Thanksgiving Day

Deuteronomy 28:1–10 NIV84

1 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 7 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. 8 The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. 9 The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you.

1 Timothy 2:1–4 NIV84

1 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Luke 17:11–19 NIV84

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 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 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Thankfulness and Appreciation

Jesus was traveling with his friends southward toward the Holy City. They were in an area “along the border between Samaria and Galilee.” Throughout the region, roaming bands of thieving thugs threatened the highways and, always, beggars seeking alms accosted passersby.

Here Jesus and the Twelve encounter 10 lepers. Leprosy is a debilitating and disfiguring disease. Therefore, the Jews considered lepers unclean and exiled them from all villages after sundown. Ten lepers were a formidable group when it comes to begging. Ironically, this group of diseased Jews and Samaritans had forgotten their traditional hatred of each other because of their common plight.

Luke, a physician, notes the lepers “stood at a distance.” Common practice required leprous persons to stand at least 50 yards downwind from healthy people—half a football field. It is virtually impossible to conduct a personal conversation so far apart, but, nevertheless, they call out, “Jesus, Master have pity on us!”

Jesus Cleanses

The Lord was not one to stand on ceremony. He did not tell them they failed to make an appointment. He didn’t suggest that it was after hours or that because they were unclean they were unwelcome. He didn’t ask their names or where they lived or check their health insurance card. He sent them to the priests, who had the authority to judge whether a leper was sick or healed. What an bold thing to do!

As they turned to go, “they were cleansed,” reports Dr. Luke. They had the faith to respond to Jesus’ instructions . . . but something was missing. Were they too shocked, too surprised to remember their manners? Were they so accustomed to doing what they were told that they did so without a word of gratitude or a question about why? Were they simply rude and ungrateful? One, at least, aware of his healing and wholeness, could not go farther without recognizing Jesus’ . . . holiness.

“Were not all ten cleansed?” asked the Lord. “Where are the other nine?” I wonder if Jesus made this comment in dismay and disappointment or in His astonished recognition that their excitement over healing was so great they could not wait to have it officially recognized.

The grateful man, a Samaritan, “threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him” (Luke 17:16). Any reasonable person can sense the rush of joy, the depth of gratitude, that touched every fiber of his being as he bowed before the Lord. It was not a formal act but a spontaneous expression of unrestrained thanksgiving.

One commentator observes, “Ingratitude towards God and towards Jesus Christ is the ugliest of all sins and there is no sin of which men are more often and consistently guilty” (William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, vol 2 [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1974] 108).

Too Busy to Thank

I am sure the author of those words is correct. The congregations I have served provided many baskets of food for the needy at Thanksgiving, and often provided a pantry from which persons in the community could obtain free food. In my former parish we had such a food closet. From the hundreds of people given food, I remember receiving only one letter of gratitude.

I do recall people who complained because the ham was canned instead of smoked or the vegetables fresh instead of frozen. Instead of thankfulness, there was a noticeable thanklessness or, at most, a grudging appreciation. What we did, obviously, was not for the sake of appreciation but out of compassionate concern for our neighbors. Still, it was a surprise so few responded gratefully in outward ways. At the same time I’m sure most were thankful within. I’m hopeful they, like the nine lepers who went on their way, remembered to praise God.

I realize, however, I too am often like the nine who were too busy getting on with life to return to give thanks and praise. I say that in shame.

An Attitude of Gratitude

A psychiatrist says there are two kinds of stress in human behavior. One is destructive. The other gives us vitality and a spring to our step. This “stress,” he maintains, is found among those who have what is called “an attitude of gratitude.” These persons live life gratefully. When we live life that way, giving thanks is not only an expression of words but also is evident in everything we do. Thanksgiving, appreciation, gratitude—not only to one another but also to God—are the hallmarks of Christian life. That attitude impregnates life.

As Jesus wondered where the nine thankless lepers were, so he must wonder about us when the gifts he gives are ignored, abused, or unappreciated. We are most grateful for health when we become sick; for work when we are unemployed; for food when we are hungry; for family and friends when we’re lonely. Shouldn’t it be the other way around as well? Shouldn’t there be thanksgiving when health reigns, jobs are secure, and there is food on the table?

Paul urged the Christians in Philippi to give thanks in everything (Phil 4:6). He encouraged the Ephesians to always give “thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (5:20). Jesus, in our text, recognized thanksgiving as that aspect that dares to live dangerously, fearlessly asking God for mercy and then faithfully accepting the gift by turning from an old life to a new one that appreciates the God who gives blessings. He did not seek thanks for himself but praise for our Father. “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” inquired Jesus.

Then he dismissed the humble Samaritan. “Rise,” he said, “and go; your faith has made you well.” He sent him away, knowing his attitude of gratitude would ignite others. His family would undoubtedly begin praising God with a new zest. How could they help it? Their loved one was no longer an outcast! His neighbors, perhaps his whole village, would probably repeat the acclaim God deserved. Thanksgiving, you see, is contagious.

There wasn’t much gratitude in the people involved in the passion account of our Lord. They just didn’t know what it was all about. Their beloved master was suffering, indeed dying, to pay for their sins. Only after he had risen from the dead could they rejoice and give thanks.

All of his ministry, Jesus was in the business of healing and forgiving. Today he still is. He heals our physical illnesses and our spiritual sickness. He forgives leprous sins that eat away at our spiritual lives—a cleansing like none other, and he gives us the faith to live a new life of appreciation and thankfulness.

Gratitude flows out of life in the Spirit of God, a new life begun at Baptism and strengthened at the Holy Supper, the Eucharist (a word that means “thanksgiving”). We celebrate with appreciation and thanks the death of Jesus for our sins and the life of the Spirit in us. So we follow the example of the Samaritan in spontaneous gratitude, in thankful witness. And, as we thank God for all his blessings, we learn to practice gratitude toward one another.

True gratitude to God splashes over into our daily life in how we treat each other.

We pray in the words of Paul Gerhardt:

“Jesus, your boundless love to me No thought can reach, no tongue declare; Unite my thankful heart to Thee, And reign without a rival there. Thine wholly, Thine alone I am; Be Thou alone my constant flame” (LSB 683:1).