Give Thanks
Posted on Oct 09, 2016 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God, our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in each of us.
Jill and I love taking care of our grandkids. We are always encouraging our son and daughter-in-law to go out so we can take care of the kids. It is so much fun to spoil them and then send them home! But you know, it seems like every time we are with our grand kids, who are five and three, either Jill or I, at some point will have to say to them remember to say thank you. We all do that with our children, don’t we? Over and over as they are growing up we tell them to remember to say thank when they receive something. Knowing and remembering to say thank you is a learned habit and one in which some people just never grow into.
Today, the act of giving thanks is an act that is highlighted in our texts. In the story from 2 Kings, we are told the story of a powerful man, Naaman. Now Naaman, is the commander of the army of Aram. As such, Naaman is the commander of the army of the enemy of Israel. He is not a part of the Israelite community and he is ill. He has a skin disease and cannot get it cured. Now one of his slave girls, an Israelite, suggests he go visit the Israelite prophet, Elisha, who lives in the region of Samaria. So, Naaman goes, and after some persuasion to do what the prophet tells him he must do, Naaman is cured of his disease and in response, Naaman returns to Elisha and offers thanks. An outsider of the Israelite community receives God’s grace and in return that outsider returns and says thank you. His mom and dad, or maybe his grandma & grandpa, must have taught him well.
In our gospel text, once again, we hear a similar story. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and he is in an area between Samaria and Galilee. Now scholars don’t know what to make of this location, but as one scholar notes, apparently Jesus is in a potentially hostile area. As he enters a village in this area, ten men with leprosy approach him and beg him for mercy, “Lord, have mercy,” “kyrie eleison,” they yell? All they ask for is mercy and in response Jesus sends them to the temple to show themselves to the priests. Now, such an act would have indicated that these men were going to be healed and we know that because to be declared clean and be able to reenter the community, the priests would have to declare them clean and so the men leave and on their way to see the priests, the leprosy disappears. The men are healed of the disease that has prevented them from being part of the communities in which they were from. This is awesome for them. But, the interesting thing about this story is that apparently only one of these men remembered the teachings that most likely his parents taught him as a child. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he must have heard his mother’s words, “now remember to go and say thank you to that nice man!” And the really odd thing is that this man that did return to say thank you was an outsider, a Samaritan, a “foreigner” as Jesus called him and probably the one with the least faith, but as we heard last week, it only takes the faith of a mustard seed. "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well."
Being grateful and remembering to say thank you is not always easy, nor does it come natural to us. Oh, it is easy to say thank you when something good happens, but today, we are being challenged to say thank for more than just the good stuff in our lives. Today, we are being challenged to live our lives filled with gratitude. Let me give you an example. As I have shared with you, one of my sisters is struggling with breast cancer right now. Since March she has been taking chemo therapy and then back in August she had to have major surgery and now she is having to go through a final round of extremely aggressive chemo therapy. She is sore and still healing from her surgery and every time she goes in for her chemo, she gets very sick. Right now, it is a pretty rough life she lives, but last Sunday, when Jill and I called her, you know what she said to us? She said, I am so thankful for all the people who are praying for me. They really make a difference in my life. She is sick, suffering from a horrific disease and she has chosen to give thanks for people she doesn’t even know. She is giving thanks for people like many of you who have shared with me that you are praying for her. That is a life being lived filed with thanks giving. I can only hope that I, too, could be such a grateful person.
So, this makes me wonder, how grateful are each of us. How often have we as individuals, or as a faith community, given thanks to God for these old, expensive to maintain buildings we have? How often have we said thank you Lord for this place and all the ministry that you have called us into through these buildings. How often have we said thank you Lord for all the monies that continue to flow into this place so that we might better serve you and the world around us. How often have we said thank you Lord for giving us the will and the desire to be your disciples? How often have we given thanks for those things that at times cause us angst and, yet, we know God is working through us even in those things. How often have we given thanks for God’s mercy, even that mercy God shows toward those we do not like?
As we begin our fall stewardship campaign, it is only appropriate that we have entitled it “Now is the Time,” because now is the time that we ought to begin being grateful for all God has entrusted to us and all the ways God continues to call us into her mission. Today, we are being challenged to live lives filled with gratitude; a gratitude that challenges us to realize how blessed we are to be part of this community. A few weeks ago our Stewardship Team asked us to think of one small thing that has made a big difference in our lives and we recorded many of your responses. Over the next five weeks we will be sharing many of those responses with you here in worship. I’d like you to take a look at a few of those right now. (Show video)
Small things do make a big difference in our lives and today we are challenged to see all those small things that God continues to do in our lives and remember to give thanks. You just heard for people give thanks for the gift of a church family, music, an invitation into ministry and the gift of learning about God.
So, here is your challenge this week. Each day this week, take one minute out of your day to remember to give thanks for just one small thing in your life and when you remember that one thing, give thanks to the LORD for God is good, God’s mercy endures forever (Psalm 106:1). Amen.