Luke 17:11-19
11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
When I was in middle school, I was on the soccer team. One of the drills that I did at home to hone my reflexes was to kick the soccer ball at the side of our woodpile. The edges of the woodpile were not smooth due to the unevenness of the wood logs, and this resulted in the randomness of the ball’s return. I would kick the ball into the side of the woodpile and the ball would bounce off and return to me in a random direction. Sometimes it would bounce back to the left or to the right, sometimes straight up and sometimes over my head. But I knew that every time I kicked the ball into the pile it would always come back to me.
Thanksgiving is exactly like my soccer ball. God has given us many gifts and now is the time for us to give back to God. The ball is kicked, and it returns to the kicker, God has given many gifts to us, now is the time for us to give back something to God. In our story of the ten lepers, Christ has given the grace of healing to ten individuals burdened by an incurable skin disease. But only one, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. The one leper recognized the gift of healing and returned to give back something to Christ. He came back to give back thanks and praise. God, through Christ, gives to us, we return to God, through Christ to give something back: thanks, and praise. Giving back thanks becomes Thanksgiving to and for God.
For some of us, this day finds us like the leper having been given gifts of healing from our illnesses and injuries. But for many of us, this day finds us unhealed, coping with many infirmities and difficult circumstances. Certainly, many are struggling with COVID-19, many are wrestling with financial insecurities of being in quarantine, many are combating loneliness and separation from our families in our self-made bubbles (and we should be). But we most certainly look at our situations and see the overwhelming problems. Instead of giving back thanks and praise to God, we see our difficulties and give back to God angst and anguish. Instead of giving back gratitude and words of blessing to God, we gripe and complain about our sufferings in life. We do not thank and bless God for what God has given us, we criticize God for we do not have.
I do not have much love, if any, for the old gospel songs, but the message of one of them is so dreadfully important. The song is “Count Your Blessings,” and if we can get around the style of the music for just a moment, the message strikes home with us. For all the things that we can see and experience of pain, struggle, and sorrow, we can also see and count the blessings given to us by God. Instead of naming and counting our troubles we can instead name and count our blessings. If we can criticize God about what God has not done, we can certainly thank and bless God for what he has done.
Let me suggest three blessings that we all enjoy to this day, regardless of our circumstances, or the circumstances of our world around us:
- The Breath of Life – We are all dust and to dust we shall return, but we also are animated by the very breath of God. God in His loving, freedom chose to form us from the ground and to animate us with his own Breath from his own mouth, giving us life in creation.
- The Son of God – We have been given the life and death and resurrection of God’s only beloved Son. In order that our sins may be forgiven, and we might inherit new and everlasting life. God in His loving, freedom chose to redeem us from sin and death at the great personal cost of giving over his Son.
- The Kingdom to Come – We have been given the new creation, under the Lordship of Christ. Justice instead of oppression. Life swallowing death. Health overcoming infirmity. Communion defeating isolation. Joy destroying sadness. Peace obliterating conflict. God in His loving freedom chose to give us a blessed eternity in his new creation.
In whatever our circumstances are, whether fair or foul, we have at least these three things and perhaps even a hundred more that we could name and count. But the point is that no matter what we are dealing with, or struggling with, or trying to carry, or being consumed by, on this Thanksgiving day we have reasons to give back to God words and deeds of gratitude and blessing. We will give back to God something this Thanksgiving, it will either be gratitude and blessing, or it will be criticism and ingratitude. What will you give back? Complaining about the pandemic or appreciation for the breath of life? Whining about politics or admiration for the Crucified and Resurrected Jesus? Moaning about what we do not have or the expectant hope for the Kingdom to come? You absolutely will give something back to God this Thanksgiving season, but you have a choice of what that will be, nastiness and vitriol or gratefulness and glory. May God be given the Glory, the Honor, and the Praises of his people for all that God has given to us. Amen and Hallelujah!
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