First Mennonite Church
November 17, 2024
Gratitude: Only Authentic when Expressed
Text: Luke 17:11-19
Today, as we continue reflecting on the theme of gratitude, being November the month of Thanksgiving, let us consider Luke 17:11-19 where Jesus heals the 10 lepers.
As Jesus moved about teaching and healing, Luke tells us Jesus found himself traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee. Jesus was walking along the border. Border. It is a word we heard about a lot, recently. The word has been made synonymous with an ominous place, a place of danger and threat. Oftentimes, lines defined as borders are not, necessarily, geographical divides, but manmade ones that have been negotiated or fought over. As history has proven, the people living close to border lines are arbitrarily separated. After the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, many citizens of Mexico woke up to a new reality – they were residing in a new nation with a different language, different customs, and different expectations. It is the same in Palestine and Israel, where high walls divide families, part of it living on one side of the wall and some on the other side. It was the same in northern India, and the list can go on and on. However, borders do not always separate people as we will see even in our passage. Solidarity unites people regardless. When people seek to connect with those considered “others” their sense of distrust and fear begins to fade away. Solidarity is often the result of common shared experiences. This is what we see among the lepers. That is what is among women in Israel and Palestine even before the October-7 carnage, and continues today. Women of the Sun and Women Wage Peace for instance are a group of women many of whom lost their loved ones to the violence between Israel and Palestine. Solidarity often takes place among minority groups. Do you feel or have solidarity with a particular group of people because of their plight?
As Jesus was traveling along the southern border of Galilee – near Samaria and on his way to Jerusalem, he encountered a group of ten lepers. These ten lepers all cried out to Jesus, begging him to have mercy on them. They didn’t dare to come too close. They knew the rules. Leprosy like ethnicity often has its own set of boundary issues. Jesus heard their cry and told them to go and show themselves to the priests. Let us remember that the priests weren’t just religious figures; they were also public health officials. And the lepers did as they were told. They didn’t expect Jesus to touch them, which he didn’t do either. He only told them to go and show themselves to the priests. They unanimously obeyed Jesus’ command, trusting that something good would happen. And as they were going, they found themselves cleansed. Their sores and disfigurement vanished, leaving not even scars. Before the ten got to see the priests they knew they had been healed and the implications of being once again free from the unsurmountable limitation the disease had imposed upon them was greatly significant. They could be with their families and friends. They could go to the temple to worship. They could go anywhere without fear of breaking any social rule. They could do whatever they wanted to do. They all must have felt an overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude.
So, here is the thing, gratitude is not only a response to good fortune but also a choice we make. One of the ten, a Samaritan, yes, one who did not belong to the mix of lepers, one who was supposed to be on the other side of the border, and one who did not even have the right to see the priest, upon recognizing that he had been cleansed didn’t continue on his way to the priests. In fact, he couldn’t or shouldn’t be allowed to meet with the priests.
So, he returned to Jesus; but this time, he does not call from a distance but comes and throws himself at Jesus’ feet to thank him for the healing. There, prostrated before Jesus, the healed man without restraint praised God with a loud voice. The healed man was overtaken with joy and gratitude that with his face on the ground, he couldn’t stop saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Perhaps the Samaritan realized that even if he went to see the priests they might not receive him. So he came back to Jesus who not only was the source of his healing but who would also welcome him even though he was a Samaritan.
Jesus readily commended the man for his faith and act of gratitude, but he also pointed out that while being ten who had been healed only the foreigner recognized the work of God in Jesus. “Foreigner” is the very word posted in the temple of those not welcomed.
Think about it. Gratitude is not the only emotion we might choose to express in response to the events of any given day. There are reasons for gratitude, yes, and also reasons for fear, for anger, for frustration, grief, for regret, for apprehension. Each and all of these emotions are part of our life experiences. Each of these emotions makes its appearance on the stage of our daily lives. Some appear more often than others. Some with more intensity than others. The question is, which of these emotions do we allow more often on the stage of our lives? By which emotion are we known to those close to us? As the one with a cheerful smile, as one with a soft heart, as someone who has a positive outlook, or as someone who is always irritated, complaining, or fearful? We can choose which emotion to take a leading role in the stage of our lives. Let us choose gratitude to play the primary role in the stage of our lives.
Out of ten lepers healed, only one came to give thanks to Jesus. While the text does not give the reasons why the other nine did not come to give thanks for their healing, it leaves it open for us to wonder. You see, there are various reasons why people might feel hesitant to give thanks.
Some believe they are entitled to whatever is available, thus it is their right to get whatever they want. So, why give thanks when it’s your right to get what you want? Some feel unworthy of getting anything; thus, do not know what to do when they get something. Still, yet, some believe you must work for what you want. These have double the trouble with giving thanks. On the one hand, they believe that whatever they have is because they’ve earned it with their sweat and blood. The other problem is that they cannot receive anything given to them freely. Thus for them, giving thanks is not only unnecessary but an insult to their dignity.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,” says Psalm 107. Let us choose to make gratitude the emotion taking a major role on the stage of our daily lives. Gratitude not only fills our hearts with joy but it also transforms the mood of those around us. Gratitude in the context of worship allows us to explain the worthiness of God’s praises. Gratitude is the acknowledgment that the Lord is the source of our lives and of all good things. Let us be grateful and let us express it. Amen!
Let us pray:
Dear God of all good gifts, we thank you for the countless blessings you bestow on us daily. Thank you for life, for our loved ones, for your presence, and for the gift of eternal life through your Son Jesus Christ. Bless every family that will gather this week. In Christ the Lord we pray. Amen!
Pastor Romero