LEARNING FROM LUKE: GRATITUDE

Luke 17: 11-19

A woman named Marion Doolan once wrote about twochildren who, in the cold of winter, opened the storm door of her house andknocked rather incessantly on the wood one. Marion opened the door to see twochildren in ragged and outgrown coats. “Any old papers, lady?” they asked. Theylived in an area where a small amount of money was paid for recyclednewspapers. Marion says, “I was busy and wanted to say no [as they were lettingall the cold into my warm house. Then] I looked down at their feet. Thin littlesandals, sopped with sleet. ‘Come in’ she relented. ‘I’ll make you some cocoa.’There was no conversation. In they came, leaving wet tracks on the floor. Shegave them the cocoa and a piece of toast and jelly each. As they ate, the boysaid, “Lady, are you rich?”  “Am Irich?” she replied. “Mercy no!” as she looked at the shabby slip covers on hersofa. The girl responded quietly, “We just thought … well, your cups match yourplates.”  Your cups match yourplates. The children left.  “‘Theyhadn’t said thank you,’ she thought. ‘They didn’t need to’ she said to herself.They had done more than that with something they said. Plain blue pottery cupsand plates; but they matched.” … She said “I moved the chairs back from thefire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were stillwet upon my hearth. I let them be. I want them there in case I ever forgetagain how very rich I am.”  [A 3^RDSERVING OF CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, JackCanfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, 1996, pp. 205-206.]

Not only is it a touching story, it is a story aboutboundaries and opening them: few people open their door to strangers and invitethem in. It is a story of someone who has something, and someone who has less. Andit is a story about gratitude even without a “thank you.” Likewise we arelooking at a Biblical story today that also has those points. Let’s rememberthat story: The Bible says that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem through theregion between Samaria and Galilee. Those regions abut each other. The firstboundary that is broken is that Jews and Samaritans were crying out togetherabout their state of uncleanness. Jews and Samaritans had nothing to do witheach other in normal circumstances because the Samaritans were rituallyunclean, even before they had leprosy. Isn’t it ironic that having a diseasemakes people forget about other boundaries and they begin to stand by neighborswho also are suffering from their illnesses? In the 1980s those who were HIVpositive were often quarantined both by doctors and the public, off in theirown separate area. Years ago those with tuberculosis were quarantined. Contagiouspeople are often quarantined. And sometimes in our day we emotionally quarantinepeople who are different from ourselves.Even without illness, during free time at schools, students oftencongregate with groups of like-minded students. They are sometimes known bynames, names like jocks, or geeks, or gleeks.  Some families put up boundaries too, don’t they? Some don’twant children playing with others from that school or from that family. And as adults we don’t always grow out ofthat. But medical reasons – like running a fever – still exist for ill peopleto stay away from others. In Jesus’ day those with the skin disease calledleprosy were considered unclean by priests. Priests were kind of the “custom’sagents” that let men or woman approach the temple or not. The Levitical prieststook their jobs very seriously! Women couldn’t approach the temple at certaintimes in their lives; men other than Jews could only come to the Court of theGentiles. And Samaritans could never go to the temple according to them. Hmm,so if everyone in our story was well, a Samaritan would never been seen with 9Jews. But because all ten of those who approached Jesus were consideredcontagious, one Samaritan and nine Jews approached Jesus without apparently anyreaction to one another! Notice that the text says they kept their distancefrom Jesus, not wanting to offend (read infect) him. Although this text doesnot record them letting Jesus know they were lepers, by Levitical law they hadto cry out “Unclean, unclean!” to any approaching people. So it was after identifying themselves that they used a most subservientterm. Instead of calling Jesus by a title, like Rabbi, they called him“Master.” Master! And they said“Have mercy on us!”  In this group of lepers, they realize that there is noI in TEAM! One or more are calling out for the sake of the others! Like thechildren who were just knocking on doors asking for newspapers, the lepers intheir shabbiness were trying to find a hint of hope in the eyes of passer-bys.The children found it in Marion Doolan; those with leprosy found it in the eyesof Jesus. He had healed others; wrapped in both pathetic appearance and inwardfaith, they asked for help!  Thosewho had less in that society were knocking on the door of the one man who mighthave more. Their choice, coupled with their faith, changed their outcome.Marion Doolan opened the door for two cold children; Jesus opened the door for10 miserable men with leprosy.

Most of the time we lift up the one leper who cameback to thank Jesus while the others kept going.  Yes, it is right to lift up a person who is grateful!Expressed gratitude does not always happen, does it? How many times has Godblessed you with the answer to your prayers? And did you return thanks? How manytimes did you forget? “Thank you” is one of the most overused and underusedsentiments in English. I hear people say, “Thanks so much” because an employeehanded them their fast food order through a drive-through window! By contrast,I remember in my grandfather’s men’s clothing store, when a sale was made the employeewould say “Thank you for yourbusiness!” These days I even find myself thanking a cashier when she hands memy receipt! Shouldn’t she be thanking me? But thanks, appropriately offered, iswritten or at least thoughtfully expressed, less often than appropriate.

The Samaritan came back and 1) praised God, 2) fell atJesus’ feat as if in worship, and 3) verbally thanked him. It was good. Buthere is the part we forget: the other nine were not only following Jesus’direction to the letter, they had the right to approach a priest outside of thetemple, and, if declared clean, could enter the temple to thank God! Fewrealize the Samaritan had no such right. The collegiality that he shared as adiseased patient went away when he returned to society. He was once again aSamaritan, one who could never be declared clean enough to enter the temple.The other nine were just doing as directed; and as faithful Jews they wouldhave longed to be in good stead with God again. They would absolutely have beenglad to say, after being declared clean by the priest, “Let us go into thehouse of the Lord!” But the Samaritan had no temple to go to. Or did he? Didthe Samaritan return to treat Jesus as a human temple, a vessel of God? Jesushad shown him compassion, grace, and mercy; if he were to follow protocol, hisclean pronouncement could not come from Jewish priests; he had to assume he wasclean only by the words of the one he called Master. To show his worshipfulapproach, he put his head to the ground. No one would do that except to honorGod. And then, through Jesus, he gave thanks to God.

The outsider behaved more gratefully than the insiders! It’s not so unusual. When our children were growing upthey would rarely clear their plate or help with dishes at their own house unlessasked. They were insiders in our family. It was only as an “outsider” that is,a guest in the home of a friend, that they found their manners! The parentswould call us and say “What well-mannered children you have! They joined us inprayers, were so polite, thanked us for the meal, cleared their plate, andhelped with the dishes!”

 Nineinsiders forgot to say thank you, or show gratitude. And Jesus noticed. Yourown children may fail to thank you or show you gratitude. And parents notice.Workers notice any lack of gratitude from bosses; bosses notice it fromworkers; friends notice it from friends. Gratitude is a huge step away from anattitude of entitlement; but a bigger step is turning gratitude into anattitude that leads to actions ofthankfulness. Many people are willing to offer gifts, or blessings, or go theextra mile once, but few will do it again for an ungrateful person.

The temple in Jerusalem no longer stands. But we areChristians, and Jesus let us know that his new temple is his resurrected self,and he lives in the hearts of believers. It is through him that we praise, andthrough him that we show our thankfulness. Have you remembered to demonstrate your thankfulness to Jesus? to family members? togift givers? Gratitude so pleases gift-givers. Today it took the actions of agrateful outsider to remind us of how grateful even insiders can be.

Jeffrey A. SumnerOctober 10, 2010