The Sunflower
(Kgs.5:14-17; 2Tim.2:8-13; Lk.17:11-19)
All over the world, people love flowers. So much, in fact, that there’s now a language of flowers – floriography – in which different blooms mean different things.
Flowers are like God’s poetry, written in colour, shape and fragrance. They express sentiments our hearts sometimes cannot, like love, joy, forgiveness and gratitude.
That’s why we adorn our altars with gorgeous blooms, and why in May each year we crown statues of Our Lady with lilies and roses. They symbolise her heavenly queenship and maternal care.
In the Bible, too, flowers aren’t just decorative; they are living symbols of God’s fatherly love. The Lilies of the Field in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount invite us to entrust our fragile selves to God’s eternal care (Mt.6:28-29). And the Rose of Sharon in the Song of Songs symbolises God’s watchful love (2:1).
Flowers speak in silence, and many artists like Vincent van Gogh have used them to convey hidden messages. Van Gogh loved to paint sunflowers. Not just as still-lifes, but as portraits of hope, friendship, and resilience. ‘The sunflower is mine,’ he liked to say.
Van Gogh was born in a vicarage, the son of a prominent pastor. His Christian upbringing shaped his heart and soul, and had a major influence on his growth as an artist. He studied theology and dreamed of preaching with words, but later found himself speaking through his paintings.
Van Gogh was particularly fascinated by sunflowers and the way they always follow the sun’s light across the sky. Without the sun, he knew, sunflowers cannot grow or flourish, and cannot share their seeds. That’s why these golden blooms are never half-hearted about their orientation. They’re always turning towards the sun because it’s the source of their life and strength.
In today’s Gospel, Luke tells the story of ten lepers who ask Jesus for help. He heals all ten, but nine of them simply walk away. They enjoy being healed, but quickly forget the source of their gift.
One man is different, however. Like the sunflower, he turns back towards Jesus, the true Sun of Justice (Mal.4:2) and source of all light and life. And in his gratitude, this man not only receives healing for his body, but also salvation for his soul, for Jesus praises him, saying, ‘Your faith has saved you.’
Perhaps reflecting on the wisdom of this man’s action, the English poet Francis Quarles once wrote of a sunflower turning ‘to her God when he sets, the same look which she turned when he rose.’
Here, he captures the constant turning of a devoted heart towards God. For this is what true love is all about: not a passing glance when it’s convenient, but a steady day-long gaze, in both joy and trial. To love is to keep turning back, just like the healed leper who returned to the feet of Jesus.
The American poet Mary Oliver wrote that everything in creation – the trees, the rivers, the flowers – all belong to ‘the family of things.’ And that’s just what the healed leper discovers. By turning back, he rejoins the family: not just his village family, but the family of God. [i]
For gratitude opens the door to belonging.
Van Gogh painted sunflowers eleven times, each work a prayer without words. If you look, you’ll see that every bloom is different, just like us. Some are fresh and perky, while others are battered or drooping, but all are straining towards the light. The point is that holiness isn’t about perfection, but orientation.
At the same time, Vincent van Gogh reminds us that mature sunflowers produce countless seeds that feed both wildlife and people. In the same way, gratitude produces in us an abundant harvest of joy, peace, and the ability to bless others.
Our faith, then, is not just about receiving blessings, but a constant turning towards their source. For gratitude is not an occasional feeling, but a daily posture – like the sunflower’s turning, like the Samaritan’s return (Lk.10:25–37), and like that thankful man in today’s Gospel.
So, are you like the sunflower, always turning your heart to Jesus?
Do you remember to say thank you to him, not only when life shines, but also when shadows fall?
And do you let gratitude draw you closer to Jesus, healing not just your wounds but also your whole life?
For gratitude is a form of humility – may we humbly admit that we are not the sun.
And like van Gogh’s Sunflowers, may we always turn towards Jesus Christ, the Son and source of all life.
[i] Mary Oliver, Wild Geese https://livelovesimple.com/wild-geese-mary-oliver/