Slow Down and Give Thanks

SLOW DOWN AND GIVE THANKS Spring Valley Mennonite; November 24, 2019; Luke 17:11-19 Jesus was nearing a town somewhere near the border of Galilee and Samaria, accompanied by a number of His followers and the Disciples. It was near the end of His earthly ministry, and His fame as a miracle worker was at its height. Even the outcasts of society knew of Jesus. Ten of these outcasts, ten lepers—ten people who, because of their affliction, were not even allowed to be near other people—these ten lepers heard that a Miracle Worker named Jesus was coming their way. We don’t know what they knew about Jesus; how they learned about Him is also unknown. People didn’t pass the time of day with lepers. Because of the contagious nature of the disease, lepers were required to remove themselves from any contact with people, and to cry out “unclean! Unclean!” to anyone who came near. They lived on the outskirts of society. These ten had heard that Jesus could heal diseases—even leprosy, so today when our Lord passed by, their cries of “unclean” were replaced by the words, “Jesus, Master; Have mercy on us.” The story of these ten lepers is found in Luke 17; turn there and follow along as I read this fascinating story. There is a lesson here which is especially appropriate for us this time of year. Read Luke 17:11-19. I. WE ALL HAVE NEEDS; WE NEED MERCY These ten lepers had a problem they couldn’t solve on their own. In that day, there were no medications available for Leprosy as there are today. Since 1940, when the medication was introduced, over 16 million people have been cured of the disease. However, until very recently, discriminatory laws in many countries have forced those effected by leprosy into quarantine or isolation in leper colonies. Many still choose self-isolation because of the stigma against the disease. There was a leper colony in Hawaii, on the island of Molokai, which has had a population as high as 8000. Until 1969, fully ten years after Hawaii’s statehood, anyone with leprosy was isolated from their families and relocated to this colony. All babies born in the colony were immediately taken from their parents and placed in an orphanage. Even after 1969, when people were free to return to society, many chose to remain. Returning to our story, these ten lepers had been separated from any contact with other people. The statement that “misery loves company” is borne out in these ten unfortunates gathering together. It is interesting that in their misery, the social and religious differences between Jew and Samaritan were forgotten. These men had no hope in life. They existed, I suppose, on the charity and generosity of family and others who might leave food for them as they scrounged for sustenance outside the towns and villages. Into this hopeless situation came word one day of a miracle worker named Jesus—one who could heal even the ravages of leprosy. They waited until He came their way, and ten began calling to Him: “Jesus, Master: have mercy on us!” I would point out the correspondence between the situation of the ten lepers and the universal condition of mankind. In the Bible, Leprosy often is an illustration of sin. All of us begin in a hopeless state, hopelessly entrapped in sin. We are completely unable to free ourselves from this entrapment, and like the lepers, have no hope of a future—like a modern philosopher observed, “Life is a struggle, then you die.” All these men had to look forward to was a life of struggle and hardship, and then they would die, and few people would care. Millions of people are locked in the same hopeless cycle today. Whether they be the outcasts on the streets of Calcutta or leaders of trade and commerce on Wall Street, they are all prisoners of sin and face eternal death. But then Jesus passed by. The Eternal Son of God passed by this planet. He was sent from the great loving heart of the Father. With Jesus comes hope—hope for relief from the misery of Leprosy—hope from the misery of sin. The response of the ten lepers: Jesus, Master; Have mercy on us! II. JESUS MEETS THE NEED When Jesus saw these men, He felt pity and compassion. He always notices those who are suffering. Be assured that whatever your personal situation might be, Jesus notices and feels compassion and pity upon you. He desires our very best, but our best FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE! For example, our spiritual health is much more important than our physical health. He chooses earthen vessels to display His treasures, so that the treasure might gleam the brighter by contrast. Jesus’ response to the Leper’s need for physical healing was to require them to go show themselves to the priests, implying that they would be healed. The priest was responsible to prevent anyone who was ceremonially unclean from participating in the public expressions of worship. A priest examined people with skin diseases and could place them in quarantine for either short or long periods of time. A priest also could declare someone clean if healing occurred, granting the right to rejoin their families and society. That is what Jesus our High Priest does for us, declaring us clean before God, clean from the crippling contamination of sin, washed in the blood of the Lamb, enabling us to join God’s forever family. As the men made their way to the priests, they were healed! Their leprosy and its symptoms disappeared miraculously! I’m sure their elation was great as their hopelessness turned to joy that Jesus had healed them. This is also the elation and joy that should characterize our lives when we realize that our terminal condition has been reversed because of Jesus’ death on the cross. Headed for eternal death, headed for eternal separation from God, lost without hope in our sins, miraculously we are healed by the touch of the Master! We become new and spiritually healthy persons with the brightest future possible. But—what was the response from the ten lepers? Their response was mixed. III. A MIXED REPONSE Out of the ten lepers who were healed, nine continued on their way to the priest, but one turned back. Here is the point of Luke including this miracle: ten men with a need sought Jesus. Jesus demonstrated His power as the Son of God by healing them all. But nine out of ten were interested in Jesus only as a healer—only as one who could fix their problem. Once their problem was fixed, they went happily on their way. One man turned back. He felt something else was in order. He turned back and began glorifying God in a loud voice, and He came and fell at Jesus’ feet and began thanking Him: “Thank you Jesus! Thank you for noticing me in my hopeless and helpless condition; thank you for coming my way today; thank you for doing for me what I could not do for myself.” His position on his face before Jesus was one of worship. He was a Samaritan. Jesus made an observation to those around Him: “Were there not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” The Jews gladly accepted Jesus as miracle worker, for who would refuse healing when they were sick? But they rejected Jesus as their Messiah, the Son of God. Perhaps this is one point Luke is making in giving this account: this is illustrative of how the whole nation of Israel responded to the miracles of Christ; they accepted Jesus as a miracle worker, but rejected Him as their Messiah, even though the Old Testament Prophets clearly stated that one great identifying sign of the Messiah would be His power to work miracles. Jesus’ literal words to the Samaritan man were, “Rise, and go your way, your faith has saved you.” I believe the man went away with more than physical healing; He left that encounter with his sins forgive. IV. WHAT IS OUR “THANKFULNESS QUOTIENT?” This Sunday before Thanksgiving I chose this account in Luke 17 for the purpose of bring attention to our tendency to take the blessings of God for granted. Jesus received thanks for only 1/10th of His miracles that day. But before we are too hasty to condemn the nine who merrily went on their way, do we stop and give thanks for the blessings and miracles God works on our behalf every day? Are we like the nine who brought a need to Jesus, and after receiving the answer, went on their way without a thought of being thankful? This week is a very special holiday time for our nation—a time when we can slow down enough to count our blessings. But beware! Busyness tends to keep us from thankfulness. It takes time to meditate upon God’s goodness. For many years the Thanksgiving Holiday escaped commercialization—until the idea of Black Friday with all its special bargains came to be. For many people, the contemplation of being grateful for what we have is in danger of being lost in the planning to acquire more stuff. We must remember that faith without gratitude is incomplete. It an arrogant faith, it is faith which communicates an entitled mentality which says, “I deserve this; I deserve these blessings.” My friends, if we ever cease to recognize the source of our blessings through giving of thanks to God, those blessings will cease. Conversely, gratitude opens the heart to recognize ever greater blessings. Thankfulness and gratitude turn us into happy and contented people. Why is this so? It is because thankfulness focuses our attention on the gift-giver rather than on the gift. The giving of thanks has at its very core gratitude and contentment with what we have been given. Thanksgiving turns our heads upward. The giving of thanks prompts a spirit of humility, for we are acknowledging His mercy, His goodness, His provision, His protection, His favor, His salvation. Thankfulness acknowledges our dependency on God. An attitude of thankfulness also helps us realize the purposes God has for putting us into a situation of crisis or need. Thankfulness helps us realize the truth of Romans 8:28—that all things work together for good. God allows a crisis to come in our lives so that we may learn of His love and provision in a special way; so that we can understand what is really important in life. Trials wonderfully concentrate our focus on God. God often puts us in a position of need so He can demonstrate His ability to meet that need. That’s just how He works! Thankfulness causes our faith to grow, for the God who has been faithful in the past will be faithful in the future. I can believe in the goodness of God; on the basis of what He has done today, I can trust Him for tomorrow. The healthiest thing a believer can do is to copy the grateful Samaritan by continually falling at the feet of Jesus in worship and gratitude for all His wonderful gifts to us, beginning with our priceless saving relationship with Him. The Pilgrims at that first Thanksgiving celebration were facing another winter. Few had survived that first brutal winter, and it would have been understandable if they would have focused only on the problems facing them. They could have reasoned that the food shared in this meal of thanksgiving should be saved for the winter facing them. But instead, they made the choice to give thanks as a body of believers, recognizing the goodness of the Lord for giving them a new land of freedom, and for meeting the most basic needs of life. For them, a feast was an act of faith. I hope as you gather with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving that you will take time to slow down and be thankful.