St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
Church of the
Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
October 13, 2013
Year C, Proper 23:
The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Psalm 66:1-11
2 Timothy 2:8-15
Luke 17:11-19
“An Attitude of Gratitude”
Last
week we began our stewardship campaign. We didn’t come up with a new slogan.
Maybe we should. A number of years ago my former parish used a stewardship slogan
that I like a lot, “An Attitude of Gratitude.”
“An
attitude of gratitude.”
Well,
in the section of Luke’s Gospel that we heard both last Sunday and today, Jesus
has a whole lot to say about gratitude.
In
my sermon last week, I focused on the first part of the gospel lesson, where
Jesus tells the apostles – his closest followers and friends – that if they had
faith only the size of a tiny mustard seed they could say to a mulberry tree,
“Be uprooted and planted in the sea” and it would obey.
Jesus
told the apostles – tells us here today – that if we have faith only the size of
a tiny mustard seed we can do truly amazing things.
But
there was a second part of last week’s gospel lesson that I didn’t mention in
my sermon.
After
Jesus’ teaching on faith the mustard seed, Luke quotes Jesus asking the
apostles a rhetorical question:
"Who
among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending
sheep in the field, `Come here at once and take your place at the table'? Would
you not rather say to him, `Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve
me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink'? Do you thank the slave
for doing what was commanded?”
The
apostles would have known that the answer to Jesus’ question is, of course, NO!
Right or wrong, when the slave comes in after a days work the master doesn’t
tell him or her to take it easy and enjoy the meal. No, the slave’s work
continues. And the master is certainly not obliged or expected to say thank
you.
And
then Jesus throws in a command to the apostles – and to us:
“So
you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, `We are
worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'"
In
other words, we Christians shouldn’t expect a medal for doing what we’re
supposed to do.
I
suspect that many of the older folks among us have little or no problem with
this teaching. I don’t think I’m idealizing the past when I say that people
were brought up to do their duty - and not expect a whole lot of praise or even
a thank you in return.
That
may have changed.
Last
Saturday some of us attended “Vestry University” where leaders from churches
all around the diocese came together to learn, and to enrich their ministries.
I
attended two very good workshops on stewardship.
And
one of the takeaways was the importance of thanking parishioners for their
pledges. (In fact, we will include a thank you in the bulletin to all of you
who’ve pledged.) The workshop leaders emphasized that this gratitude is not
only good manners but they also went on to say that many of our younger adults
really expect praise, affirmation and gratitude when they do something good.
In
other words, lots of us today do
expect a medal for doing what we’re supposed to do.
The
workshop leaders claimed that this mindset comes has been created by parents
and teachers who may have gone overboard affirming and praising our kids –
giving them certificates and trophies for participation – sometimes literally
giving them medals for doing what they’re supposed to do.
Young
adults, don’t get mad at me! I’m not sure if this is really true.
But,
it reminded me of an interesting article I read not too long ago about how
there’s been a huge increase in the number of medals given to – and worn by –
members of the military. And that includes officers at the very top. In the
article they compared pictures of some of the great generals of the World War
II era – men like Eisenhower – who wore very few medals or ribbons on their
uniforms. And then they compared them to today’s top brass – whose uniform
jackets are almost completely covered by shiny medals.
Well,
whatever the case is today, Jesus is clear that as his followers we shouldn’t
expect gratitude – shouldn’t expect a medal for doing what we’re supposed to
do.
So,
for example, when we drop off food for the food pantry we shouldn’t be looking
for a thank you.
And
when people line up at the Church of the Incarnation on the fourth Saturday of
the month to receive bags of groceries, those who serve them shouldn’t expect a
word of thanks.
The
privilege of serving God and serving others should be enough.
Someone
once shared with me a quote from the great Catholic saint, Vincent de Paul.
I’ve never been able to find the exact words but essentially it was: “We should
thank the poor for the privilege of serving them.”
“We
should thank the poor for the privilege of serving them.”
An
attitude of gratitude.
But,
while we shouldn’t expect gratitude from those we serve, we Christians are
certainly expected to be thankful people.
Which
brings us to today’s gospel lesson – a story unique to the Gospel of Luke, the
story of the one healed leper who returned to thank Jesus.
In
ancient Israel there was a strong revulsion at any kind of skin ailment, not
just what we call leprosy today. People afflicted with skin diseases were
ritually unclean, were forced to live out on the edges of the community, and
made to call out when they approached other people.
These
poor, miserable, outcast people call out to Jesus, “Master, have mercy on us!”
There’s
no dialogue between Jesus and the lepers. Jesus doesn’t interrogate them about
their prayer lives, their beliefs, or their personal morality.
Jesus
simply heals them.
Then,
obeying Jewish Law, which required all of those healed to be officially
certified by the religious authorities, he tells them, “Go and show yourselves
to the priests.”
Luke
then gets to the heart of the story when he tells us that only one of the
healed lepers turns back to thank Jesus for this miraculous healing,
prostrating himself at Jesus’ feet.
And
then Luke reveals a key piece of information: “And he was a Samaritan.”
Now,
thanks to this story end especially Luke’s Parable of the Good Samaritan, we
have a very positive impression of the Samaritans. But, that wasn’t the case at
all for First Century Jews.. Although they were related, the Samaritans and the Jews did not get along
at all, disagreeing on all sorts of religious matters.
Jews
viewed Samaritans as ritually unclean.
So,
you see Luke’s point? The other nine do what they were supposed to do, heading
off to Jerusalem to show the priests what’s happened. Fine. But, it’s the
lowest of the low, it’s the most unclean, the most outcast of the lepers, the
one who probably least expected to be healed - it’s the Samaritan leper who
offers gratitude to God.
The
one who was the lowest and the least has a profound attitude of gratitude.
And
that gratitude has a powerful spiritual effect.
Notice
what Jesus says to the healed Samaritan leper at the end of the story: “Get up
and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.”
But,
wait a second, Jesus had already healed all of the lepers right?
Yes,
but Jesus is talking about much deeper wellness.
It
seems that the profound attitude of gratitude of the healed Samaritan leper has
made him well in a much deeper way - healing whatever was wounded or broken in
his heart.
And
in my imagination I see that deeply healed Samaritan going on his way out into
the world, with a heart nearly bursting with gratitude to God.
I
imagine that deeply healed, deeply grateful, Samaritan spending the rest of his
life offering healing and help to others, thankful for the privilege of serving
those in need - and never expecting – never even wanting - a thank you in
return.
So,
what about us?
I
bet at one time or another we’ve all felt like the Samaritan leper – outcast, rejected,
a mess, desperate for God’s mercy and healing.
The
good news – really the best news of all – is that in and through Jesus, in and
through God’s Word, in and through the Body and Blood of Christ that we share
and receive - God offers us that same kind of deep healing given to the leper
long ago.
And,
just like the leper, the only appropriate response for us is an attitude of gratitude – and a willingness to go out into
our broken and hurting city, offering healing and help – thankful for the privilege
of serving those in need - and never expecting – or even wanting a thank you in
return.
May
we all have an attitude of gratitude.
Amen.
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