"There’s Gratitude for You!"

Luke 17: 11-19

Laity Sunday + October 10, 2010

Pilgrim Congregational United Church of Christ

400 Glenwood Drive

Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404

“Say ‘Thank You’ to the nice man, the nice lady, dear.” Do you remember your mother saying something like that to you when you were a child? And even if no one had to tell you that haven’t you said similar words to your children or grandchildren? Let’s face it: we human beings aren’t born with an innate sense of gratitude. As little children we are no more grateful by nature than my dog Molly. Molly will take every bit of food offered to her and I have yet to hear her say “Thank you!” But, then, I don’t expect it from her. Yet, when I have done something nice for another person and they don’t express some sort of gratitude, I will admit I get a bit annoyed. I’ll bet you feel the same way. Gratitude is part of the glue that holds human society together.

That’s why the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers gets to us. It’s a timeless lesson. On his way to Jerusalem for the last time, Jesus is passing from the northern part of Israel – Galilee – to the southern part – Judah. On his way he goes through the no man’s land between Galilee and Judah: Samaria. More accurately we might call it the “no Jew” land because Jews and Samaritans, by and large, despised each other in the same way most Israelis and Palestinians despise each other today. Strange, when you think about it, because Jews and Samaritans shared much in common religiously and culturally but it is those little differences that make all the difference in hatred and prejudice. Think of the differences that have sometimes divided Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians or Conservative and Liberal Protestant Christians! Little things mean a lot. At least to some people.

But notice this: the ten lepers Jesus met are living together in that wasteland between Samaria and Galilee. Nine are Jews and one is a Samaritan but they are united in one fellowship of suffering because of their leprosy. They are mutual outcasts because of their disease. People in those days were terrified of coming into contact with a leper because it was not only unsightly but also believed to be terribly contagious. How ironic, because modern medicine tells us that what was called “leprosy” in the Bible was probably only some disfiguring skin disease and not true leprosy, Hansen’s disease. Since no one knew that, lepers were forced to live at some distance from home and family in leper colonies as well as to wear little bells sewn on their clothing so that people who came near them would be warned away by the tinkling sound. And as if that weren’t enough, if a leper saw a non-leper coming near, he had to call out, “Unclean, unclean.”

In our story, the lepers do keep their distance from Jesus but call out to him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” How they had heard about Jesus and came to believe that he might help them is anybody’s guess. But this one thing is sure: though it is difficult for us modern men and women to accept the historical reality of the healing miracles attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, there is no doubt that marvelous things happened to those who came to him for healing. These lepers knew that and believed it. No wonder they called out to him. And Jesus did not disappoint them. By the way, whether you and I believe that Jesus really did perform healing miracles, perhaps the greatest miracle is that Jesus was never put off by people who had disfiguring illnesses, painful-to-see disabilities, or frightening emotional distress. The measure of Jesus’ compassion was his ability to be with all people regardless of their affliction or condition.

“Go show yourselves to the priests,” says Jesus. That was the law. If you believed you had been healed of leprosy, you had to present yourself to the priests in the temple, either at Jerusalem if you were a Jew or at Mr. Gerizim if you were a Samaritan and get a certificate proving you were cured.

So off go the ten lepers and the text says, “As they went, they were made clean.” That’s a curious little detail. “As they went, they were made clean.” In other words they were not healed immediately by Jesus. It was not an instantaneous cure. They had to participate in their own healing. When they made the decision to get up and go the priests they were healed along the way. That sounds very modern, doesn’t it? Aren’t we being encouraged more and more these days to be an active part of our own healing in our relationships with our doctors? Healing really is a holistic thing. In a very real sense, if we do not believe we will be healed and act like it will be a reality, our healing will not be nearly as complete, if it comes at all.

When the ten lepers realize they are actually cured, we have to assume they were overjoyed. And why not? Now they could return home to their families and resume their normal lives. One of the worst things about any serious illness or accident is the depressed feeling that things will never be the same again for us. We want to believe we will get better but how difficult it is to keep our spirits up. But then when we realize we are better, what a feeling of joy and relief floods over us.

We can imagine those ten lepers racing down the road to get their certificate, the tangible evidence that they are now normal people again. Nine of them keep running but one stops in his tracks. It suddenly comes home to him just what has happened. He is overcome with a powerful sense of gratitude and runs back to Jesus, throws himself at his feet, and thanks God and Jesus for his healing. And, in another ironic twist, the story points out: “And he was a Samaritan.”

Now the bigotries and prejudices of the past don’t mean much if anything to us today. Who cares about the fact that certain people hated other people a hundred or a thousand years ago? So to give this story any dramatic impact for us today, who would the Samaritan be for us? A Muslim? An illegal immigrant? No, that’s too easy for us as good liberal Protestants. Who would we be surprised to be grateful today? How about a Wall Street broker bailed out by the Obama stimulus? Or maybe a Right-Wing Evangelical Christian who hates homosexuals? Would we be surprised to discover that they can be grateful, too? I suspect we would because we have our own prejudices, don’t we?

But if this story is meant to confront us with the ways we categorize and divide people in social and cultural and political ways, it is even more meant to confront us with this terrible sin of ingratitude. “Weren’t ten lepers healed?” asks Jesus. “What happened to the other nine?” What, indeed? Why didn’t they come back to offer some sort of thanks?

What excuses can we make for them?

- Maybe they were anxious to get to the priests to ensure the healing would last and be recognized.

- Maybe they were so happy to be healed they wanted to get home to their families and friends as soon as possible.

- Maybe they thought God owed it to them to be healed. They didn’t deserve to become a leper. Now God had put things right. Why be grateful about that?

- Maybe they were just thoughtless. Lord knows you and I have been there, haven’t we? How many times have we neglected to be grateful for good things that have happened to us?

Here’s a preacher’s story about gratitude. It isn’t true, of course, but it’s a great story. A certain woman came to her pastor and told him she had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She didn’t have six months to live. “But, Pastor,” she said. “My daughter is going to be married in six months and I want so much to be at her wedding. Please pray to God that I will be able to attend.” The pastor promised to pray for her. (By the way, why do you think my prayers work better than yours!?) In any case, six months later she attended her daughter’s wedding. She was radiantly happy. At the reception the pastor came up to the woman, smiled, and said, “You must be very grateful to God you are here today?” “But, Pastor,” she said. “I have two other unmarried daughters!” With God, as with other people, it isn’t just a matter of “What have you done for me, lately?” but “What are you going to do for me in the future?”

I want to close this message with two thoughts, one a reflection and the other an admonition. I want us to reflect on the fact that in our story Jesus tells the healed Samaritan, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Actually, the Greek word is “salvation.” In other words, this man is not only physically healed but also spiritually healed. He is whole, complete, in right relationship with God and with his fellow human beings. Yes, it’s wonderful to be well again when we have been very sick or injured but it is far more wonderful to be restored in our faith, in our vision that life really is beautiful and good. And, you know something? That can happen whether we are physically healed or not. And it is a greater blessing.

Now let me share with you an admonition and then we can all go home. Whenever I visit someone in Memorial Hospital I always see little plaques asking: “Have You Thanked God Today?” Good question. Have I? Have you? Does gratitude to God for who we are and what we have overflow from our lives and spill over onto other? Or could we care less? If we are not grateful people our lives will shrivel up and die no matter how much we have of this world’s blessings. But if we remind ourselves to be thankful and live out that gratitude our lives will take on an incredible richness and beauty. The choice is ours. Amen