Returning thanks seems to be a prominent theme in today’s readings. We see how the result of the Lord’s healing power elicited an enthusiastic acknowledgment from the King of Aram.  The letter from Paul to Timothy reinforces the notion that God’s Word cannot be chained – something for which to be grateful. Psalm 111 begins, “Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart!” And, of course, in the Gospel reading, the Samaritan leper turns toward Jesus to giving thanks for healing.

Certainly, an attitude of gratitude is at play. 

I find it interesting that the gratitude shown by the Samaritan was a result of having turned toward Jesus.  The concept of repentance comes to mind.  So often we think of repentance when we have done something wrong and eventually realize our sin, and subsequently turn around, or turn toward Jesus for forgiveness. In this case, there was a turning, a repentance that was result of thanksgiving – a turning toward Jesus in order to give thanks.

Listen to Vs. 1 of ELW hymn #723, “Canticle of the Turning,” – an example of what I mean:

“My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great. And my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.  You fixed your sight on the servant’s plight, and my weakness you did not spurn, so from east to west shall my name be blest.  Could the world be about to turn?  My heart shall sing of the day you bring.  Let the fires of your justice burn.  Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near, and the world is about to turn.”

One of the unexpected responses of many of the folks I interviewed during my sabbatical was their ability to express thanks for finding hope in complicated and sometimes traumatic situations.  Their hearts did sing of the day God would bring justice, would initiate a new dawn, would turn the world toward peace.  The still, small, tiny, and sometimes ignored voice of God burned within them to turn them toward hope.

In today’s Gospel story the ten lepers were given a blessing of healing as they obeyed Jesus’ command to show themselves to the priest – and along the way discovered their physical well-being had been cared for.  An inspection by the priest, and the hope of being declared “clean” would restore them back to society.  Because of their illness, they had previously been ostracized and lived at the margin of society.

One of them, a Samaritan, turned around to give thanks and praise to Jesus. What was the significance of this gratitude?  It was a reciprocal act of nurturing a relationship established by Jesus – much like the familiar liturgy used during Holy Communion.

The meal portion of our worship – the Lord’s Supper – begins with what we call “The Great Thanksgiving,” or the Eucharist.  We say: “The Lord be with you.  And also with you.  Lift up your hearts.  We lift them to the Lord.  Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.  It is right to give our thanks and praise.”

That’s right.  It is good and right to give thanks to the Lord.  It is good for the heart, it is good for the soul, it is good for your neighbor, it is good for the environment.  Why?  Because thankfulness and gratitude plant the seed of caring for all the earth and all the dwells within.  It warms the soil of the heart.  It elicits a glimmer of insight into the Source of all that is – and an appreciation for the One who created it.  If we are not thankful, we effectively inhibit a connection with the original source of the gift and are, in effect, relegated to the margins of society, separated from enhancing the goodwill of all.

An episode of Seinfeld illustrates this in an episode where an acquaintance, Alec Berg, offers Jerry two hockey tickets.  Jerry feels he has thanked Alec enough and has taken a stand against all this “over thanking,” but Kramer insists Jerry needs to thank him one more time.  Kramer says, “Good manners are the glue of society….I want you to get on this phone and give him his “thank you.” This is the way society functions. Aren’t you a part of society.  Because if you don’t want to be a part of society, why don’t you get in your car and move to the East Side.”

I’ve tried to interpret this last remark. I’ve never been to the East Side, but from what I’ve read it includes exclusive neighborhoods of the upper class.  Moving to the East Side would convey isolating oneself in affluence while ignoring the common good.

I suppose the question for us is, “When have we thanked God enough?”  And, how do we express our thanks?  Verbally? With actions?  Prayer? Neighborliness?

Or are we satisfied to be relegated to the East Side.

God’s will is restoration and reconciliation.  God desires wholeness with his creation.   And part of that wholeness comes when the one who is fed, healed, supported, housed, or clothed has an opportunity to give praise and thanks. 

And this thanksgiving does involve turning around and turning toward.  So, in the spirit of gratitude, I invite you to turn toward the next person you meet or know or someone with whom you have had an experience that would prompt you to say “thank you.” Be bold, turn toward that person and say, “Thank you!”

Mark Allan Powell tells a story in his book, “Loving Jesus” about his experience regarding the goodness of God and the appropriate response of thanksgiving.

When he was a young pastor he was told by the congregation that he was to visit all the “inactive members” of the church in order to see if he could win any of them back.  So, for a whole year he visited one inactive family every week. 

When he asked them why they had quit coming to church he heard a variety of responses.  People said, “I wasn’t getting fed” or “I just didn’t feel inspired” or “The people weren’t very friendly” or “I thought it was boring.”  It took Dr. Powell a while to find a common denominator among all those things, but he finally determined that in some way, shape, or form, people quit coming to church because “they weren’t getting out of it what they thought they should get out of it.”

And that struck him as odd.  You see, when he was little, his mother used to pile him and his siblings into the car every Sunday morning and drive them to church, and she would say, “We are going to church to worship God.” 

He always thought that that was why people went to church:  to worship God.  But, those inactive members, apparently, did not have mothers like his, and they had all somehow gotten the idea that the reason one goes to church is to get something out of it.  As a child, he wasn’t sure if he ever expected to get anything out of it or not.  At any rate, that wasn’t the point.  “Six days a week, God is good to us,” his mother used to say, “and on Sundays we give thanks.”

Dr. Powell concludes his story with this line:  “Where do we get the idea that what happens in church is about us?  It is the Lord’s day.  We go to worship the Lord.”

And perhaps that is significance of the story of the leper who turned around to give thanks – the intentional recognition of Jesus gave credit where credit was due.

AMEN