waiting and during the process. It is the faith that gives thanks even before the miracle manifests.
Jesus teaches us this by His example. He took the five loaves and two fish, and He thanked the Father even before the multiplication (John 6:11). He also thanked the Father before Lazarus was raised from the dead (John 11:41).
It takes faith to be thankful when we are still waiting, when we have not yet received the answer.
5. The Faith that Thanks God Even When the Answer is Different from What We Prayed For
This is the faith that trusts in God’s wisdom and surrenders to His will. It is the deepest realm of faith.
It is the faith that is grateful even when God says “No.” There is faith to get what we want, but the deepest faith is to want what we get, to be grateful for what we get, even if it is not what we asked for.
This is the faith of submission to God’s will. It is the faith that gives greater glory to God. It is the faith that never sees any answer or situation as a disappointment.
It is the faith of “even if.” “I will still thank You, Lord. You are still able, and You are still my God.”
This is the faith of Saint Paul in today’s Second Reading, who was thanking God even in chains and hardships.
It is the faith expressed by the Prophet Habakkuk in 3:17-18:
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.
Today, let us ask the Lord for mercy for the times we have failed to believe, to obey, or to return in thanksgiving for blessings received. Let us pray for a deepening of our faith, faith that believes, obeys, returns, and remains thankful in every circumstance.
Let us ask for the grace to live with the faith that submits to whatever God gives, even when it is different from what we want, trusting always in His perfect wisdom and love.
Sermon preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on October 12, 2025.