Day of Thanksgiving in the United States | A Sermon on Luke 17:11-19 | by The Rev. David H. Brooks |

Luke 17:11-19 English Standard Version  © 2001 by Crossway Bibles

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers,[f] who stood at a distance 13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” 14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; 16 and he fell on his face at Jesus‘ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”^[g]

This Thanksgiving, Turn Around

So, as the year has wound its way around, we arrive at that point on the US calendar when we are reminded to pause and give thanks for what we have received. In the address he gave upon establishing a “day of thanksgiving” in the United States, Abraham Lincoln acted as if such a reminder was beneficial, for he declared

It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole of the American people.

Fit and proper? One heart, one voice? The whole of the American people?

Given that there was a terrible war being waged within the US (which Mr. Lincoln acknowledged), the idea that people might pause amid the destruction and carnage and woe to pause and given thanks might be a reach.

What of our own day? The idea that people might pause amid the denunciations and complaints and wrangling of the past years to pause and give thanks might be a reach. Let’s be honest: more people will digest the various “killer points to take down your family member over Thanksgiving” articles posted online than will hear this sermon. Whether we are welcoming guests to our table, or preparing to be guests at another, we have within our hearts that dread, fear, or anger that is ready kindling for hostilities to break out, even if the “civil war” is only between family members or friends.

Mr. Lincoln knew where the true source of incivility was found:

We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own…

Luke tells a story about something forgotten. He reports that, as Jesus enters a village, 10 lepers approach and call to him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Jesus shows compassion and so gives them a command: go and show yourselves to the priests. As the lepers turn and begin making their way toward the priests, they are miraculously cleansed.

One of them—number 10—turns on his heels and races back to Jesus, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrates himself at Jesus’ feet and thanks him profusely, engaging by his actions and words in an act of worship. The other 9 do not turn around, do not give thanks, do not worship.

Now, let us be fair: the other nine did exactly as Jesus asked, and they received what they wanted. They were healed, with all the good that comes with that fact.

But Jesus declares that the one who turned around was made well, a curious phrase. It is a phrase that also means saved.Somehow, this Samaritan’s act that pours out in praise—praise and thanksgiving being a very common theme in Luke, with people frequently singing their thanks—makes possible something more than simply newfound physical health; it is something that can fix the problem of hostility and estrangement, of wrong opinion or conviction, of assumed superior wisdom and virtue, of deceitful hearts.  It is the one thing that can defuse anger, dispel fear, and disable dread.

This Thanksgiving Day, take that chance to turn around, to let God pour into your life such blessing that it overflows until you simply must break out into loud song and praise.

Amen.

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© Pr. David H. Brooks

      Pr.Dave.Brooks@zoho.com

      Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church

      Durham, North Carolina, USA