Being Thankful
Luke 17:11-19
by Florida Ron

Lepers in the time of Jesus were among the most unfortunate humans to ever live on this planet. Leprosy was regarded as a highly contagious disease, from which there was little likelihood of a cure. Yet not all persons labeled as lepers were suffering from what we know of as Hansen's Disease.

Any skin disorder which resulted in sores and infections that did not heal in a reasonable amount of time caused one to be labeled as a leper. Even the primitive medical attention available in that society was denied to lepers as no one was willing to risk being contaminated with the disease. Laws were passed to regulate the interaction of lepers with the rest of society.

A leper was required by law to keep a safe distance between oneself and people who were not afflicted with leprosy. Lepers were forbidden by law to enter Jerusalem as that city was far too populated to permit lepers to maintain a safe distance between themselves and decent people. Oh yes, we need to remember that in the society of that day ordinary people regarded leprosy as God's just punishment for people who didn't know how to live as decent citizens of the community.

Not only were lepers subjected to the devastating ravages of their disease, but they were also outcasts who were ostracized from decent society since the evidence of their sin was to be seen in their rotting flesh. Only those afflicted with Bubonic Plague or AIDS have even come close to the kind of societal rejection that was accorded the lepers in the society of Jesus' time.

So it is that ten such persons stand at a distance and call to Jesus to have mercy on them. Clearly they knew who Jesus was. They also knew of his reputation as a healer. Perhaps they had even from a distance witnessed him healing others. With hope so near there is no stopping them. They clamor for Jesus to favor them with the kind of healing that he has granted to so many others.

We know the sort of person that Jesus is, so we are not surprised that Jesus had compassion for their pitiful condition. When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." Now that response to the lepers impassioned plea for mercy may strike us as strange, but it was incredibly good news for the ten lepers. Since not all persons labeled as lepers actually suffered from leprosy there were occasions when the skin disorder healed and the person was clearly free from the feared open sores and rotting flesh.

The book of Leviticus contains a detailed description of the ritual examination to be done by the priests in order to determine that one is healed from leprosy and can be safely readmitted to decent society. So it was that when the ten lepers heard Jesus command them to go and show themselves to the priest they understood that he wasn't passing the buck on this one to the priests, but that he was telling them they were to be healed and readmitted to decent society. And as they went they were healed. The mercy they sought had been extended to them by a compassionate act of God. The question that Luke holds up for us to examine is, "How does one respond to such a life turning event?" AND "what difference does it make?"

One of the ten, a foreigner who would not be expected to exhibit good manners, turns back from the group rushing to show the priests that they are once again acceptable people. This foreigner turns back to praise God and to thank Jesus for the incredible gift he has received. Then said Jesus, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well."

Now what is the point here? Are the nine who did not turn back to be denied their healing because they failed to practice good manners and express their appreciation to the one who had blessed them with such an extraordinary gift? No way! The blessing of healing didn't depend upon their appreciative response. We may be sure that when the priests examined them they would be declared healed and thus to be received into society as good and decent people. The only one who is going to have trouble with the priests is the foreigner who will remain suspect simply because he is a foreigner. It won't matter at all to the priests that he was the only one to turn back and thank Jesus for God's generosity. The priests are going to have to declare the foreigner healed of his leprosy, but they aren't going to certify him as a decent and respectable member of society. After all, he is still a foreigner.

The nine were merely doing as they were ordered when, instead of joining the foreigner in turning back to thank Jesus, they continued on their way to see the priests to be certified as free from leprosy. Unlike the foreigner, they knew what the law required and they were going to do it. They were eager to be accepted as decent law abiding citizens once again. My suspicion is, that once they were certified as free from leprosy they would no more continue to associate with their former foreign colleague than they would with a leper.

For these nine the blessing of healing meant that they could return to life as usual. Those who had families would return to them. They would enter family businesses or find a job that would enable them to pay their way in society. They would enjoy parties and participate in festivals. Those with a religious orientation would practice their religion as they had been taught to do by the rabbis. In short they would live the sort of full life that decent law-abiding citizens quietly pursue. They would simply live as ordinary people doing ordinary things. But what of that foreigner, who turned back to praise God and thank Jesus?

Notice that Jesus had more to say to him than to simply complain that the other nine were not as appreciative. Jesus said to him, "Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well." What in the world is Jesus talking about? This foreigner is already healed as are the other nine. When Jesus says to the foreigner, "your faith has made you well", he is referring to a healing other than the healing of the leprosy. The blessing of healing that this man receives goes beyond the healing of a skin disease. His life has been healed! Like the other nine he will be certified as free from the leprosy. Like the other nine he will be able to resume a normal life that includes work, family, friends, and parties.

But, unlike the other nine, this foreigner will remember where he has come from. He will not forget what it was like to be one of the living dead, who are lepers. He will live his life in such a way that caring for those less fortunate than himself will be a passionate consideration in all that he does. He will not just be a decent law-abiding citizen, he will be one who seeks the outcasts of society and assists them in the small ways of which he is capable. He will be one whose healing is that he is a caring person who does love his neighbor as himself. His healing is that he is one who lives in harmony with God's will for his life.

Milton Petrie, was a millionaire who vowed that he would never forget where he came from. Petrie, who was known in life for his generosity, remembered hundreds of people, a few famous, most unknown, in his $800 million will. Petrie, who was 92 at his death, was the down-to-earth son of a Russian immigrant pawnshop owner. He built his fortune with a chain of women's clothing stores. Petrie's will named 451 beneficiaries. Among them were strangers he'd been helping since he read about them in the newspapers and loyal employees whom he'd promised a more comfortable retirement. He also provided generously for his own family members and for a few celebrities such as former Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek, writer Elie Wiesel and Marla Hanson, the model whose face was slashed on the street. Here was a man who was a model of one who lived a healed life.

Here was a man who lived as one who cared for others and who assisted them in meaningful ways. It is this sort of generosity in life and in death that is thanksgiving for the blessings that one receives from God. The foreigner in the story of the ten healed lepers almost certainly didn't achieve the kind of wealth with which Milton Petrie was blessed, but we may be sure that in his modest circumstances he was one who also lived with a generous heart for those who were less fortunate than himself. And what of us? Each and every one of us has been blessed by God. Our blessings vary enormously, but we are blessed none-the-less.

God isn't going to remove our blessings from us because we are no more thankful for them than were those nine lepers so eagerly rushing to shed their former life. The real question is, "Are we prepared to have our lives healed?" Are we prepared to live as people who are thankful for the blessings that God makes available to us? Only you know whether or not you are prepared to give praise to God and to thank Jesus for your blessings.

The evidence of a healed life is living with a sense of thanksgiving for one's blessings. It is a sense of thanksgiving that enables one to enjoy being able to assist those in need. It is a sense of thanksgiving that impels one to be generous with others by sharing the blessings one has received in meaningful ways with those in need. A life that is healed opens the tightly clutched fist and shares generously what one has with others, because one really does care about other people. God poured blessings into the lives of a foreigner and nine standard citizens. But only one lived a healed life of generous thanksgiving. It's something to ponder as we enjoy our blessings this Thanksgiving Day.