Giving Thanks on Thanksgivng

 

 Luke 17: 11-19

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

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^[a] 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.”

We read this passage from Luke a few days ago, but it bears further reflection on Thanksgiving Day, since it highlights the need to thank God for his blessings and the joy it gives to him when we do so.  It is good that we as a nation set aside this one day to publicly offer thanks to God and do so from our churches and family tables, but there is the underlying message that saying "thank you", as we learned as children, is a habit that helps us keep things in perspective.  All is GIFT and God is the GIVER who never stops GIVING.

 These months since March have given us pause in our usual routines and have been the occasion for asking many questions, including, "when will this end?"  It is at a time like this when we can learn to thank God even for the "hard things" in life.  As St. Paul reminds us: “... affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Rm 5:3-5).

As often as we say, "Happy Thanksgiving" to one and all today, let us remember to offer our gratitude to God.

Bro. Rene