The Message, October 12, 2025: "An Attitude of Gratitude," Luke 17:11-19

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
October 14, 2025

 

“An Attitude of Gratitude”
A Message by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
Luke 17:11-19

            Have you ever felt as if you were invisible?

            Have you been at a meeting, or a social gathering, or some other event at which no one acknowledged you? Did you try to make a point, or a suggestion, or challenge something that had been said or presented … and you were overlooked or ignored?

[Please Note: At this point during the service on Sunday, a young man raised his hand and said, “Yes. I have been ignored and overlooked.” He is a young man that his visited the church three or four times previously. I believe that he lives in a local group home. He went on to tell me that he is often ignored. He said that people get nervous around him and do not believe what he says and it hurts him deeply. I asked him his name and told him that he matters here. Two women from the church family got up and went and sat with him for the rest of the service. I then skipped over the remaining questions that I had to open my message and mentioned that there are times when we all feel that way; when we feel the pain of isolation and rejection. I thank Nick for his courage.]

            Have you ever been rejected? Ostracized?

            Have you been told that you are not welcome here? Have you been told that you do not belong?

            Have you ever been subject to prejudice because of your gender? Or your age? Or your height? Or your weight?

            Have you been reviled because of how you identify? Have you been treated as less than, or other than, because of the color of your skin or your country of origin?

            Have you ever been pushed to the margins because you are differently abled? Or gifted?

            Have you felt the deep, deep pain of separation and isolation?

            Have you ever wanted to disappear precisely because of the way that you have been treated? Or mistreated?

            I am fairly certain that there are a number of people in this room, or watching online, that have experienced that pain, that carry those wounds with them every day.

            We encountered a community of people in our scripture lesson this morning that knew that pain of rejection and isolation. Jesus and the disciples were making their way toward Jerusalem, and they encountered a group of ten men with leprosy near the road. As we heard, the men were careful to keep their distance as they shouted to Jesus, “Master! Have mercy on us!”

            In case you are not aware, the Law and the purity code was very specific with regard to those who suffered with leprosy and other skin diseases. It was spelled out in the Book of Leviticus:

            “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’ As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.” (Leviticus 13:45-46)

            They were not allowed to work. They suffered the indignity and humiliation and degradation of sitting by the road begging for charity.

            Because of the fear of airborne transmission, those with skin diseases were to position themselves downwind from “healthy” individuals.

            Those suffering with leprosy and other skin diseases did gather into camps or colonies to help mitigate the pain of their isolation. It was this type of colony … this community … that Jesus encountered that day.

            And again, as we heard, the men called out to Jesus, “Have mercy on us!” They changed from their typical plea of begging for a coin or a scrap of bread. No doubt word of Jesus’ healing ministry traveled ahead of him. Perhaps they had heard the murmurs of the crowd. They begged for mercy.

            And as we also heard, Jesus saw them. Jesus had compassion for them. Jesus healed them.

            That little three-letter word, “saw,” is a powerful word. For those who have been relegated to life outside of the camp, being seen is powerful. Many people who live on the margins of society, those who are … or feel … invisible wish to be seen, wish to be acknowledged, desire to matter. Jesus saw them. He saw their need. He saw their humanity. (I think it is important to note that Luke referred to them as “men with leprosy” rather than “lepers.”) Jesus saw them. He saw ten people in need of compassion, and he did indeed have mercy upon them.

            Jesus said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were made clean.

            And now we have reached the point in the story that generated a lot of discussion during Bible study on Thursday evening. One of the men, a Samaritan, turned back praising God with a loud voice. Praising God for being made well. He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. But just him, just the one, the foreigner, the Samaritan.

            Why? Jesus wondered the same thing? “Where are the other nine? Ten were made well. Where are they?”

            We began to speculate and postulate various thoughts and ideas, but at the end of the evening, we could not be certain. Luke never told us. We just do not know. One scholar suggested that it is better to read the passage as two separate stories: one in which ten men with leprosy are healed, and the second in which one man was saved.

            Since we do not know what happened with the other nine, let us focus on the tenth man … the grateful man.

            The tenth man, the foreigner, was a Samaritan. As we know from our discussions of the Parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of the Samaritan woman at the well, Jews and Samaritans despised one another. Even though they claimed a common heritage, the animosity between them was centuries old. The Jews called the Samaritans “dogs,” and the Samaritans used equally derogatory terms in reply. We can be certain that a Samaritan man with leprosy living in a colony in the borderland between Galilee and Samaria experienced ugliness and hostility on a daily basis. One might guess that he rarely experienced the blessing of mercy.

            Until the day that he did. He was seen. He was loved. He was made well. Jesus said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

            The word that Jesus used for “get up” was a word that those in the early Christian community would have recognized as having to do with resurrection. It was similar to the word Jesus used in the story of the Prodigal Son when the father said, “Your brother was dead and is alive again.” This man, the tenth man, the Samaritan man was given new life. His life had been restored by the power of God and the mercy offered by Jesus Christ.

            The word that Jesus used for “made well” when he said, “Your faith has made you well,” is the same word that is often translated as “to be saved.”

            What Jesus said to the man was, “Beloved Brother, get up from the death of isolation and humiliation, separation and degradation, and walk in newness of life. Your faith, your confidence in the healing power of God has saved you. You have been made well. You have been restored, made whole. Give thanks and praise to God!”

            Our lesson for today really does reside in the tenth man. As we look at our world today, would we really be surprised if nine walked away without giving thanks? We might actually be more shocked by the fact that one did.

            God’s love and grace is not limited to, or restricted by, human boundaries. God’s blessings extend beyond. When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, he spoke about the content and the focus of our hearts and souls. He reminded the people in that foundational sermon that God “… makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” And if we are to be seen and known as the children of God, then we must possess hearts of love.

            God’s blessings extend beyond human restrictions and even beyond our comprehension. The difference is in how we respond to the blessings. Are we grateful?

            This is a story that asks us to spend some time reflecting upon the content of our hearts and souls. Do we reach out to God, and pray to God when we are experiencing difficulty or trauma … and then neglect to offer prayers of gratitude when things are going well?

            Do we have a sense of entitlement? Do we expect that the world owes us good? Do we believe that God owes us blessings?

            Two weeks ago, we spoke about contentment. Contentment combined with godliness. Contentment and gratitude are related. Being grateful for the blessings that we have is akin to the peace that we experience when we are satisfied with what we have. Neither are an invitation to complacency, and neither do they make the false promise that life will be easy. But both speak to the way that we move through the world. Both speak to our relationships with God.

            Do we go through the world grasping and clawing, always trying to get more, and more and more?
            Do we go through life criticizing and complaining, chastising God for failing to meet our expectations?
            Are the passions and desires of our hearts directed inward? Or outward?

            Paul summed it up perfectly in his letter to the Thessalonians: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

            There are many forces in our world today that may divide us or break us down.  May our hearts give thanks and praise to God. May we be grateful. Amen.

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