I love how often Jesus asked questions when he was teaching and interacting with others. As recorded in the four Gospels, he asked over 300 questions. One of the more interesting ones is when he heals 10 men with leprosy and only one of the 10 expressed gratitude to Jesus. From Luke 17:16-18:
He threw himself at Jesus ’feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Samaritans were seen as racially impure by the Jews, as well as members of a false religious sect. They were originally Jews in the northern territory of Israel who, 750 years before the time of Christ, had been conquered by the Assyrians. Some remained, and they defied God’s law by intermarrying with the Assyrians. Eventually, they developed their own version of the Torah, claimed to worship God, and had a competing temple.
So Samaritans were not exactly the “good people” of the day for the Jews. In many ways, they were considered enemies. They were definitely not people to look up to and here Jesus is telling his people, “Hey – see that group over there you think are horrible? Yeah, they are doing what you should be doing.”
For us today, as primarily white Evangelical Christians (one of the most privileged people groups in America), we lack for little, so we often forget to be grateful for what we have.
And Jesus sits here teaching us that even a ____________ [insert group we think is less than us] knows how to be thankful when we don’t.
Ouch.
It’s really easy to do a cursory study of this text and simply take away, “What are some ways I can cultivate more gratefulness in my life?” And it’s not as if that application is incorrect in this text. It ’s just that it’s not good enough. I think we can do better. Why? Because sometimes simply trying harder isn’t what creates life-long transformation.
Ann Voscamp wrote a book called One Thousand Gifts – and made all kinds of money on the concept of teaching us how to be more thankful. And, good for her, because our hearts often need a grateful attitude adjustment. Did I write down my things each day during the month when reading the book? I sure did.
Did it help create a thankful heart in me? You bet.
For a while.
For a while, the trying harder worked just fine. I saw the little things around me that I was grateful for. Then I simply got out of that habit. That tells me something: that’s it ’s not about just about looking for what we ought to be grateful for.
So how do we get beyond trying harder?
When the healing in Luke 17 occurred, the Samaritan was seized with “an irresistible emotion of gratitude” and “captive to this spontaneous gratitude, put off going to the temple to rush back to Jesus.”
The ceremonial clean bill of health could wait (which I image would be a pretty big deal to a leper). His spiritual obligation overrode his ceremonial need. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him, at the very least recognizing the Jesus was an agent of God. More likely, he did realize Jesus was King. The Samaritans were well-acquainted with the messianic Scripture, and this man saw Jesus in that light. He returned to Jesus with a heart giving glory to God and thanksgiving for Jesus. He recognized God’s power in Christ.
So maybe, just maybe, instead of focusing on trying harder to see what we can be thankful for, especially when things are challenging, the way to cultivate a spirit of thankfulness in your heart is about reframing the question.
Rather than asking, “What should I be thankful for?” it may be more helpful to ask questions like this:
“What is God doing in this situation right now?”
“What is He teaching me?”
“What is He redeeming and restoring?”
By focusing on what God is doing in the present rather than on what we ought to do – like writing down a 1000 ways to be thankful – we are cultivating a faith that leads to obedience.
What is God teaching you in the midst of your current challenges? What is He redeeming and restoring? How is God at work and what does he want you to take from this situation?
Let’s reframe our questions so they are not about trying harder, but about what God is already doing in our midst.
In Christ, Pastor Stephanie
