A Portrait of Gratitude

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They called out from a distance, unable to approach the teacher. Their skin disease rendered them unclean and untouchable to the intolerant world in which they lived. The Torah mandated that lepers call out, "UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!" when approaching others who were "clean." Being a physician, Dr. Luke understood their pitiful condition more than most. Leprosy in that day was not leprosy as we know it today. It was an illness that covered a wide variety of skin conditions that resulted in the victim being quarantined by society. They were cut off from work, from family, from worship in the temple...from life. They wandered about hopeless and desperate, living in colonies with other ailing outcasts in the same wretched situation. Leprosy in the first century was the ultimate curse on a person's life. For them, life as they knew it was over unless they were cured and declared clean by a temple priest. Their very existence had become lonely, painful and miserable.

So, as Jesus entered a village between Samaria and Galilee, the seventeenth chapter of Luke tells us that ten lepers cried out to Him for mercy. Perhaps they had heard how He had healed another leper, or how He had made the lame to walk or the blind to see. Whatever the case, help was needed, and these men were desperate. Maybe, just maybe, this miracle worker from Galilee could do for them what no one else could, so they cried out to the Healer.

If you've ever been desperately ill or cared for someone who is, you can relate to their pain. You understand the depth of despair when, unexpectedly, the uninvited guest of infirmity shows up at your door. It is possible to be prepared for death, life on the other side, but our bodies cling to life here. We are never ready for the process of dying. It's painful. It's frightening. It's the great unknown. But when Jesus enters the picture, hope emerges. He conquered death. No other god, idol, or wanna-be savior can lay claim to the title of Death Conqueror. Whenever we call out to Him as these men did, He responds. Does that mean our circumstances will always change? No. Sometimes He doesn't respond in the manner we choose, but He does respond. For those who trust in Him, healing always comes. It may come on the other side of death, but it does come. Healing is not a matter of the strength or depth of our faith, but solely His mercy. Just like these men, we need only ask and He will hear our prayer. He never turns His face away from our need and promises that His grace will be sufficient in the darkest situation. (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The lepers asked for healing, and Jesus healed them. He was able and willing. He then told them to go and show themselves to the priests, and as they went, all ten of them were cleansed. Why go to the priest? To be declared clean and fit to rejoin society and worship in the temple. Even before the miracle had taken place, they followed Jesus' directive in obedience. But Luke singles out one of the lepers in our story. After realizing he had been healed, the leper turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He fell at the feet of the Master, expressing his gratitude through worship. Imagine the scene as the man, who only a few minutes earlier couldn't approach The Master because of his condition, threw himself into the dust at the feet of Jesus and said thank you over and over again. In a moment, his life had been restored, changed forever. He could not contain his gratitude. In his heart, falling face down before the Master was not just the right thing to do... it was the only thing to do.

Jesus then stated that ten were cleansed, but only one returned to praise God...and he was a Samaritan. There is so much meaning bound in this statement. The Samaritans were despised by the people of Israel. How could it be that the lowly Samaritan was the only one of the ten wise enough to recognize he had been touched by God? "Where were the other nine?" Jesus asked. Indeed, where were the other nine?

Whenever I read this passage of scripture, I always seem to identify more with the nine than the one. I need only look around at how blessed I've been to realize how ungrateful I am. (I could have said "we", but I'll let you speak for yourself.) While most of us ponder what we will eat today, many in our world wonder if they will eat today. We deem education a "right" in our civilized world, while over one billion people on our planet can't read or write a word - most importantly, the Bible. We try and decide whether our pain is serious enough to warrant visiting a myriad of specialized physicians at our disposal, while many in our world will never be exposed to proper medical care. They will suffer and die in pain. I could go on and on, but you get the point.

Every year during this season, we are reminded of God's bounty in our lives through the holiday called Thanksgiving. In 1621, the settlers at Plymouth Rock celebrated a feast to give thanks for the harvest, which we deem the first thanksgiving feast on our continent. The winter of 1620 had been a devastating experience as nearly half their settlement died. The plentiful harvest brought hope for better days and they celebrated with the natives who had helped them survive. Many aren't aware that George Washington established a Thanksgiving holiday in 1789, but some opposed the idea. Later, a magazine editor, Sara J. Hale, embarked on a 40 year campaign to establish Thanksgiving as the holiday that we recognize today. Abraham Lincoln responded, and in 1863 declared the last Thursday in November a national day of Thanksgiving. In 1941, Congress made Thanksgiving a legal holiday.

The Thanksgiving season has become a time for family and good friends to spend time together and rest for a few days. The centerpiece of the holiday is a meal where we gather around the table to feast and give thanks. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, remember the poor Samaritan leper who, after being cleansed, had the wherewithal to return and give thanks for what God had done in His life. He was more blessed by his second encounter with Jesus than the first because Jesus recognized the leper's faith through his gratitude and praise. And through that faith, he was blessed in a way the other nine were not. The ability to express heartfelt appreciation to God for His goodness reveals the depth of our understanding of life and things deemed eternal. Acknowledging His blessing is not just the right thing to do...it's the only thing to do.

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