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Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Where are the other nine?”
No other story better illustrates human ingratitude than the Gospel today.
Jesus heals ten lepers at no cost to them, yet only one returns to thank him. The other nine move on with their lives.
All the Lord wanted was a word of thanks.
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How often do we show our gratitude for others?
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Consider the elderly.
For at least the first decade of our lives, we were totally dependent upon our parents and grandparents for food, shelter, clothing, security, and above all, for love. How do we thank them? And how might we support them as they age?
Or our veterans.
As the saying goes, “All gave some. Some gave all.” On the eve of Veteran’s Day, how might we thank those who willingly sacrificed so much for us?
Or consider any other person in our lives – our spouse, our children, our co-workers, a teacher, a doctor, a benefactor, a friend.
Think of one person who’s made a difference.
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How might we thank them today?
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Image credits: (1) Bible Study Tools (2) Osprey Observer (3) Betterteam