***
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 persons with leprosy met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, 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.
***
***
When the first pilgrims landed on the shores of America in November, 1620, they cried out in gratitude. As one pilgrim noted, “We fell upon our knees and blessed the God of heaven.”
They had just endured a harrowing two-month journey across the Atlantic. Some died on the open seas. Half of the remaining population died of tuberculosis and pneumonia that first winter. Then the spring rains came, and their condition started improving.
This was the backdrop of the first Thanksgiving. Sickness and hope. Trial and error. Success and failure. Famine, and in thanksgiving, a feast.
***
Today, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving by filling our tables with plenty, gathering with family and friends, watching football, and serving those who go without, much like the first pilgrims during that first frigid winter.
Gratitude is the reason for the season.
But as Christians, we are called to be grateful, not only in times of prosperity, but also in times of trial. As Saint Paul says, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God.”
This is a deeper dimension of gratitude – acknowledging God’s presence in all things, at all times.
***
While it’s natural for human beings to try to make sense of our environment, even to control it, faith adds a mysterious fourth dimension. Often enough, we don’t understand why things happen to us.
But we cling to Christ’s promise, “Behold, I am with you always.”
How do we show our gratitude for God in season and out of season? Or, like the single leper who returned to Jesus in today’s Gospel, do we pray as deeply in our gratitude as we do in our need?
***
“We fell to our knees and blessed the God of heaven,” one of the first pilgrims recounted. Little did they know how harsh that first winter would be. But when the spring rains came, they gave thanks.
So, it is in the Christian life – no trial is forever. The spring rains eventually fall. For that we give thanks.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Henry Ford College (2) Thanksgiving Day, Britanica (3) Waverly Church of Christ