Thanksgiving Day, 11/25/2010

Sermon on Luke 17:11-19, by David H. Brooks

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[^a^] met him. They stood at a distance ¹³ and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"

¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him-and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷ Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" ¹⁹ Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."

Recently I read that a great thing to do when you are feeling down or blue is to look at your ten fingers and mark out ten things for which you are thankful. And then I realized that this activity might even work at Thanksgiving! So, if you burn the turkey this holiday, I happily provide you ten things for which you can be thankful, courtesy of Every Excuse in the Book: 714 ways to say "It's not my fault" by Craig Boldman and Peter Matthews:

1. Salmonella won't be a concern.

No one will overeat.
Uninvited guests will think twice next year.
Your limburger-broccoli-lima-bean casserole will have a chance to shine.
Pets won't pester you for scraps.
You now know the smoke alarm works.
Carving the bird will provide a good cardiovascular workout.
The less turkey your uncle eats, the less likely he will be to walk around with his pants unbuttoned or commandeer your living room sofa.
You'll get to the desserts quicker.
You won't have to face three weeks of turkey sandwiches.^{^*}

Are you feeling better? The article I read noted that research is showing that giving thanks for something-anything-is a great exercise to cultivate a gracious and generous spirit. It is this fact that makes this story from Luke so interesting. Ten lepers come seeking healing from Jesus. As you know, leprosy and related skin aliments were (sometimes still are) seen as punishment from God; the rituals that governed the behavior of lepers usually pushed them to the margins of society, so that others might not be afflicted. Those who suffer from leprosy's effects suffer as much from the isolation imposed on them as from the ravages of the disease itself, and serves only to highlight weakness and powerlessness. So this group of ten comes to Jesus seeking his power, with its promise of physical healing and restoration to community.

And we know how that plays out. By the end of the story, ten were healed by virtue of Jesus' intervention. Ten were healed, but only one was made whole and complete, only one was restored to himself, only one experienced the power that a gracious spirit brings. The one leper, who offered up a full-throated song of thanksgiving, was made well.

Sadly, far too many of us will sit down today around tables groaning with food and finery and yet still be missing something. Far too many of us will spend holiday time with family and friends and still feel the ache of loneliness, still suffer from the cavernous gap between us and within us. Far too many of us this weekend will exercise our purchasing power and still feel feeble and weak in the face of all that confronts us. And we will look around and wonder what or who can redeem us, who can intervene, who will hear us when we cry out, who can restore us.

Ten were healed. Only one turned around. But that one turned in faith because he recognized that into the poverty and the loneliness and the despair and the emptiness God had poured a blessing, poured it out until the emptiness was full, kept pouring it until there was no more room and it came flowing out, flowing out into a loud, boisterous song of praise and thanksgiving, flowing out over ten fingers no longer gnarled and twisted with disease but healthy and strong, able to mark blessings. Ten were healed, but one was made well. Thanks be to God.

Adapted from Humor Matters: Therapeutic Humor from Dr. Steve. *http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Thanksgiving/thanksgiving.htm (accessed November 14, 2010)

The Rev. David H. Brooks
Christ the King Lutheran Church, Cary, NC
E-Mail: David.Brooks@ChristtheKingCary.org

Zusätzliche Medien:

Adapted from Humor Matters: Therapeutic Humor from Dr. Steve. *http://www.humormatters.com/holidays/Thanksgiving/thanksgiving.htm (accessed November 14, 2010)

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