This week’s text, which tells the story of Jesus’ healing of
ten lepers, is also appointed as the lesson for Thanksgiving. In the story, one of the healed lepers
returns to Jesus after he realizes he has been healed, praising God and
thanking Jesus for the gift of health, wholeness and restoration. He is so overwhelmed with gratitude that he
falls on his face at Jesus’ feet.
These days, words of gratitude and thanksgiving seem
rare. We are so much quicker to point
out what is wrong with the world, to complain about what isn’t working, and to
bemoan the fact that things just aren’t what they used to be. The only news seems to be bad news. We cry, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
and then go about our daily lives barely aware that God may actually be doing
something to heal us. If only faith
would open our eyes like it did for the leper who returned!
I had one of those eye opening experiences many, many years
ago when I was an intern pastor. That
Thanksgiving, my supervisor decided not to preach, but, instead, handed out
sheets of paper with the letters of the alphabet listed vertically on the left
margin. He asked everyone to list the things
we were thankful for: “a – apples,” “b – bikes,”
“c – children,” and so on. After a few minutes passed, he had us shout
out our answers letter by letter. It was
a litany of gratitude. Together we
built this wonderful compendium of blessings and wrapped ourselves up in it. Our lists became hymns of praise.
Cultivating gratitude does not mean ignoring the reality of pain,
injustice and suffering in our world. It
does not mean thinking we are somehow better or more deserving than
others. Cultivating gratitude is about
cultivating a sense of God’s power and presence at work in our lives and learning
how to see it at work in the lives of others.
Gratitude overflows in generosity.
A spirit of generosity moves us away from ourselves and toward the
neighbor in need. Moving toward the
neighbor in need brings us face to face with God. The more we see God in the face of another,
the more we will see that person as a blessing.
And, it’s when we begin to see
each other as a blessing… blemishes and
all… that the real healing begins.
So, what are you grateful for these days? Where do you see God’s healing hand at
work? What moves you to fall on your
face in praise and thanksgiving? I
suggest you start with the letter “a”…
Peace,
Bishop Mike
No comments:
Post a Comment