Extreme Gratitude

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

  In high school track longest running event is the 3200, which is about 2 miles.   Cross Country goes further, and the standard cross-country track is 5K.  At the national championships and Olympic level, there is a 10,000-meter track race, which is a little over six miles.  The half marathon more than doubles that at 13.1 miles and running a marathon requires running 26.2 miles.  For most of us, that probably sounds like further than we would ever want to think about running in a month, much less at one time.  However, for a small number of individuals they think they can still push themselves to go further.   For those people who want to take it to the extreme, there is the ultra-marathon.  While there are several different types of ultra-marathon events, one of the more common formats is a 100-mile cross-country race.  The world’s oldest official 100-mile foot race is the Western States 100, which takes place in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.   The most extreme of these extreme races is the Barkley marathon.  This esoteric event takes place in the mountains of Tennessee.  Over the entirety of the course, it gains 60,000 feet in elevation.  Unlike other races, this one does not use established trails or paths.  Instead, the racers must truly go cross country and find their own way through the Appalachian forest.  The race has been run every year since 1995, but it has only been completed six times.  More years than not all the competitors fail to finish the race within the 60-hour time limit. 

The Barkley marathon might be the most extreme race in the world.  It pushes even the fittest and best runners in the world to their absolute limit.  To have any chance of finishing the race a runner has to unswerving focus and unstoppable determination. While the journey may not have been as arduous as the Barkley marathon, this morning’s scripture features the same level of extreme dedication, but I think we often miss that.  Often the focus of this story is on verse 17 where Jesus asks, “Were not all ten cleansed where are the other nine?”  The focus we tend to put on the story is a simple one, we should be grateful like the one as opposed to being ungrateful like the other nine.   However, when we make the story simple, we overlook the profound point that is right there in the story.   This story is not just about gratitude; it is about the extreme lengths that one man took to show gratitude.  This story illustrates that giving thanks is not always easy, but it is always worth it.   Considering this morning’s scripture can have the ability to help us rethink how we go about expressing our own gratitude. 

One of the reasons why we might miss the extraordinary nature of this morning’s scripture is that we are not familiar with some of the cultural details.  The scripture states that Jesus was traveling to Jerusalem along the border between Samaria and Galilee.   From Galilee, where Jesus did most of his ministry, there were two main paths to Jerusalem.  The most common path was to follow the Jordan river down to Jericho and then take the road between Jerusalem and Jericho.   The other way was through the rugged hill country of Samaria.   The Samaria route is what we might call the scenic route.  Today it would be like avoiding the Interstate to take the state roads because you wanted to see the countryside.   That means this town that Jesus passed through was out of the way.  It was not the kind of place that a person would pass by often.   Despite that, it was a place.  It was a place where people lived and worked.  It was likely a small town where everyone knew everyone else’s business.  It was a small town that also had its group of marginalized and outcast. 

Leprosy in the bible is a bit of a catch all term. In Jesus day, leprosy could refer to the actual disease of leprosy, or it could refer to a whole host of skin conditions.  Having a disease that was exteriorly visible was the worst thing for a Jewish person at this time, because it clearly marked them as unclean.     Victims of these diseases were barred from living in towns and cities.  They gathered in colonies well away from where people lived.  For access, these colonies were often close to roads, but the lepers had to warn those who passed by to stay well away from them.  When Jesus passed by instead of yelling warnings, they asked Jesus for help. 

I find this detail of the story interesting, because remember this town is out of the way.  The word-of-mouth buzz on Jesus must have been going strong because the stories of Jesus, of a healer from Galilee, had made it to these afflicted individuals.   We do not know the details, but somehow these ten men had gotten word that it was Jesus who was traveling by.  So instead of yelling out their normal warnings of stay away, they said “Jesus master, have pity on us.”

That is of course, exactly what Jesus did.  Jesus did indeed heal them and told them to find a priest.  In the Torah there were rules for being cleansed of leprosy.  To follow the biblical law, when someone was healed, they were required to present themselves to the priest to be considered clean.     We need to remember these men could not google the closest priest, do a tele-health session and be declared clean in less than an hour.   It was a process and it was one that even under the best of conditions was going to take some time.  We do not know where exactly Jesus encountered these lepers, or how far the closest priest was.  However, we can safely assume that there was not a priest just standing there.  The healed men would have to go and see one out.  Once they reached the priest, and the priest was actually willing to take the time to examine them, it could be a full seven days before they are declared clean.  Under the most ideal circumstances it would likely take more than a week to finish this process. 

Try to imagine yourself in the position of these ten men.  These ten lepers that Jesus healed had their life given back to them.  Because they were sick, they were completely cut off from their friends and family.  For some of them, it could have been years.  Perhaps some of them had resigned themselves to believing they would never see some people again.  After being declared clean they would be allowed to return home.  After being away from those you love for so long, isn’t that what you would do?  It is not that they were ungrateful for what Jesus had done, but their lives had been given back to them.  They had so much lost time to catch up on.  I think most of us would have done something similar.   This is what makes the one who sought Jesus out so remarkable and his gratitude so extreme.

Remember Jesus was traveling on his way to Jerusalem when he encountered the lepers.  Also remember it could have taken well over a week for the lepers to be declared clean.  It was not like during that time, Jesus just stood in the same spot waiting for the healed men to come back.  In fact, the most logical assumption we can make is that Jesus continued traveling.   This is the element of the story we often overlook.  It is not just that one man came back to give thanks, it is how much effort he put into it.  He had to go seek Jesus out and find him in order to throw himself at the feet of Jesus and give thanks.   What is noteworthy in this morning’s scripture is not just one person came back to give thanks, but the lengths the man went to show his gratitude.  When we consider this, I think there are three big takeaways for us.

First, this scripture points out that gratitude is more than just words.   The way that the one leper expressed gratitude had a lot less to do with the words of thanks he said, and a lot more with the   actions he undertook.   He showed how thankful he was to Jesus by his actions.   Being thankful, truly thankful is a lot more than just the words we say.  It is probably not fair to think that the others healed were ungrateful, but only one was willing to undertake the extreme actions to find and give thanks to Jesus.  If we truly have an attitude of gratitude, then our thankfulness should influence and be evident in our actions. 

The ten men healed of leprosy received an amazing, divine gift from Jesus when they were healed.  The second point for us to consider is that every single person here has been extravagantly blessed by God.   For starters we have all been offered the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.   That alone should be more than enough to put us in a position of forever gratitude and thanksgiving.   However, God’s great love and provision goes even further for us.   James 1:17 reminds us that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father.”  We all have many good and perfect gifts in our lives to be thankful for.  The gratitude we have for God’s goodness in our lives, is something we need to be intentional about expressing and acting upon. If not, we can begin taking God’s gifts for granted- or worse start feeling entitled to them.
 
   This reminds me of an old story.  Two old friends bumped into one another on the street one day.  One man looked very sad, discouraged, and almost on the verge of tears.  His friend asked, “What has the world done to you?”   The sad fellow responded, “three weeks ago a rich uncle of mine died, and he included me in his will.  I received a check of $40,000.”
 “That’s terrific” said his friend, “That’s a lot of money.”
 “Yes but two weeks ago they sent me another check- this time for $100,000.”
  Amazed his friend replied, “That is amazing, you are really blessed!”
   “You don’t understand” the man whined, “Last week I got another check, this one was for a quarter of a million dollars.”
 At this point the friend was getting very confused, “You are right I don’t understand why then are you so unhappy?”
The man wailed, “Because this week I haven’t received anything.”
 
We too can fall into a trap of getting so caught up on focusing on what we have not received, that we are not thankful for what we have received.  When we focus on what we do not have, it leads to bitterness and constant sorrow.  When we instead focus on how we have experienced the goodness of God, then our gratitude can inspire us to acts of devotion and service.
 
The final point for us to consider is the response that Jesus gives to the man who returns to give thanks.   Jesus tells him, “Your faith has made you well.”  Jesus recognizes the man’s faith through his thankfulness.  Our faith in God and thankfulness to God for all that God has   done are closely linked.  The early church fathers and mothers recognized this.  When the early church met, they met around the table.  The basis for their worship was the taking of communion, and they called this act Eucharist.  Eucharist comes from Greek and it means “give thanks.”  Giving thanks to God is the basis of worship.   When we give thanks to God we make a connection with God.   We acknowledge the wonders that God has done on our behalf, and we humbly express our gratitude.     At its foundation when we worship God we should be giving thanks to God.  We can have faith in God because the ways that God has worked in our lives testifies to God’s goodness.  When we take the time to go out of our way and name those works and give thanks, then that cannot help but increase our faith.  When we thank God our faith grows, and when we thank God we are actively worshiping God. 
 
To worship God in thanksgiving takes effort and commitment.   In this morning’s scripture the one who sought Jesus out is an extreme example of what this means.  In the same way we should be so dedicated to giving thanks to God for all that God has done.   May we not take or granted or feel entitled to how good God has been to us, but instead may we make giving thanks to God a dedicated priority in our lives. Through thanksgiving may our faith grow, as we come to realize how good God is to us.     May our gratitude motivate us to action, as we give thanks to God and seek to share the goodness of God with others. With a grateful heart may we give thanks to God the Father, the source of all gifts.  May we give thanks to Jesus, who’s powerful mercy uplifts.  May we give thanks to the Holy Spirit who enables us to be a blessing to others.  With extreme gratitude, may we truly be able to proclaim thanks be to God.