Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem, and He passed through Samaria and Galilee. He came to a village where He met ten men. These were not ordinary men, but men with leprosy.
Leprosy was a terrible disease, one that plagued many during the time Christ lived on this earth. There were many laws regarding the treatment of the lepers, and you can read about those laws in the book of Leviticus.
Our concern today is not in the disease, but it is in Jesus’ interaction with these lepers. It concerns the reaction of these men to our Lord.
When the lepers met Jesus, they cried out to Him to have mercy on them. They must have known something of His reputation, His ability to heal, and His compassion on those with whom He came in contact.
Jesus immediately responded by telling them to go show themselves to the priest, something that was required before they could return to their families. Upon hearing this, they walked away.
What happened next is the significant part of this story. Luke 17:15-16 says, “Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.”
One of the ten returned to thank Jesus. One of the ten showed gratitude for the cleansing of a body that kept him from his family, friends, and home. This man, a Samaritan, a man hated by the Jews, was the only that said, “Thank you.”
We live in a time when expressing gratitude seems unimportant. I notice this with adults, but I also see it in children. Simple appreciation is almost a thing of the past. Obviously, Jesus saw it in His time as well.
Just two weeks ago, we presented our minister and his wife with a friendship quilt. Each family in our congregation wrote a message on a quilt scrap, and two of the ladies in our congregation made the quilt. We were able to keep the whole thing a secret.
On the Sunday evening we presented the quilt, our minister preached a sermon on being thankful. He talked about how important it is to be thankful to one another and also to God. He had no idea what was about to take place.
At the end of the service, the congregation was asked to remain seated. One of our deacons spoke about the more than thirty years of service this family has given to us. He spoke about their dedication to the church and to our mission programs. Then he asked the congregation to come up to the front and “thank” them for everything they had done. One by one, members young and old, expressed appreciation to them.
I realize that thirty plus years of service does not compare with the healing of a body suffering from leprosy, but the message is the same. People do things for us all day every day. How many times do we remember to say a word of appreciation? How many times do we bow our heads and say a simple “thank you” to God our Father for answering our prayers, for blessing us with sunshine and rain, for healing a broken heart or a broken body?
May we pause this day, and give thanks to God. May we say words of appreciation to those in our family, the person at the checkout, the server at the restaurant where we have lunch, the person behind the counter at the department store or cleaners. Wherever we go whatever we do, let us give thanks.
Sandra Oliver