Showing Gratitude to God for His Mercies
32nd [29th] Sunday after Pentecost
Colossians 3:4-11; Luke 17:12-19
Healing of the 10 lepers
In one family, a son died at a young age, and in his memory, his father and mother gave a substantial sum to the church and charity. They asked another father and mother whose son had come out of the same accident unharmed:
“What do you think of that?”
- Well, yes, if something like this happened to us, we would do the same...
This answer is not surprising, because in life this is usually how things go: when someone passes away, people try to do something good in the memory of the deceased.
In order to perpetuate the memory of those who have passed away, it may be best to do some good deed towards God's work that is also beneficial to our neighbours. But is it not fitting for us to show gratitude to God when He has saved us or someone close to us from hardship or untimely death? Can God expect such gratitude from us?
Today's Gospel story confirms that it is. Jesus Christ was met by ten lepers who begged Him to heal them. The Lord showed great mercy to them and healed them, healing them of their serious illness with his word.
Out of the ten, only one, a Samaritan "when he saw that he was healed, [he] returned", and gave thanks to God, bowing down at Jesus' feet. Jesus accepted the Samaritan's gratitude, but asked:
“Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:15-18)
So God wants an expression of our gratitude. The Lord shows His mercy out of love for us, not for our thanks, but He desires that the children of God remember the blessings from the Heavenly Father and show gratitude to Him. That is why the behaviour of the nine who were healed was so disappointing when they thought it unnecessary to thank God for His mercy.
We do not need to wait for someone's death to do a good deed for the Church or our neighbours. We can do that when the Lord has lifted us from the bed of sickness or saved us from an accident. We can also show our gratitude to God when He keeps us in good health while others, like us, suffer serious ailments or illnesses.
In general, we often pray for the sick in our churches during services, we ask that the Lord heal them, to grant them a happy and peaceful life. And it must be said in all honesty that most patients recover, return home from hospitals, sometimes after very serious operations, but we very rarely offer prayers of gratitude. So, in that we have a spiritual malaise and probably forget about the will of God, which was expressed by the Lord Jesus Christ, that all those who are healed should express thanks to God.
We should also pay attention to the statement of Jesus Christ to the Samaritan:
“Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.” (Luke 17:19)
Christ did not say that the faith of those others - the nine - saved them, but only the faith of one.
From this, we can also understand that the Lord healed all ten of them, because among them was one who was sick and truly had great and deep faith. Because of his great faith, Jesus healed the entire group of lepers. This is what happens in our communal worship services. In the church during a service, there may be many people, but not all of them may have deep faith, and not all may deserve God's grace. Yet, through the faith and prayer of the worthy, the Lord can bestow grace upon the entire community of believers – for the Church.
And even in the celebration of our greatest sacrament, the Eucharist, many of us may not be worthy, but we pray as a community of the Church, and if there is at least one or more worthy among us, the Lord will show us mercy and grant us what is asked. The ancient prophet also said:
“For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him...” (Psalm 5,13 [5,12]).
Indeed, it is also said in the Book of Genesis that God would not have destroyed the city of Sodom if there had been at least ten righteous people in it (Genesis 18:32). We must always remember this, especially for those who like to boast that it is better to pray alone at home. We must also not forget the current Gospel story about the healing of the ten because of the faith of one of them.
Also, in anticipation of the Lord's coming to earth, it is good for us to accept the call of the Apostle Paul:
“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness…. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.” (Colossians 3:5-6)
The apostle calls us to get rid of bad earthly passions so that we may be worthy to stand before the Lord. He also advises us:
“But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.” (Col. 3:8)
The Church of Christ reminds us to read and accept these words, especially in the approach of the Nativity of Christ and Epiphany, so that we, having rid ourselves of these earthly imperfections, may approach purity of soul, for only in the purity of soul can we feel the coming of our Lord for our salvation.
Amen.
Very Rev. Fr. Taras Slavchenko
Taras Slavchenko was born on March 8, 1918 in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region in Ukraine. After graduating from school and the Pedagogical College, he entered the language and literature faculty of the Scientific Pedagogical Institute. Having successfully completed it in 1938, he served as a teacher in a secondary school.
