SAYING THANK YOU

   When a birthday, holiday, illness, retirement, birth , death or etc... comes and a card is received ; most people know that the polite response is to say thank you in some form. , We say thank you after sitting down to a enjoyable meal, with great service, with a tip. The words thank you  or thank you very much are present in almost every language on Earth. A few examples: Hawaiian: Mahalo,  Hindi: Dhanyawaad,  Fillipino: salamat, Spanish: Gracias, Italian: grazie,  French: Merci, Japanese Domo (arigato).  The phrase is one of politeness to express gratitude. It is considered bad manners , impolite or selfish to forget to say thank you. We want someone  to remember our love, support or positive actions toward them with gratitude. There is great disappointment , sadness or even sometimes anger when a person is not given even a smile expression of gratitude or thanks. The parent who worker to send thier child to school but is forgotten when they succeed. The spouse who gives up thier career only to be ignored by the one they for which they sacrificed. The list could go on and on. 

   Humanity, in general is notorious for failing to thank the person who deserves the most praise and thanks in all life God. God who  provided salvation through Jesus Christ and a his presence daily in the form of the Holy Spirit to all true Christians.  In the Word of God we find the writers, expressing thanks in through of praise to God and thanks to each other. Paul in his many letters to the churches begins first with praise to God and thanks with thoughts and prayers of love in Jesus to his fellow Christians. We should also follow his example.Paul says in Philippians 4: " 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." One example of this lack of thanks is found in the story of 10 lepers.   

   First we need some background on what leprosy was and how those who were afflicted were treated. Read Leviticus  13 : 40- 52 for a fuller understanding of the curse these men were under. Part of that verse says " 44 He is a leprous man, he is unclean: the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head. 45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be." We told that the priest had to examine a person who had an affliction of the skin to determine if it was leprosy. That judgement would change the future of a person from a member of the community to a cursed outcast. 

  Leprosy, now called Hansen’s disease, destroyed lives  and until the  modern times it was a slow death sentence. The person afflicted would suffer the destruction of skin, ulcers, loss of and crippling of limbs toes and fingers with pain and weakness.(1) In biblical times leprosy was thought to be contagious and a sign of sin. As outlined in the scripture a leper had to be isolated and as any one who lived thought Covid and 2020 know quarantined and isolation itself is hard. Imagine that isolation and quarantined being permanently with no social media or telephone to provide contact with family of friends.  In fact, as scripture outlines leapers had to wear a form of face covering or mask and yell" unclean to all so no one would approach them. Lepers not only had a death sentence that was slow but were isolated from any loving kindness and close support .  

   This is the state of the 10 leperous men who met Jesus in Luke 17:11-19. The scripture says in verse 12 "Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off." The 10 seem to waiting becasue they had heard he was coming, Jesus had a entourage of disciples and those who followed him or waited for him seeking miracles. We can guess thier plan was to seek a life altering miracle of healing. There request shows that they had faith in His power to heal and his willingness to heal even the accursed lowly leper! They knew that he was there only hope of ever being healed and declared CLEAN and being allowed to rejoin Jewish life. Verse 13 says "And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  Jesus did tell them to go to the priest, the only ones who could declare them CLEAN. They went and were healed, by thier faith in Jesus, as they moved to Jerusalem and the priest.. !0 lepers healed but one did not continue on to the priest. One wanted more, he wanted to say thank you and follow the Lord. He fell at Jesus feet in worship. Jesus asked 17 .... “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?   

   Jesus question reveal something about God; he is willing to love heal and save but he also appreciates gratitude even a simple thank you !! The attitude of Jesus is not anger but a sadness that the 9 Jews in that group, his own people, only cared about what he could give to them a healing. Once secured, Jesus the source of the healing and the expression God's love was forgotten !! This was the same spirit Jesus criticized in John 6  "26 Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27 Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on Him God the Father has placed His seal of approval.” All Jesus needed was a thank you and only 1 of the 10 healed lepers returned to offer thank for the miracle. Think what must have occured as these 10 men walked toward the priest at Jerusalem. The rotting flesh was untwisted , ulcers healed , body part regrown and they were made whole. A miracle as they traveled but only 1 stopped filled with gratitude and returned to worship and thank the source of there New joy. 

  We all fail sometimes to give God the proper thanks and glory as we get caught up in life. There nations where having a bible  means death or imprisonment , like North Korea ,part of the Middle East and Africa.  Are we thankful for the freedom to worship. Do we always say grace before each meal and not as a routine but with true gratitude? These are rhetorical questions because I like the majority of us do not praise enough or thank God enough. When we fail do that does the Father or Jesus ask  themselves about us  But where are the nine?   Are the nine or the one?  Do we show more gratitude to a waitress or friend than the God who died for our sins?   

  God's expectation of thank you is not selfish, God acts without the need for anyone to provide a loving or even a simply polite response to his mercy. The trinity is self contained BUT like the hopeful parent in the parable of the prodigal son God stands waiting for every recipient of his grace , mercy or in some cases miracles. He waits for them to return with not just thank you but love and discipleship.  As Romans 5: 8 says "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." and Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"  When any person fails to say thank you or express gratitude they are the selfish ones. 

  

(1) https://www.cdc.gov/leprosy/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfZdEvrfCew   - music video by Geoff Moore - Where Are The Other Nine

Written by SSligh blog creator/moderator