Turn Back to Say Thanks

Introducction

In 2016 it was the first time I had driven a car in the United States. After two weeks of being in the city of Mobile, I was already driving around the busy streets of the beautiful city. The first few days it cost me a little adaptation, and, in the process, I got lost.

I thought I could get the knack of drive easily, but I was totally disoriented. I accidentally got on the highway, saw the signs and didn't know what to do. Yes, I know you're thinking, "In 2016 GPS already existed." Well, the truth is as follows. We were given a "flip phone" that only served to call and send messages with difficulty. I didn't have a mobile internet. I had a separate GPS, but the battery was off, and I didn't have the USB car adapter to connect the GPS. I was lost and my only way out was to get an adapter.

As I could I got out from highway, it was not clear where to go, my English was not very good, but I had to go back home. Shyly I enter a place where I saw that there were cars. With difficulty I explained to a gentleman what was wrong with me, I went to ask a favor, because I only had $9 in my pocket. The man got in my car, he saw what I needed, went to his car, looked for anadapter, plugged it in my car, the GPS turn on, my heart beat normal again, I smiled again and when I was going to open my mouth to tell him the magic words the gentleman looked at meand said in desperate tone "TEN DOLLARS".

I sweated again, my heart beat fast again, and I told him I had no money while I took everything I had in my pocket. Between coins and billet I gathered about nine dollars and he said,

"You almost have it all, give it to me. Nothing here is free. Now I wasn't so sure whether to say thank you or not.

Transition

It has been said that gratitude is disappearing from the "affective landscape" of modern life.

The author José Antonio Marina recalled that the thinking Nietzsche, Freud and Marx has left us immersed in a "culture of suspicion" that makes it difficult to thank. He distrusts the gesture made out of sheer generosity. According to the professor, "there has been dogma of faith that no one gives anything for free and that every seemingly good intention conceals an imposture". It is easy then to regard gratitude as "a feeling of fools, mistakes or slaves".

I don't know if this attitude is so widespread. But it is true that, in our "capitalist civilization”, there is less and less room for free. Everything is exchanged, loaned, owed or demanded. In this social climate gratitude disappears. Everyone has what they deserve, what they've earned with their own effort. Nobody's given anything.

What is a religion lived without gratitude? What is a Christianity lived from a sad and negative attitude, unable to experience and thank the light, strength, forgiveness, and hope we receive from Jesus? Should we not rekindle in the Church gratitude and praise for God? Shouldn't we go back to Jesus giving thanks?

Something like this can happen in the relationship with God if the Christian life becomes a kind of contract with him:

"I offer you prayers and sacrifices and you assure me of your protection. I obey the law and you reward me." Thus, disappear from the experience of praise and thanksgiving to God, the source and origin of all good.

Listen carefully to what I will tell you:

For many Christians regaining gratitude may be the first step in healing their relationship with God. Let me tell you why…

Let’s Talk about: Turn Back to say thank you

CONTEXT 11-14

Luke 17:11–14“While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed.”

Our passage is located in what theologians call Jesus' last journey to Jerusalem. In Luke 9:51-53 the Evangelist tells us that Jesus set out to go to Jerusalem as the hour of his death was approaching. By the way, on that occasion Jesus wanted to stop at Samaria and they did not receive him. Two of his disciples wanted all samaritans to burn in the fire, but Jesus showed them compassion. I must tell you that by Jesus's time there was a very strong hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews. Jews conseder the Samaritans as lost and unworthy of God's grace and love.

Jesus is somewhere between Galilee and Samaria. (Map). We do not know exactly what the village Jesus entered, but what we know is that 10 lepers’ men came asking for help. In Jesus's time leprosy was a mortal disease. The individual was losing his skin to death. God had given clear instructions to deal with leprosy.

According to Leviticus 13:45-46 the lepers were to live far from all over the world, wear broken clothes, bare head, and shout aloud an ugly song ”Impure, impure, impure." That way the others knew he was leper and didn't get contaminated. There is no doubt that being leper was a disgrace. The disease was along with marginalization, rejection and even guilt. For everyone understood that leprosy was a curse of God himself.

The text tells us that they stopped from afar and shouted Master (epistata) have compassion on us. The word translated as Master who uses Luke is one that means superintendent, almighty. We do not know how they came to know Jesus, what we do know is that they knew of his power and love. They knew that he had healed other lepers and that he rejected no one. And they cried.

Just let me tell you, many of the blessings are within walking distance of your cry. If you can't get close, then cry. They, by law could not approach Jesus but in the distance they cried.

Jesus stopped, Luke assures that Jesus saw them and said, "Show yourselves to the priests." This was the Law. It was the priests who were in charge of checking that someone had or did not have leprosy. They had to certify that they were cured so that they could reintegrate into society again. Jesus was to heal them, but my Jesus always obeys the Law. Don't forget that.

The 10 men start their walk to the temple. Now imagine with me that journey.

It's been years since they saw the city and the people. They went down the street in their leper clothes and repeating the pathetic chorus "impure, impure, impure" I don't know how many miles they had to walk, we don't know how far the temple was, but something was about to happen on that road.

Luke claims that while they were walking, they were clean. ¡Oohh aleluya!

Faith is the arm that sustains the power of Jesus. Healing did not come until they exercised faith and began to walk.

All of them had faith, All of them was walking andAll of them were healed. Praise God!

You know why you don't get it. Is because you don't you walk. God will never do for you what you can do for yourself. He opens the sea, but you must walk in the middle. God sends the bread from heaven, but you must go out and pick it up.

The problem with the human being is that want to see first and then act. It doesn't work that way with God. Show to the priests, that's what Jesus said. They were not healed, but as they walked, as they exercised faith, the miracle was done. Oohh Hallelujah! Anybody want to start walking today?

ONE CAME BACK 15-16

Luke 17:15–16 “Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.”

The 10 men walked together to the sound of their bitter singing. But surprisingly one of them realized he was cured. Luke says he was healed. He knew that healing did not come from him, he also knew that it was not the product of his faith. At that moment he understood that something greater was working on him and then he began to praise God in aloud voice. Oohh Hallelujah! I can imagine that man's singing. I can imagine the joyful praised God. Luke says it was loud. (megas foné)

The moment he realizes that he was healthy he understood that the man who sent him to the priests was greater than the priests and that God works through him. That's why he comes back.

Luke stops to tell us what this man did.

First, he praises God. Praise is the result of seeing God's hand in our lives. He was praising God for the miracle God had done in his life. He knew that he could see his family again, went back to work, went to church, everything changed, and he praised God with joy.

Praise to God is a manifestation of healthy and right life. Those who are not able to praise still have something sick inside them. The ten lepers are cured of the terrible disease, but only one returns "glorifying God", and only he hears the words of Jesus: "Your faith has saved you". All have been physically healed, but only he is healed at the root.

What an example for us, we have everything we need, but we don't praise. Our mouths do not open every day to praise aloud to the one who has given us everything. It is sad that our hearts do not jump with joy to praise.

SECOND

But this man didn't just praise. The biblical text states that he came and bow down himself at the feet of Jesus. Uuumm this man, not only saw what God had done in his life, now he recognized that this man who had healed him was the Messiah, the same God. He went to worship him. Not just for what he had done, but for what he is. The Son of God.

The other nine continued to bring a sacrifice to the temple, but this man, made Jesus's feet his altar and went there to worship.

Ahh my brother and sister prostrate ourselves is the most effective way to recognize our humiliation before God and his greatness. Falling at his feet is what will change the pride of your heart for God's sake. But our reality is different. Time is not enough for us to prostrate ourselves at the feet of Jesus.

Prostrating before Jesus is the best way to worship Him and exalt His Majesty. When was the last time you fell at Jesus's feet? When was the last time you shed tears in his presence?

The third thing this man did was say thank you. Yes, he came back to thanks God. ¡Hallelujah!! Gratitude. Gratitude is a feeling deeply rooted in the human being. From a young time parents teach us to give thanks, because gratitude is the noblest attitude to what we receive in life. Few things are more humiliating than telling someone, "You're ungrateful." However, many believers do not know how to live gratefully.

They remember God to express their tribulations or ask for their help in times of need. They are never born gratitude or praise for how good there is in their lives.

But you know something, in order to be grateful, the first thing is to capture the positives things of life. Do not cease to amaze for so much good:

The sun of every morning

The mystery of our body

The awakening of every day

The friendship of people

The nature around us

Tports

Tusic

Tood and many more things.

This man became aware that God had healed him and returned to thanks. It was gratitude that led this man to praise God with such euphoria, it was the spirit of gratitude that guided him at the feet of Jesus. But a heart that is not grateful will never praise God whole heartedly.

JESUS REACTION 17-19

The story could end here, in fact, here I could finish my sermon, but I would not be faithful to the unity of the text. Luke also recorded Jesus's reaction. Ahh and gives us one more detail. This man who came back, he was a Samaritan. Jesus showed mercy to a Samaritan leper, for Jesus we are all equal. But you know something else, among that 10 lepers apparently there were Jews and Samaritans, they were hanging out. Interestingly, the misfortune of leprosy had led them to understand that there is no difference between them. We're all the same.

Luke 17:17–19 “Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? “Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”

After the emotional scene of the Samaritan who returns praising God, they prostrate before Jesus and thank Him. Now Jesus asks:

Where are the other nine? Why didn't they come back praising God?

It seemed important to Jesus that they thanked and praised God. Jesus healed them, but they were not grateful. They cried from afar to Jesus for healing, but only one had the privilege of being close to Jesus, do you know why? He was grateful.

Gratitude is the vehicle in which we move from the blessing to the one who blesses. When we are aware of who is blessing us and return to thank, we can have a closer encounter with God.

But those nine didn't understand that. Those nine are those who walk through life in sad, bitter air. Their gaze always looks at the daunting. They have no eyes to see that, in spite of everything, good abounds more than evil.

They can't appreciate so many noble, beautiful and admirable gestures that happen every day anywhere in the world. Maybe they see it all dark because they project their own darkness onto things.

Those nine are those who criticize everything, find a flaw in everything. There's no way they can be grateful. They spend their lives observing the negative around them. Nothing escapes their judgment. They considered then self, lucid, insightful and objective people.

However, they never praise, admire or appreciate. Their purpose is to highlight evil and condemn.

Ahh that nine are those who make the journey of life indifferent to everything. They only have eyes for what serves their own interests. They are not surprised by anything free, they do not let themselves be loved or blessed by anyone.

They live in their world, they have enough to defend their small well-being increasingly sad and selfish. Gratitude never springs from their hearts.

Ahh... What we can say of those nine who only follow the same routine, every day the same thing. There are no adventures, they are locked in the same space and they cannot be grateful.

That nine… never discover a new landscape in their lives. They never premiere new day. Nothing different happens to them that renews their spirit. They don't know how to love people in a new way. Their hearts don’t know praise.

They did not return grateful; therefore, they did not praise God and did not prostrate thee before Jesus. Those nine had a physical but not spiritual healing. Luke ends the text by stating that Jesus told this Former Samaritan leper:

"Rise up, your faith has saved you." Hallelujah. This man received forgiveness, joy, peace, hope. Jesus himself assured him salvation because he recognized God's wonderful gift and was grateful.

Gratitude and praise always open the way to salvation.

Gratitude is the vehicle to take you out of an empty religion, centered on the self, to a real Christian experience, in relation with God himself.

Ah my beloved, today, gratitude is what we need to rekindle our relationship with God. This grateful praise is not primarily about taxing praise or listing the blessings received. The first thing is to grasp God's greatness and his unsinkable goodness. It's be aware to who He is.

CONCLUSION AND CALL

After a few weeks of declaring the pandemic, we were forced to do the meetings online. I was doing zoom meeting twice on weekdays. I was teaching Bible studies by zoom and on Saturdays two services also by zoom. It was exhausting but I enjoyed it. One night I remember broadcasting a sermon via Facebook.

I was very excited to share the word, people were getting the word and reacting with their messages and emojic but suddenly my cell phone went out. It wasn't the first time it's happened to me, but this time it was painful because it happened at the top of my preaching. I went to bed sad that night. I told him, Lord, you have to do something. I can't preach online with this problem, it doesn't work. I Cry that night, but I didn't know God would respond so quickly.

The next day I get a call from a pastor of the area. He asked me what computer do you have? I'm surprised and I tell him, pastor, actually I don’t have any. The one I had I format and still doesn't work for me. He said to me, don’t worry. I bought a new PC, I thought I'd sell mine, but God put it in my heart to give it to you. It's an Apple. For a few seconds I didn't know what to say, I told him what had happened to me and I said thank you. But that morning I couldn't stand from my knees. When hand out the phone I went to my place of prayer and praises, there I bow down myself at the feet of Jesus because he is so good. I couldn't stop say thanks.

When those things happen, it can be easy to praise and thank, but you know that; every day God does wonders.

Every day the sun comes up, you eat, you talk, you laugh, you cry. In this year God has protected you, God has given you so much, why do not be grateful.

But more than that, your life and my life must be a song of gratitude for one reason only: Jesus died on the Cross to save us and that is more than enough to thank, praise, worship with all our hearts.

Whether it's singing, a prayer, an offering or something else, today is a good day to thank and praise. As the Roman poet Virgil would say, "As long as the river runs, the mountains shade and in the sky, there are stars, the memory of the benefit received in the mind of the grateful man must last."

Now you turn back to say thank you.