Good morning, Friends! Thank you all for coming here to worship today.
For the last month, we’ve been talking about giving thanks, and how important that is for all of us.
We talked about giving thanks for God’s beautiful and amazing creation. We talked about giving thanks for our daily bread. Last Sunday, we talked about being thankful as something which is life-changing.
Paul said, when you become a Christian, it’s like getting a whole new wardrobe. You throw away your old clothes, and you get dressed up in new clothes. He said that the new clothes are compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
If we wear those, every day, Paul says people will recognize us as friends of Jesus.
It’s like, if you wear a Panther shirt or a Panther hat, people somehow know that you’re a Panther fan. They’ll figure it out.
In the same way, Paul says, if people see that you’re compassionate, kind, humble, gentle and patient, they’ll know somehow that there’s something special about you. They’ll know that you’re a Christian.
And especially, Paul says, if you’re thankful at all times, no matter how good or how bad the situation is – if instead of moaning and groaning about things, you always find something to be thankful for, if you thank God all the time, people will figure it out.
They’ll know that you’re happy, even if you’ve only won three games in the regular season this year. (I had to look that statistic up about the Panthers. I don’t actually follow sports at all.)
But you all get the point. Being thankful is important. It shows the world who you are. And it changes you, inside. If you’re thanking God, all the time, sincerely and with all your heart, it changes you. You’re a better person, a better Christian.
I bring it up, because this week, I want you all to remember that thanksgiving isn’t about football games or shopping, any more than Christmas is about elves and reindeer.
Christmas is about Jesus Christ. And Thanksgiving is about thanking God, from the bottom of our hearts.
Got a story about that today. It’s a gospel story, about giving thanks.
On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and they called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, Jesus said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten made clean? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:11-19
Back in the time of Jesus, Israel was deeply divided. There had been a civil war, which shattered the country into the north and south. Not too different from our country, actually.
In Jesus’ time, the north lost and the south won. But then both sides lost, as first the Greeks and then the Romans invaded, and took over. The division and hatred lasted for hundreds of years.
So, Jesus was traveling along the border, between the two sections of the country. He came to a village, and he met ten men who had leprosy.
Now, I’m not going to gross you out, but leprosy was a terrible disease. People with leprosy slowly became disfigured, and sores from the infection caused a sickening smell. It killed people very slowly, and there was no medicine that helped.
For safety, for thousands of years, people with leprosy were exiled from their families and from the community.
It was a kind of living death. Sometimes, families held a funeral for the person, even while they were still alive. No one would come near them, or stand down wind from them. They were forbidden to share anything with other people, or have the slightest physical contact.
So, ten people with this horrible disease were living on the edge of town. They gathered what food they could. Sometimes, other people left food for them. But they were outcast, feared and avoided at all costs. If you touched a person with leprosy, you were cast out yourself.
And along comes Jesus. He sees these people. And he knows what’s going on with them. And they all cry out, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
They recognized Jesus. They had heard about Jesus, and they knew that he was their one and only hope. No one could help them. No one would have anything to do with them.
Their illness wasn’t even their own fault. They hadn’t done anything to get sick. But their families couldn’t help. Their rabbi couldn’t help. No doctors could help. They were suffering terribly, they were doomed, and then along comes Jesus.
It doesn’t tell us what prayer Jesus said. It doesn’t say if he touched them, or had them wash, or if he gave them any medicine. All we know is that Jesus told these ten guys to go and show themselves to a priest.
You see, Jewish law from the time of Moses recognized that sometimes there could be mistakes. In that dry climate, with no medicine, there were many other skin diseases which were painful and serious.
Jewish law recognized this, and the law said that if someone thought they didn’t have leprosy, or if their skin cleared up, the person should be quarantined, and then go and show their skin to a priest, who was maybe a little more educated.
There was a lengthy ritual of things they had to do. They had to shave off all their hair, and wash their clothes, and take a special bath, and continue to live outside the community for a while to be sure the disease was all gone.
It was a big deal. But eventually, if the priest said that you were OK, you could be allowed back into the community.
Now we get to the real point of the story. As they were going down the road, it says all ten of them were healed. They were made clean.
Imagine first one person, then another, looked at their arms and hands, at their feet and their skin. Maybe they looked at each others’ faces. Their sores were clearing up. Their rough and scaly skin became soft and smooth, like baby skin. They were healed!
They were so happy! They were ten miles down the road when they saw what happened. And they ran the rest of the way home to celebrate.
What are we supposed to get out of this story? Well, to start with, The story reminds us that God is compassionate.
God cares about us. Never doubt that. God cares for us. God cares for our pain. God cares for all the problems we have.
No matter what our burden is, God doesn’t turn away. There is nothing so terrible that Jesus can’t look at it. There’s nothing so awful that Jesus won’t stop and help deal with it.
Always tell people, every day, that God cares for them. We can take anything to Jesus. There is no such thing as a problem that’s so awful, or so shameful, or any condition that too disgusting for Jesus to see. He’s seen it all before. You’re never alone. And Jesus cares. From the bottom of his heart, Jesus cares.
But then, there’s another important part of the story. How many people were sick? Ten. And how many came back to thank Jesus? Just one.
One, out of ten. Only one person came back to thank Jesus for what he did for them. In our world, what do you suppose is the proportion of people, who thank God for saving their lives?
Not just from a major illness. How many people say, “Lord, thank you for saving me from that serious accident! I was at the light, it just turned green, I was about to take my foot off the brake, and that other guy just blew the red light, right in front of me! He would have T-boned me. I would have been dead. But something made me stop, and look, and I wasn’t hurt. Thank you, Lord!”
How many of you has something like that happened to? Did you swear at the other driver? Or did you thank God?
Or how many times have you said, “Lord, this bad thing happened. But it could have been much worse. I’m so grateful that I’m still alive, and still able to see and hear, and taste and smell. Thank you for helping me to get back up, and live again.” Have you ever prayed like that?
Or take another example: every Christian knows that they’ve been forgiven. But a lot of the time, we don’t realize how much we’ve been forgiven. We make a big deal about what other people did to us, and we pass over what we’ve done to them. Even when we do forgive someone else, we need to remember that God has forgiven us, ten times what we’ve done. Jesus clears the score board. Jesus starts a whole new game. We’re not behind any more. We’re ahead, because Jesus won the victory that really matters.
Maybe one out of ten people ever realize that. Only 10% of the time, do we really thank God for what he’s done for us.
One out of ten? Probably more like one out of twenty times, do we really thank God for what we’ve been given. One out of a hundred. Maybe one out of a thousand.
Last week, Paul said: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)
In another one of his letters, Paul said: ” Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
In a letter to a small, struggling church, Paul said: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)
In one of the Psalms, it says: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 107:1)
In another Psalm, it says: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5)
Giving thanks isn’t just a casual thing. Giving thanks is a way of life. The more you think about God every day, the more you’ll be thankful.
Last point for today – in the story we read, there were ten people with a horrible disease who were completely healed. Nine of them were Jews, just like Jesus. The only one who turned back, to thank Jesus, was a Samaritan.
Remember, Jews and Samaritans were enemies. This guy was born on the other side. He had been outcast as a leper, but he was outcast because of his nationality as well. He was unacceptable even when he was clean and healthy.
Now, I don’t think that Jews are ungrateful people. In fact, most Jews pray many times a day. And nearly all Jewish prayers involve giving thanks. For meals, for health, for seeing something amazing or beautiful.
On the average, I’d say that Jews are much more thankful, on a daily basis, than most Christians.
The point is, be thankful. Be more thankful that you’ve been before. Thank God when your prayers are answered. Thank God ahead of time, when you’re still waiting for things to happen.
Thank God for things of grace, that you didn’t deserve. Thank God for things you worked hard for.
Give thanks for good things that happen to other people. Give thanks, even when you’re disappointed.
When you’re tired. When you’re happy. When you’re hungry. When you’re full. There is always something to be thankful for!
Now, enjoy your turkey, and stuffing, and all those really good things this week. Have fun, and rejoice if you’re able to be with your family.
Reach out to people who are lonely. Say a prayer for anyone who needs it.
Share what you can. Bless everyone. Thank God, for God is good, all the time.