The Ten Lepers
In Palestine in the time of Jesus there was a disease called leprosy. A person who had this disease was known as a leper. Lepers were not allowed to mix with other people and if anyone happened to get near them, they had to shout out, “Unclean! Unclean!” as a warning to keep away. As no one would employ them, the lepers had to rely on what money people gave them in order to keep themselves alive. They were also forbidden to live in towns or villages, and so used to gather by the road just outside and beg for money from the passers by. If the signs of leprosy disappeared the person had to be examined by priests. If the priests were satisfied that all was well, the person was certified as clean and could mix with other people again.
One day, as Jesus was entering a village, he met a group of 10 lepers who had banded themselves together for company. As soon as they recognised him they called out to him to have pity on them. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (NRSV, Luke 17:13). In reply, Jesus said what seemed a most extraordinary thing. “Go and show yourselves to the priests” (NRSV, Luke 17:14). The normal order of events would be for the people to be cured first and only then to go to the priests to be pronounced clean. But Jesus sent them to be certified as cured when they still had all the signs of their disease.
Without waiting to think, the 10 lepers went off but before they had gone very far they saw that they were cured. They were lepers no longer! From now on they would be able to live an ordinary life like anyone else. As soon as they realised what had happened, they hurried all the faster so as to get certified as clean – that is, all except one. He was a foreigner from Samaria and he, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a great shout glorified God and fell down as Jesus’ feet giving him thanks.
But what struck Jesus most of all was the conduct of the other nine who had gone off without even a ‘Thank you’. “Were not ten made clean?” he asked. “But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” (NRSV, Luke 17:17,18).
Thanking God
Very often we are exactly like those nine lepers. When anyone tossed them a coin, no doubt they would say Thank You. But when Jesus gave them their health, which was worth more than all the money in the world, they said nothing. So we often remember to say ‘Thank you’ for little things but forget all about the big. We say ‘Thank you’ when someone passes us the butter or spread during a meal, but are we as quick to thank God for giving us life and for all the good things that make us happy and keep us well?
Think for a moment of the things that make us happy. Home, games, outings, friends and being well and healthy so that we can enjoy them all. And then there are the things which keep us well: food, shelter, sleep. We should remember to thank God for all these things. In particular, we should thank God for our food by saying Grace at meals. Before the meal we can say, “Bless, O Lord, these gifts to our use and ourselves to your service”; and after the meal, “For what we have received, O Lord, make us truly thankful”. You can also use your own words, which could be very personal to you and the occasion; for example: “Thank you God for life and family and friends and a lovely birthday tea”.
In our morning prayers we should thank God for his goodness to us all through our life, for the blessings of the Christian Faith and for all that Jesus has done for us to save our souls. In our evening prayers we should think over the happenings of the day for which we ought to be grateful. If you think hard you will probably have quite a list of things. Then with these in mind, say ‘Thank you’ to God in your own words.
Thanksgiving by action
It is easy enough to say ‘Thank you’, although even that we often forget. It is more difficult to show we are thankful by doing something about it. At the Harvest Thanksgiving we do both. Not only do we sing hymns and say prayers of thanksgiving, but we also bring gifts from our gardens and store cupboards. These may be sold and the money given to a good cause, or gifts such as tinned food, tea and cereals given directly to organisations that provide food and shelter for homeless people.
We cannot always show our thanks by giving presents but we can by giving our time or work. For example, we can show our thanks for our food by helping with the shopping or washing up. Many of you do this already, but perhaps there are some who do not. If so, now is the time to start. We can show our gratitude for our home by helping with the housework, and by keeping our bedrooms tidy.
But above all else we should thank God for Our Saviour Jesus Christ who came into this world to save our souls and bring us to Heaven even though it meant his being crucified. All our hope of happiness hereafter hangs on him. The chief way by which we express our thanks for what Jesus has done for us is by offering him to God in the Eucharist. Besides that we can also work for the Church or serve at the altar, sing in the choir, be a bell ringer, help to clean the church or tidy the churchyard, and lend a hand with fundraising events for Church funds or for the Church overseas.
And we can thank God by living the kind of life he wants. In the words of the prayer of St Richard:
Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the cruel pains and insults you have borne for me;
for all the many blessings you have won for me.
O holy Jesus, most merciful Redeemer,
Friend and Brother,
may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and
follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.
SUMMARY
1. We should thank God in our prayers for his goodness in giving us our life, and for all the things which make us happy and keep us well. We thank him for our food by saying Grace at meals.
2. In particular, at the Eucharist we offer Jesus to God in thanksgiving for all he has done to save us and to give us the opportunity of going to Heaven.
3. We should also show our thanks by helping at home and by taking part in Church work.