May the mumbling commence!
Being thankful is about more than manners – my apologies to all those “Miss Manners” fans out there. Being thankful is about giving credit where it is due. Being thankful is about acknowledging who is worthy of thanks and praise.
Being thankful is something we have to practice in a world where thankfulness is rare and entitlement is rampant. Sometimes thanklessness and entitlement seems to be sliding ever faster down a slippery mountainside. But these attitudes are merely part of human nature. Thanklessness and entitlement were present in Jesus’ day – and long before…
Read from Luke chapter seventeen:
Now 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 called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
When he saw them, he 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 cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." (Verses 11-19)
Jesus, have pity on us! Have we forgotten our position? You are our Master.
Jesus ordered the men with leprosy to go to the priests. The men were to make the first steps toward reintegration with the family of God. And, as they went, they were cleansed. All ten of the men went. But only one came back to praise God for what Jesus had done for them.
Have you ever felt like you were just “going through the motions” in your faith life? It seems that nine of these ten men were. Maybe they were simply following the instructions of one who was known as a healer – Jesus. But Jesus is much more than a healer.
One of the men, a Samaritan, recognized Jesus for who he was – a representative of the living Lord and a catalyst to his healing, physically and socially. He, alone, returned to give thanks. Jesus defined the Samaritan’s act as giving praise to God.
Thankfulness and praise to the Lord are key elements in faith. Jesus said to the Samaritan, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” He was a foreigner, and he saw the obvious movement of the Holy Spirit of God in his cleansing.
Sometimes, it takes an outsider to see the beauty. Think about where you live. People may come from around the world to see the beauty of your hometown. As like as not, you probably miss the beauty. You and I see the beauty of the part of the world in which we live. It is far too easy to become deadened to the beauty and miracles of the part of the world we live in.
So, be gracious hosts to foreigners who come to visit your hometown. These people will help you to see the beauty in your hometown through new eyes. Be gracious hosts to strangers who visit your congregations. Through their eyes, you will see the beauty of God’s adoptive family. Then, we can properly give thanks and praise to God. Then our faith will grow in leaps and bounds.
Practice thankfulness!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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