Thanksgiving 2021

Luke 17:11-18 (NIV) 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?"

This past year and a half we have become very familiar with quarantines, social distancing, and personal hygiene and vaccinations that are intended to at least slow down the spread of the COVID 19 virus and protect us from this rapidly spreading disease. For some people, this may have been their first hand experience with such attempts to limit the spread of a disease. But historically, human beings have had to respond to any number of infectious diseases which vary in their severity, spread, and lethality. In the Middle Ages, Europe was assaulted with a plague now known as “The Black Death”.

The Black Death was a devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-1300s. The plague arrived in Europe in October 1347, when 12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina. People gathered on the docks were met with a horrifying surprise: Most sailors aboard the ships were dead, and those still alive were gravely ill and covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. Sicilian authorities hastily ordered the fleet of “death ships” out of the harbor, but it was too late: Over the next five years, the Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe—almost one-third of the continent’s population.

How Do You Treat the Black Death?

Physicians relied on crude and unsophisticated techniques such as bloodletting and boil-lancing (practices that were dangerous as well as unsanitary) and superstitious practices such as burning aromatic herbs and bathing in rosewater or vinegar.

Meanwhile, in a panic, healthy people did all they could to avoid the sick. Doctors refused to see patients; priests refused to administer last rites; and shopkeepers closed their stores. Many people fled the cities for the countryside, but even there they could not escape the disease: It affected cows, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens as well as people.

In fact, so many sheep died that one of the consequences of the Black Death was a European wool shortage. And many people, desperate to save themselves, even abandoned their sick and dying loved ones. “Thus doing,” Boccaccio wrote, “each thought to secure immunity for himself.”

How Did the Black Death End?

The plague never really ended and it returned with a vengeance years later. But officials in the Venetian-controlled port city of Ragusa were able to slow its spread by keeping arriving sailors in isolation until it was clear they were not carrying the disease—creating social distancing that relied on isolation to slow the spread of the disease.

The sailors were initially held on their ships for 30 days (a trentino), a period that was later increased to 40 days, or a quarantine—the origin of the term “quarantine” and a practice still used today.

We can only imagine such an epidemic with a mortality rate of 33% at a time when science and medicine was at a loss to understand and treat such a disease.

The Black Death goes down in history as one of the most severe pandemics of all time. But it was not the first infectious disease nor would it be the last. In biblical times we learn of plagues (cite example).

2 Chronicles 7:13–16 NIV

13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.

There are 102 references to plague in the Bible. Often cited as a judgment from God on the nation of those who did not repent. We must be careful not to make that same call today. But the people were certainly afflicted by any number of plagues and the Bible warned that plagues would continue to affect people in the future and they have.

We also learn of a variety of skin diseases and how to detect and treat them and how those afflicted with them were sequestered (or quarantined) from the general population. These skin diseases are often referred to as leprosy. The disease that the ten men whom Jesus cured in our text had.

It is not necessary at this time to go into all the details of such skin diseases or to debate if biblical leprosy was the same as Hansen’s disease. But it worthy to note that those afflicted were in pain and isolated and not sure if they would be able to recover.

Leviticus 13:1-46 goes into great detail about he identification of skin diseases, separation from others, and how to confirm they no longer have it.

Dictionary of Bible Themes 5390 leprosy

5390

leprosy

An infectious skin disease. The leprosy mentioned in Scripture, however, covers a wider range of dermatological conditions than that now referred to as the modern Hansen’s disease, known colloquially as leprosy.

Regardless of exactly what disease these men suffered, it was not good and it greatly affected their quality of life and their social connections. We may chaff under government mandates to self-isolate when we are exposed to some one who had COVID 19 or we tested positive, but it is worse if you have it and those who are afflicted suffer a variety of symptoms. Of the estimated 258 million cases world wide, over 5 million have died after contracting it. Although what we call leprosy did not always result in death (or there would not be regulations to pronounce someone recovering from it) the discomfort and the ongoing social isolation was problematic.

One of the types of miracles that Jesus did during his ministry was the healing of those who had leprosy. He did this with miraculous power as the Son of God. In this well-known case, ten men called out to him from a distance asking for mercy. We are not told exactly when Jesus healed them, but it happened soon after they asked for help. Instead of saying “You are healed.” He told them to show themselves to the priests (in keeping with the aforementioned instructions in Leviticus.) But they did not need a priest to tell them they were healed. They experienced it on the way (still within earshot of Jesus.)

What a tremendous relief that must have been for them! When we suffer from an illness or an injury, we long for the time when we will be restored to full health.

How did they respond? We are not told what the majority did. We are told what they did not do. And this miffed Jesus. He asks a rhetorical question: “Were not all ten cleansed?” Of course, they were. Jesus continues his questioning. “Where are the other nine?” “Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Specific Sin

How often are we not like the 90%. God has certainly blessed us in so many ways. At Thanksgiving we heap praise on him for all that he has done for us throughout the year. Our worship service special songs and prayers emphasize this. At this point we can become self-righteous and point our fingers at our fellow members and/or neighbors whose focus at Thanksgiving is NOT worshiping God and giving thanks to him for all that he does. Instead we can list what they have chosen to do instead or plan to do tomorrow which give no regard to why this holiday was created in our nation or (more importantly) what God has done for them.

But we too haven’t been holy in this regard. Often we show our ill response to God’s grace by . . .

Not being content with what we have.

Storing up our goods and wealth for ourselves and not helping others in need.

Willfully sinning against God.

Being poor stewards with our possessions.

Only giving God passing recognition for his goodness.

Sometimes even questioning God and lamenting that don’t have as much as we think we should have.

We must all confess that we have sinned when it comes to responding to God.

And because God gives, he has forgiven us. That same Jesus who rescued the lepers from their disease, has rescued us from the disease of sin and it consequences. The Holy Spirit has led us to trust in Jesus. And empowered by the Holy Spirit, we find joy in thanking and praising God.

We connect with the words of St. Paul when he says:

Colossians 3:15–17 (NIV)

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NIV)

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

How are we to respond to the goodness of God?

By doing the things mentioned above that we sometimes do not do.

By talking to God and thanking him.

One common way and most likely daily way we do this in a common table prayer. This prayer is over 3000 years old and is repeated often in the Bible including the Psalms. We close with one such example from

Psalm 107:1–9 NIV

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south. 4 Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. 5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. 8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.