"what Is It About Giving Thanks?"

“What is it about Giving Thanks?”

Luke 17:11-19

Every holiday season comes with high expectations for a cozy and festive time of year and that’s awesome.

However, for many this time of year is tinged with sadness, anxiety, or depression.

Certainly, someone with major depression or a severe anxiety disorder

should get professional help.

But what about those who just feel lost or overwhelmed or down this time of year?

Research suggests that one aspect of the Thanksgiving season can actually lift our spirits, and it’s built right into the holiday itself—being grateful.

The word gratitude come from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness or gratefulness depending on the context.

Gratitude is being grateful for what we receive, whether it’s something we can touch or not.

With gratitude, we acknowledge the goodness in our lives—some say it means acknowledging that there is good in the world—period.

And in the process, people usually recognize the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside themselves.

As a result, being grateful also helps us connect with something larger than ourselves as individuals—whether that connection is to other people, nature or ultimately God!

Researchers are finding more and more data that shows that gratitude makes us happier, improves our mental well-being, improves our physical health, and increases our self-esteem.

I don’t know about you, but I want to learn to be more grateful.

I want to become more intentional in being thankful for the good in life and not focus so much on the negative.

(pause)

In our Gospel Lesson for this morning Jesus and His followers are walking to Jerusalem “along the border between Samaria and Galilee.”

The word “Samaria” is a red flag itself.

Good Jews didn’t go anywhere near Samaria or Samaritans.

They were a despised group of people, inferior in every way…at least that is how they were viewed.

And what a horrible way to think of any group of people, human beings whom God loves and we are to love ourselves.

Thankfully, Jesus came and showed us that all people are equal in God’s eyes.

If only we could get that through our heads.

Anyway, on the way to Jerusalem, near Samaria, Jesus and His disciples come across ten men with leprosy.

And it is impossible to over-emphasize how socially alienated, marginalized, hated, feared, shut off and isolated these guys were.

They were thrown out of their homes, disowned by their families, and from their synagogues.

People were even afraid to walk across the shadow of a leper.

Let’s stop and think for a moment about how it might have felt to be a leper.

Would you not be stripped of every ounce of human dignity?

Would it be hard to love yourself?

Would you think God doesn’t love you?

Would you feel less than other people?

Would you want to die?

(pause)

Somehow, these guys have heard about Jesus.

Perhaps, they have heard about Him from other lepers.

Maybe they have heard that He is not like other people.

He treats them with love and dignity.

He doesn’t judge them.

He’s not afraid of them.

He doesn’t cast them out.

And He can heal them.

And so, they see Him coming their way and they get really excited.

This is their big chance.

Here is the One they have heard about.

And so, they called out in a loud voice: “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

When Jesus saw them, “he said, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests,’ and as they went they were cleansed.”

Showing themselves to the priests was their opportunity to be accepted back into their religious communities, their families, their old lives.

There were 10 former lepers, 9 kept on running or skipping and jumping to the priests but one stopped in his tracks.

When he saw he was healed, [he] bypassed the priests and his old life and instead turned around and went back to Jesus, praising God and throwing himself at Jesus’ feet thanking Him!!!

Then Jesus says a very interesting thing, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

What does that mean?

Was there something about this guy that was more well, healthier, than the other nine that didn’t return to thank Jesus?

I mean, they were all healed of leprosy were they not?

Notice in verse 15 how it says that “when he saw he was healed, [he] came back…”

The word used to describe “came back” means to “turn around” and it’s filled with deep theological meaning.

I means to make a decision, to make a choice.

The guy could have gone, shown himself to the priests and then returned to what his life had been like before he had been healed of leprosy…

…but instead, he chose a completely NEW LIFE altogether.

He chose to worship Jesus.