THANKSGIVING 2013: Thoughts on The Traditional Gospel (St.Luke 17:11-19)

THANKSGIVING 2013:

Thoughts on The Traditional Gospel

(St. Luke 17:11-19)

 

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[b] met him. They stood at a distance ¹³ and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

 

The pitiable lepers would likely take as much mercy (or as little) that they could get.  They were in "community" -- as it is fashionable to say these days.  But that "community", to put it mildly, was kept at a distance from every other place, from anyone else, from any other thing.  Because of their hideous disease, they could no longer be with their loved ones.  No kisses or hugs could be exchanged.  A few little scraps of "mercy"was all they could hope for -- but forget about sitting down to turkey and pumpkin pie.   For them, everything that mattered was "at a distance."

 

But then there came a day when they got more than a scrap.  Essentially, they got their meal ticket punched.  "Go, show yourselves to the priests," said a man who was on His way to Jerusalem.   Taking Him at His Word, they did just that.  On the journey they noticed that all the dirt and disease that characterized their "community" was falling off like so much dead skin.  There was a new spring in the step.  They were cleansed.

 

There was only one more thing to do:  get to the priests (they were basically the "health department") and have the cleansing verified legally.  After that, they could sing "Happy Days are Here Again!"

 

There were ten of them.  After so many years of misery and being ostracized from society, one certainly could forgive them for what we nowadays called a sense of entitlement. After all that pain, they DESERVED this.  Thus, no time was to be wasted in making their healing official.

 

But one of them turned back.  He actually DISOBEYED the command of Jesus, and he all but screamed his gratitude.

 

I'm ashamed, because I know I wouldn't have stopped in my tracks.  Oh, I might have sought Him out later to say thanks  -- "Hey, I really appreciate it, Jesus. Thanks much!" -- after my life was re-established.  But that impulse of immediate gratitude would be drowned out by my sense of entitlement. 

 

Jesus told him to get up and go, and I'm sure He smiled when He said it.  Jesus would head off in His own direction.  He was on His way to Jerusalem.  There, upon the cross , He paid for my sins -- including my penchant for keeping Jesus at a distance, for throwing only "scraps" at the sick and needy, and for that very fashionable sense that I deserve the good things that I purport to be thankful for.

 

In the end, it's all about grace.  And grace, by its very nature, is undeserved.  I'm persuaded that genuine gratitude and thanksgiving is a most humbling experience -- "He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him."

 

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

Thanksgiving Eve

Nov. 27, 2013