Rightful Thanks

Grace for All

With a Thankful Heart

(our theme for November)

Luke 17:11-19 (CEB)

On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”

When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus replied, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? No one returned to praise God except this foreigner?” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

One time we went out to eat with our disabled daughter in her wheelchair. We didn’t go out very often for fear of disturbing others, since Hannah required frequent care of her breathing tube with a noisy machine, but we had just come from a doctor’s office and needed food. When it came time to pay the bill, the waiter said, “Your bill has already been paid.” Of course, I expressed my gratitude, and the waiter said, “Don’t thank me, I’m just the messenger. Those folks at the next table picked it up.”

It’s interesting to think about what might have been on the minds of the other nine healed in the incident recorded by Dr. Luke. Let’s be clear: all of them had faith in Jesus, and faith healed them all, but only one came back to say “thank you.”

One commentator suggested that perhaps they thought they deserved healing because they were of the chosen people, and thus only the Samaritan realized he had received a true gift. They might also have been focused on the priest because the priest could declare them “officially” healed, just as the waiter could declare our bill paid, whereas the Samaritan recognized the true source. I can’t help but wonder if, when the nine arrived at the temple, the priest had the integrity to say, “Don’t thank me. Thank the one who healed you.” In any case, it was only the outsider who recognized the source of the great gift he received.

Let’s pray.

Father, do we take your grace for granted? Help us to recognize the magnitude of the gift you have given us and to never lose sight of its source. We don’t say “thank you” from the heart enough. Soften our hearts that we may open our eyes and see the wonder that leads to true gratitude. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Donn King.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.