Meditation for November 22

From Peter Munson

Luke 17:11-19

 

Turning Back to Give Thanks and Praise

 

"As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!'  When he saw them, he said to them, 'Go and show yourselves to the priests.'  And as they went, they were made clean.  Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.  He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him.  And he was a Samaritan.  Then Jesus asked, 'Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they?  Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?' Then he said to him, 'Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.'" (Luke 17:12-19)

 

On the day before Thanksgiving, the Daily Office lectionary just happens to have a gospel lesson that is about giving God his due, through thanks and praise.  Was this planned by those who put together the lectionary, or is it just a "coincidence"?  Maybe it doesn't matter.  No matter the intention, it is a good reminder for us, and a good passage for us to reflect on, on this day.

 

I suppose there are a millions reasons why we could join the nine lepers who were healed, and yet did not give thanks and praise to God.  When some healing happens to us, we could be so excited and so busy celebrating and telling everyone else the good news that we forget to thank God.  We could be too distracted with other things and forget to say thanks.  Maybe we look around and see other things that still aren't right with the world, and we don't feel like giving thanks.  Perhaps we compare ourselves to others who have more, or seem to have more (there are always people with more!), and we are not grateful for what we have been given.  Perhaps our pace of life is so busy and hectic that we don't even take the time to stop and breathe and acknowledge the blessings that have come our way, and therefore we don't give thanks to God.  Maybe old wounds are getting in the way - we are so resentful or angry about things that happened to us in the past, that we cannot recognize good things that are happening to us in the present.  I'm sure you can think of many other reasons why we might not give God - or other people, for that matter - their due.

 

What struck me this time as I read the passage is that Jesus seems to make a connection between our giving thanks, our faithfulness, and our wellness.  "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."  All ten of the lepers called out, presumably in faith, and sought healing.  "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  Yet only this one, a foreigner, turned back.  That is, he stopped long enough to praise God with a loud voice, and to throw himself at Jesus' feet, giving thanks.  It is this action - this turning back and giving praise and thanks to God - that Jesus seems to equate with having faith.  And his faith and thankful response towards God and Jesus results in him being made well.  "... Your faith has made you well."

 

Is there a sense in which giving thanks and praise makes us well?  Well, those who are part of a church community and regularly take time to worship God - which is primarily about offering God thanks and praise - live longer lives than those who don't. (Did you know that?) Those who "turn back and give thanks" and regularly express appreciation to God and to other people have better, healthier relationships than those who spend time criticizing others, playing the victim (why me?), or being oblivious as to how they have been blessed.

 

Paul even challenges us to "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Rather than seeing that as some sort of obligation, maybe we should see it as a path to deeper relationships, a path to wholeness, a path to joy. 

 

Lord, it is our desire to be grateful for all that you have done, and for all that you continue to do for us.  Help us to develop "an attitude of gratitude".  Help us to regularly "turn back", and offer you all the thanks and praise you deserve.  And in response to the many ways that you love us and bless us, may we follow in your steps, and be generous people, who love others as you love us.  Amen.