This week, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year, but it is the one holiday that has the potential to create within me conflicted feelings. I’m not sure if it’s because of my upbringing, or the puritanical origins of the holiday itself, or what, but there always seems to be a twinge of guilt associated with Thanksgiving.
It’s as if we have to have this holiday to give thanks, because we’ve not been thankful enough the rest of the year. And then when someone offers the blessing before the Thanksgiving meal, there is always that part in which we ask God to be with those who are less fortunate. I’m not saying we shouldn’t remember the less fortunate, but it just adds to the conflicted feelings that we remember the less fortunate as we indulge in what the nutritionists would say is probably ten days’ worth of calories.
Then there is today’s scripture. In the lectionary, it is the traditional reading for Thanksgiving Day, not the Sunday before Thanksgiving, so we are tweaking the lectionary just a little bit by reading it today.
It’s the story of ten lepers, only one of whom returns to give thanks. The question is asked, “Where are the other nine?” Good question. And what exactly is the point of this story? Is it that most people—90% of all people—are selfish, ungrateful? Is that what the story is saying?
What a muddled mess Thanksgiving has become.
It’s made even worse by the fact that we have this day on which we give thanks for all we have, insisting that we are truly grateful, a day on which we pray for those who are less fortunate. And maybe we do go to sleep that night truly thankful. But then we wake up the next morning, well before sunrise, and rush to the stores, because we and our loved ones don’t have enough stuff—we’ve gotta have more. In some places, it’s crazy pandemonium on the morning after Thanksgiving, as people break down the doors to get in the stores.
Where did gratefulness go? Where did thanksgiving go?
What a muddled mess.
I’ve already heard in the news this year that, once again, some Christian groups are upset with stores that don’t use the word Christmas in their holiday promotions and decorations. But I can’t help but wonder: would Christ really want to be associated with all that shopping madness?
I’ve given up trying to understand the day-after-Thanksgiving shopping madness. But I haven’t given up on this scripture.
It’s interesting that those nine who didn’t return to Jesus—they were the ones who did what Jesus said. Jesus told them to go to the temple and show themselves to the priest. The Samaritan, once he realized he was healed, returned to Jesus; that’s not what Jesus said to do.
Perhaps he was truly grateful and wanted to express his thanks. Or, perhaps he knew that, since he was a Samaritan, he wouldn’t be welcome in the temple, anyway, so why bother going?
There are many ways of looking at this scripture. I’ve preached on this story numerous times over the years, usually—but not always—around Thanksgiving, and every sermon is different. Sometimes those sermons are cynical and negative, and reflect the complexity and “muddlement” that exists in my own mind.
But of course, giving thanks—expressing gratitude—this is an inherently good thing for us to do. Jesus found tremendous meaning and fulfillment in giving to others, and giving thanks to God for his unique role in history. I don’t think he gave thanks, or gave of himself, simply for the benefit of others. I mean, I think giving to benefit others was a big part of it, but I also think he himself was blessed in the process. Many self-help books that are out there today say that if you want to succeed in life, if you want a life that has meaning, if you want to live a life of abundance, you need to start by expressing gratitude and generosity. Even books that tell you how to get rich will say you need to be generous. These are financial books, not spiritual books, and yet they say that if you try to hold on too tightly to your blessings, you’ll lose them. Instead, share. Be generous. Be grateful. And the blessings will return to you many times over.
In giving thanks, in expressing gratitude, the blessings flow both ways. The Samaritan who returned to Jesus: he was blessed because he did so. And the blessing he received in offering thanks was even greater than the blessing he received when he was healed. He returned to give thanks, and Jesus said to him: “Go on your way; your faith has made you well.”
It doesn’t sound like much of a blessing, but what Jesus said was of great significance. “Go on your way.” This Samaritan leper hadn’t been on his “way” in years. As a leper, he was an outcast. As a Samaritan, he was an outcast. He lived, as all lepers did, outside the city. Social contacts were few and far between. It was a life of isolation. Being a Samaritan only added to this.
“Go on your way.” His life had been at a stop. What was there to live for? But now, after all those years, he was once again on his way.
When you read the stories of Jesus, watch for that word, “way.” It is a very significant word. After the crucifixion and resurrection, the followers of Jesus were called followers of the way. As baptized Christians, we ourselves follow the way of Jesus.
“Go on your way.” What a blessing—and it arose out of the Samaritan’s gratitude and thanksgiving.
Jesus also said, “your faith has made you well.” The Greek word for “well” is “sozo.” You may remember me mentioning that to you before.
The word sozo is a very deep, meaningful, and powerful word. To experience sozo is to experience wellness. To experience sozo is to experience salvation. To experience sozo is to experience wholeness. (That’s a word we’ve heard before, isn’t it?)
To experience sozo is to live an abundant life, a life of fullness. Jesus came so that people might have life, and have it abundantly. In other words, he came to give them wholeness. He came to give sozo. The Samaritan received sozo when he returned to give thanks.
This suggests to me that the act of giving thanks is, itself, a very powerful act. It also seems to me that the act of giving thanks does not have to be accompanied by guilt or other conflicted feelings regarding those who are less fortunate. There is a time for giving thanks, and there is a time for helping others. Both are important. But giving thanks can, and possibly should, be just that: giving thanks. If you are working on behalf of the less fortunate, if you are following the way of Jesus in your life, then you don’t have to feel guilty when you give thanks.
I am thankful for the ministry that we share here at Bixby Knolls Christian Church. I want you to know that. I am so thankful for the love that is shown here, and the way you all support one another and pray for one another. A lot of that support that you show is done behind the scenes, I know; and I know that I’m not even aware of everything that goes on. But still, I am thankful.
I am thankful for the way the members of this congregation accept and affirm one another. We are an incredibly diverse congregation. We are diverse politically, racially, economically, and “generationally.” This could be an obstacle to ministry. It is, in fact, sometimes a challenge. But more often, it is a blessing.
I am thankful, because of all the congregation’s I’ve been a part of, I feel called to be a part of this one more than I ever have. And by that I mean that I feel called to give, not just as a pastor, but as a member of this church. Sometimes it is necessary for me to think of church as “job” and “work,” but more than any other congregation I’ve been a part of, I feel called to go beyond “job” and “work” in how I involve myself.
It feels good to be part of this congregation, because this congregation is so good at the ministry it does. You all are a generous people, and you know the joy and the blessing that comes from being generous and grateful. There should be no feelings of guilt associated with what I’m saying: You are a generous people, and I am thankful for the ministry that we share.
I know I didn’t really get around to talking about what the sermon title suggests I should be talking about. That’s OK. I think this scripture appears again in the lectionary next October. Maybe I’ll talk about it then. I just wanted to let you know how good it is to be here, how blessed we are by God, and how thankful I am for that.
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