October 14, 2007 - "Thankfulness"

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

"While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, 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 were going, they were cleansed.

Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they? "Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?"

And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."

A golden anniversary party was thrown for an elderly couple. The husband was moved by the occasion and wanted to tell his wife just how he felt about her. She was very hard of hearing, however, and often misunderstood what he said. With many family members and friends gathered around, he toasted her: “My dear wife, after fifty years I’ve found you tried and true!” Everyone smiled approval, but his wife said, “Eh?” He repeated louder, “AFTER FIFTY YEARS OF MARRIAGE, I’VE FOUND YOU TRIED AND TRUE!” His wife shot back, “Well, let me tell you something – after fifty years of marriage, I’m tired of you, too!”

Speaking of older age, I have come across a top ten list about older age. Here are the top ten ways to know that you are getting old:

10 – You get winded playing chess.

9 – Everything hurts, and what doesn’t hurt doesn’t work.

8 – The gleam in your eyes is from the sun hitting your bifocals.

7 – Your little black book contains only names ending with M.D.

6 – You finally reach the top of the ladder, only to find it leaning against the wrong wall.

5 – Your favorite part of the newspaper is “25 Years Ago.”

4 – Your knee buckles and your belt won’t.

3 – You start burning the midnight oil at 9:00 p.m.

2 – You sink your teeth in a steak and they stay there.

1 – "drum roll please" – Your back goes out more than you do!

Now that is a top ten list that is hard to forget. There is a lot of truth to that one. Jesus encountered a top ten list of his own, one day. It was a top ten list of the most sick people. These particular ten people had the very same disease – leprosy!

Leprosy, the most dreaded disease of the day. As a matter of a fact, it was so feared, both because of the symptoms it caused as well as the ritual uncleanness associated with it, that people who had it had to yell, “Unclean, Unclean” when others were getting too close. They were not allowed to mingle with the populace. They were quarantined and they were isolated. They were left out. They no longer belonged to society. They lived together in leper colonies in the middle of nowhere. They were located, in this instance, between Galilee and Samaria – no man’s land.

Can you think of some diseases today in which people are ostracized? Could you imagine what it would be like for them if they had to advertise their situation, even yelling it out before they got too close: “Aids. Aids.” Or, “Typhoid. Typhoid”? Well, then you could begin to imagine how bad it was for the leper.

To make matters worse, their disease was extremely debilitating. A leper lost the sense of touch wherever it occurred on the body. The disease destroyed the bodies nervous system ending in death.

How then, could it be, that only one leper came a leaping? Jesus marveled, “Were there not 10, and only 1 returned? And at that, a Samaritan?” The Samaritans were not liked by the Jews. But when it came down to showing gratitude, the Jews did not, but the Samaritan did. The Jews should have known better. The Samaritan could have made a case not to return, as he well knew how the Jews felt. But his restoration was more important than age old prejudices. His life was given back to him. He saw the work of God. He was beside himself with joy. He could not wait to find Jesus!!!

What is it about people that they would not bother to say “thanks” for such great a thing?

Well, I have another top ten list to share with you today. It is one of my own doing - the top ten reasons, I think, people fail to give thanks to God:

10 – Many don’t care about giving thanks (because of apathy or too much a bother)

9 – Many don’t know how to give thanks. (haven’t been taught)

8 – Some don’t think they have anything to be thankful for. (common among those who are most negative)

I like what Matthew Henry, the famous Bible Commentator, wrote about being robbed. He found several reasons to be thankful:

“Let me be thankful first because I was never robbed before; second, although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, although they took everything I had, it was not much; and fourth, it was I who was robbed and not someone else.”

Attitudes can be changed with a little practice. Matthew Henry practiced looking for the good in the midst of bad.

7 – Some believe that giving thanks doesn’t do any good. (tried it before, didn’t seem to make things better)

It may not change circumstances, but giving thanks does change people – if practiced regularly.

6 – Some believe they deserve God’s blessings, so why give thanks?

I can see this being the stance of the 9 who did not return. They were the Jews, the chosen ones, who felt they deserved it just because of who they were. This is an “I’m entitled” mentality. It is also a “better than thou attitude” which is very condescending.

5 – Some say, “I didn’t get what I really wanted, so why say thanks?"

This is selfishness for sure. This also assumes that we know what we need better than God does.

4 – Some deny the miraculous or rationalize a miracle as something else. (skeptical about the divine – true gratitude must first admit that “God Is.”)

3 – Some believe that if they give God thanks then they will be obligated to do something for God in return (God doesn’t bless in order to get something from us. It is simply God’s nature to give, period. God wants us to serve Him, but not out of obligation. God wants us to serve Him out of love)

2 – Some believe that they do not deserve God’s blessings, so it would do no good to give thanks (this comes from guilt - believing that one is not good enough. Remember, it is God who makes us “good enough” based on what Christ has done. That is why we must invite Christ into our hearts. Christ had done the work and we get to benefit if we believe)

1 – Many are just too busy. (too many distractions, too much stuff in the way)

Maybe this was the condition of the nine who did not come back. Maybe they had to get to their families, or get their jobs back, or pay on their loans, or get to the stadium to redeem their season tickets to the chariot races. You see what I mean? In every age, time is an issue. Just taking the time to say thanks is the key here. Pause - a comma during the day. It can be before a meal, in the car, on the bus, in the checkout line, before bed, or as we rise. We should plan to use our pauses better than we do. And we should plan to take charge of our schedules so that we can honor a wonderful lord!

Jesus’ last words to the one leaping leper were, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well." The last three words “made you well” carry a deeper meaning in the Greek. They carry the idea of salvation. In effect, Jesus was saying, “…your faith has saved you.”

The nine who did not return did not have the privilege of hearing these words. I can’t help but wonder if gratitude is not a link in the chain of salvation. You can’t give thanks for something that you do not have or do not know about. The one leaping leper knew he met the Lord God. His life was forever changed. His thanksgiving was a proof of receiving this salvation. His faith finalized his healing – even the very healing of his soul!