Seeing With Our Hearts:

Having an Attitude of Gratitude

Luke 17:11-19                                                 Nancy Willet

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas                                                October 10, 2004

I don't know about you, but when I was growing up, when we got a birthday or Christmas gift, my sisters and I always had to write a thank you note to grandma or Aunt Kathy or whoever sent us the gift. It seemed very important to my mom that we do this. Then, when I got older and had children of my own, writing thank you notes was something that became important for me to teach my children. Saying thank you is a part of the manners that we teach our children to have.

Today's lesson is about giving thanks. But in this story, the act of giving thanks goes way beyond just having good manners.

We read about the story of Jesus traveling on his way to Jerusalem, toward the place of his death. The scripture says that he was in the region between Samaria and Galilee. This is an important fact to note in this reading because it tells us that Jesus was close to the area where both Samaritans and Jews lived.

The Samaritans were people hated by the Jews. To the Jews, the Samaritans were unclean people—with or without leprosy. So this is one of the facts that makes this story interesting. This story is the story of 10 lepers, and we know that at least one of the lepers was a Samaritan.

A person that had leprosy was excluded from the rest of society—they became the outsiders. Leprosy, as referred to in the Bible, could be any kind of skin disease—they were not able to make the distinctions that we can today. Leprosy was very contagious, and the people who were infected were banished from their homes, their families and their towns. The lepers formed their own colonies in which they lived. It was a law that they had to keep a distance of 12 feet in between themselves and those who were not lepers.  When anyone approached them, they had to cry our “unclean, unclean!” so no one would come near.

Picture them in your mind, if you will…a group of outcasts that have covered themselves in rags, they let their hair grow and when anyone approached them, they had to cry out "unclean, unclean! don’t come near!” “Glady,” the passerby must have thought. “I’d really rather not get too close to you anyway.

So, here are these ten lepers, nine Jews, we assume, and one Samaritan. Samaritans were outsiders, were excluded by the Jews. Yet in this group of ten, they all had something in common. The usual racial and national boundaries were not there. They all had the common misfortune of being lepers. In the leper colony, everyone was equal, both Jew and Samaritan. It is the same in the presence of God—all are equal, and all are in need of God’s mercy and healing.

So, as Jesus and the rest of his traveling group began to pass by the leper colony, it would seem natural to hear the lepers calling out: “unclean, unclean!" But isn't it interesting that this is not what the lepers said when they saw Jesus passing by the village. They said "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!" These lepers knew that Jesus had healed lepers before. They must have heard of the miracles and the healings Jesus had performed and they were anxious for Jesus to heal them. If it had been anyone else passing by, they would have probably asked for money, but they didn't. They asked for mercy.

They cried out for mercy and Jesus saw them. This is a small, seemingly insignificant part of this text, but it is an important point. Jesus saw. How easy it was, and is, for the rest of society to look the other way, to avoid someone when they are in need of help, of comfort, of mercy. Yet, Jesus saw.

Rabbi Harold Kushner writes I his book Who Needs God: "Religion is not primarily a set of beliefs, a collection of prayers or a series of rituals. Religion is first and foremost a way of seeing. It can't change the facts about the world we live in, but it can change the way we see those facts, and that in itself can often make a difference."1

Jesus saw them and told them to  “go show yourselves to the priests." Off they ran to present themselves to the priests for inspection. According to the Jewish law, it was one of the duties of the priest to inspect the lepers, and if they thought the sores and the scaly patches on their skin were healed, they were fit to return to society. But, they had to be approved by the priests first.

Note that Jesus did not heal them immediately. On their way to see the priests, which was about 50 miles, or a 2 to 3 day journey by foot, they were healed. Can you imagine how happy these people must have been?  Walking along as they were, suddenly they began to notice that the scaly patches, the sores covering their bodies were beginning to clear up. Off to see a wife or husband who they hadn't seen in weeks. Off to see a son or a daughter or grandmother or grandfather they hadn't seen for months. They ran off to check their fields, their fishing boats, their stores, their garden, and their oxen. Off they ran. So much to do now, so many people to see, so many things to do! They all ran off, all but one.

We don't know if the other nine gave thanks or not, the text doesn't say. I can imagine they were just so happy to be well! They were consumed with the blessing they had received. They received what they asked for, but it stopped there.  Busy, busy, busy, rush, rush, off to see my loved ones. Off to do those things I haven't been able to do in so, so long.  Too busy to turn back and say thank you.

 All but one. This one person remembered and “seeing  that he was healed, he came back praising God in a loud voice.” Here is that little word again. He saw. The Samaritan saw he was healed and he returned. He saw the connection between the blessing he had received and the mercy given to him by Jesus. He saw the blessing received from Jesus as the power and the mercy of God. He saw the connection between Jesus and God.  He saw the power, mercy, and love of God in Jesus, and returned to praise him in a loud voice. "He saw what could only be seen through the eyes of faith—the human Jesus is the power of God."2

"Faith can be described as having the ability to see what can't be seen-to believe the unbelievable."3 Do we always see when others do things for us that deserve our thanks? It's very easy for most of us to become very familiar with our husbands or wives, or your partner, or your best friend. I would be so bold to say that it is possible that many of us may take for granted, at times the kindness and love we are shown by those who love us. Do you think there are times we take God's blessings for granted as well?

On the flip side, though, when someone who doesn't have close, loving relationships, is shown kindness or love, they are extremely grateful. This is how the Samaritan must have been feeling. The nine that ran off were expecting God's blessing. They seem to have taken the blessing for granted. Maybe they thought this is something God owed them.

They were in a time of crisis in their lives and needed God's mercy. They asked for mercy and they got what they needed from God—healing. Their actions toward God stopped there, however. The Samaritan, on the other hand, was genuinely grateful and turned back to give thanks and praise to God. He saw and he gave thanks.

 Gratitude is an expression of faith. Our faith, like our gratitude is our response to the grace God so freely gives to us.

You see this is a story of 10 lepers who were all healed and one Samaritan leper who received the true blessing of God. The mercy and the healing all 10 leers received was given just for the asking. But it is through having an asking faith with a sense of gratitude that we receive the true blessings of God.

This story, as you can see, is more than just a simple story about saying our thank-yous. It shows us how an outsider, even within a group of outsiders—the most unclean of the unclean, can be an example of the essence of faith and how we are to live. As the Samaritan in the parable of the Good Samaritan showed love for his neighbor on the road, this Samaritan showed love for God. Together, does he not fulfill the two commandments that are foremost above all? To love God with all your heart, your soul, and your mind, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

I give thanks to God that for the blessing to learn here at Bethany and to speak this message to you today. We are different, you and I. We are all different from each other in one way or another. In some senses we are outsiders, in other senses we are insiders. But isn't it comforting to know, that we, the people who make up the church are all equal in the kingdom of God. Just like the barriers of race and ethnicity were erased in the leper colony. God can erase the barriers we put up in our communities today if we open our eyes and see the world, see our neighbors and thank God with a grateful heart.

Let us all glorify God with a loud voice for the goodness of grace and mercy that is given to each one of us every day.

Amen.

1 Luke 17:11-19, Proper 23 – Year C. Brian P. Stoffregen Exegetical Notes at Crossmarks: Christian Resources. http://www.crossmarks.com/brian/luke17x11.htm

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

Resources:

Craddock, Fred B. Luke: Interpretation: A bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville:

     John Knox Press, 1990.

Loader, William. "First Thoughts on the Year C Gospel Passages from the Lectionary: Pentecost 19.

     http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/LKPentecost19.htm

"Sermon Writer: Resources for Lectionary Preaching." http://www.lectionary.org/luke