11252020 – Luke 17.11-19
I am guilty.
I am pretty sure, we ALL are.
I can be thankful.
I can be FILLED with gratitude.
But I can also COME OFF as being THANKLESS, sometimes.
One might think that I am altogether DEVOID of a thankful spirit…DEVOID of any and all gratitude whatsoever…
Which I want you to know is NOT TRUE.
It is NOT the case. It is not even CLOSE.
YES, sometimes I AM MORE THANKFUL, than other times… and, sometimes I am NOT.
Sometime I am VERY thankful and sometime I am EXTREMELY grateful.
And sometimes, NOT SO MUCH. I think it is all based on the circumstances and the emotions at the time. I usually do not analyze my thankfulness or my gratitude.
Of course, we should ALWAYS be thankful and show GRATITUDE.
But the truth of the matter is, we sometimes fall short.
This is such an AWESOME story.
It has SO MUCH to teach, EACH and EVERY ONE of us.
It is like a PRIMER on thanksgiving and gratitude.
To begin with we can NEVER JUDGE the other 9 lepers, or anyone else for that matter.
We ARE NOT THEM.
We do not know WHAT “they” endured.
I am sure THEY WERE thankful.
So, why is it, that we DO NOT GIVE THEM the benefit of the doubt?
Why is it, that we only talk about the ONE THANKFUL leper? Isn’t that just a wee bit judgmental, on our parts?
Maybe the nine were not AS DEMONSTRATIVE as the ONE leper who RETURNED.
Perhaps they SOUGHT Jesus out LATER…on their own…and we are JUST NOT told of it.
Or maybe, they were just faceless individuals in the large crowds of people that supported and followed Jesus…and that they followed him with thankful hearts.
We will NEVER KNOW.
I think it is very much like us, to CONDEMN…and to point A FINGER at THEM (or others) and attempt to judge THEM…
When we may NEVER KNOW THE FULL STORY.
We are something else. All we see is the tip of the iceberg!
I heard a story one time about an American preacher who was traveling somewhere to preach – when he got held up. As in, “a hold up.” He was being robbed at gun point. It was harrowing.
And this guy, actually found reason TO BE THANKFUL that he was robbed.
I get it, I understand it. We are supposed to be thankful IN ALL THINGS…
But being thankful for BEING ROBBED? Isn’t that a little bit out there?
The guy actually said, “I have been on the road traveling MANY TIMES. I am thankful that during those years…I was never robbed BEFORE THIS.”
Being robbed can be a SCARY THING. It can be life-threatening…and yet, he found a reason to be thankful.
He also went on to say, that even though they took EVERY PENNY he had on him, they DID NOT take his life.
Again, he WAS thankful. He was happy. He was relieved. He was content.
And as he reflected further about the whole experience…he said, “they took everything I had.”
But then, he turned that around and said, “Thankfully, it was NOT THAT MUCH.”
And even upon further reflection he said, “Thank God, IT WAS ME that was robbed” and not someone else who would NOT HAVE HELD UP AS WELL, under all the stress and the strain.
And then making one more FINAL COMMENT he noted, “I am grateful that it was I who was robbed…and not I who ROBBED SOMEONE ELSE.”
The point being I guess, that there is always SOMETHING to be thankful for…
Sometimes you may have to look for it.
BUT, there is ALWAYS something to be GRATEFUL for…
And we should never judge another human being based upon WHAT WE SEE or OBSERVE or HEAR.
As far as I am concerned…all the lepers were thankful and grateful, but only one returned immediately that day.
So, WHAT IS IT that you are thankful for today?
Amen.