This week, we in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving, a beautiful holiday on which we traditionally pause to thank God for the blessings we have received–especially family, friends, and nature’s bounty. I begin by wishing all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving! This wish is coupled with a big THANK YOU for reading this blog. And a thank you for your many comments which expand what I offer each week.
I thought it might be appropriate today to say a few words about thanksgiving or gratitude as seen on the Gospel. This reflection is based on the story of the Jesus’ cure of the ten lepers found in Lk. 17:11-19.
One day, as Jesus was entering a certain town, he was met by ten lepers who “stood at a distance from him.” They cried out, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” Jesus said to them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” They did as he said, but on their way, they were all suddenly cured. But that’s not the end of the story. Of the ten lepers, only one eventually returned to Jesus, fell on his knees, and thanked him. Says Luke, “And he was a Samaritan.” This fact did not go unntoiced by Jesus. In fact he asked, “Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” And to the man, he said, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
It’s a short passage. Only nine verses. But there’s much food for thought here. For example, it’s easy for us to assume that if we had been one of those cured lepers, we certainly would have returned with the “foreigner” to say thank you. Right? Why didn’t the other nine lepers return? What could possibly have prevented them from doing the polite thing and say “thank you”? Here are some possible reasons I came up with. While doing so, I realized, “Sometimes I’m not so different from those nine lepers who didn’t give thanks.”
Reasons I didn’t return to give thanks:
1) I coudn’t find Jesus. He was always on the move. I didn’t know where to look.
2) I couldn’t afford the time. I had already wasted many years of my life debilitated by this awful disease. I couldn’t waste one precious minute of my new life in a posture of gratitude.
3) I wanted to put my leperous life behind me. Returning to give thanks would have reminded me of my terrible, desperate needs back then. I wanted to forget all that and move on.
4) Truth be told, I was afraid of this man Jesus. I figured, if he had such power to heal me, what other powers could he possess that might not be so benevolent towards me.
5) Jesus seemed to be a pretty sensitive guy. I figured he knew how grateful I was. I didn’t have to say the words. Besides, he was so busy.
6) I was afraid of what he would have asked of me as payment for this miraculous cure. No one bestows such a marvelus gift without demanding something big in return, not so?
7) I didn’t want to be associated with this Jesus guy. I had heard that the religious and political leaders were against him. Some even wanted him dead. I felt the safe thing to do was to keep my distance from him.
8) I began to doubt if it was Jesus who actually cured me. After all, he didn’t say any magic-holy words or touch me. In fact, I wasn’t even in his presence when I was healed. Who says I owe Jesus anything?
9) I forgot.
For reflection:
Those are nine reasons (excuses) for not giving thanks–not only to God, but to other people who bless us with gifts every day: our spouse, children, parents, grandchildren, friends, neighbors, the people we serve, the people who serve us, a co-worker, the clerk in the grocery store, etc. Can you find yourself in any of these excuses?
Can you come up with any other excuse we might have for not saying thank you? If so, can you share it with us below?
Why not make a list (even a mental one) of 5 things you are especially grateful for today. You might want to say “thank you” (text, quick call, in person) to someone who’s responsible for something on your list.
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PS: I will be making my annual retreat from Sunday, Nov. 30 to Sunday, Dec. 7. Could you please say a little prayer for me during this week? I worked ahead and so I will post a reflection as usual next Monday, Dec. 1. It will be an Advent reflection. Meanwhile, know that I will hold all of you in my prayer next week, thanking God for your unique and special presence in my life!
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For our video today I chose the old Thanksgiving Hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth,” here sung by Audrey Assad. Feel free to sing along.
I invite you to add your thoughts below. I love hearing from you!
59 Responses
Beautiful…thank you for sharing.
So beautiful. Thankful for you and so much. Love you.
Eva McReynolds
The one thought I had about why some of the cured lepers did not return, was that they had been forced away from their families for so long that they wanted to see and kiss and touch the wife and children they missed. It might have taken days or weeks before the thought crossed their minds about thanking Jesus.
A beautiful hymn for any time of year. Wishes for a happy and blessed Thanksgiving to you Sister Melanie.
Joan Marie, I really appreciated your “excuse.” It’s so understandable–to be so caught up with the gift, that we can forget the giver of the gift. Thank you for this fine response! Melannie
Thank you Sister Melanie for your weekly blog. I appreciate your words as they are profound in their focus on the ordinary small things we often overlook. I work as a social worker in public schools. While I am not allowed to “officially”talk about God at work, I do have my students take time to focus this week on gratitude and reflect on someone they want to verbally tell that they are grateful for them and why. Blessings on your upcoming retreat!
I agree! I think they could have been so overcome with joy, they forgot to say thank you! Imagine winning the lottery…your mind would be so overcome with gratitude, you would forget to express it.
Happy Thanksgiving to you Sister,.
Thank you for your wonderful, and informative blog each week.
I will keep you in my prayers, especially while you are on your retreat and Thank you for remembering us, your readers.
Thank you, Melannie…
Thank you, all…
For making this space on the world wide web a place of peace, of reflection, of prayer, of terrific book suggestions, of lovely videos (like the one I’m currently listening to), for responses that expand my soul, for everything!
Happy Thanksgiving!
I’m not that important. Besides, somebody else probably said thank you…
Kay, Your “excuses” are two more good ones. We can fall back on our “unworthiness” or our “unimportance”… and we can assume others already said thank you for us… Thanks for your comment! Melannie
Jesus knows everything, so he knows how very grateful I am.
OR…
I thanked him silently on my way back.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and thank you Lord for everything!
Mary, Two more good excuses: Jesus already knows I’m grateful… and I gave thanks in my heart silently… Thanks for your additions to the list of impediments to gratitude! Melannie
Happy Thanksgiving to you Sr. Melanie! Thank you for this blog and all that you do!
Good morning, I am thankful fir this weekly blog. I will keep you in my prayers during your retreat.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
When I was a child my mother would always have me write a nice thank you note for any gift I received or money put in an envelope I received for birthdays, I could write Jesus a note thanking him.
Christine, You had a good Mom… I have a practice at the end of my annual retreat. I write a note from God to me–based on our week together. Every now and then I read these notes years later and recall some of the main graces of the retreat. Thanks for writing! Melannie
Thank you for this opportunity to reflect on thankfulness this week. Kay’s comment “I’m not that important” hits home for me. Also your #6 of being afraid that I might be asked to do something hard in return resonates with me.
I will be more conscious of verbalizing my gratitude. Thank you for being an important part of my Mondays and life Sr. Melannie. You will be in my prayers while you’re on your retreat.
God bless you and each of us!
Martha, Your sentence “I will be more conscious of verbalizing my gratitude” resonated with me. Thank you for your comment! Melannie
I am very thankful for you and Sunflower Seeds. My reason for not thanking Jesus would probably have been for one or all of the fearful reasons.
I’m also thankful that I was reminded last week that Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a US national holiday. We could use more executive orders like that.
Blessings to all and may your retreat be refreshing.
David, Thank you for pointing out that a couple of the excuses were based on fear. Ordinariy, our best decisions are not made out of fear. Love is by far a better motive… Thanks too for pointing out Abraham Lincoln’c role in this holiday… Melannie
Thank you Sister Melannie for all your blogs and words of wisdom and thought.
Happy Thanksgiving.
May your retreat refresh your spirit.
Thank you for sharing your reflections each week. May you have a fruitful retreat.
I’m thankful for your blog and all of the beautiful and pertinent reflections each week to start my Mondays.
Prayers for your retreat!
Wow! What an engaging exercise, really bringing our hearts and minds into the story. Helps me walk a mile in their shoes. I am so grateful for your weekly reflections, Sister. They expand my soul (as John said) in so many ways. I will be praying for you during your retreat…a perfect way to start Advent!
Amy, I so glad this reflection brought your “mind and heart” into this gospel story. That’s really what we have to bring into our pondering of sacred scripture. Thanks for articulating that! Melannie
Thank you for your weekly blog on living our Faith and growing Spiritually. Your on-line ministry, books and presentations are wonderful gifts. My your own retreat be especially renewing for you.
I’ve been reading your blog for several years and it has become something I look forward to each Monday. Yet I’ve not once said “thank you,” assuming my comments were just not that important. Today, I want to say THANK YOU Sister Melannie! You have blessed and enriched my life and spiritual growth so much! May God’s blessings overflow abundantly on you all your days!
Jeannie, I receive your “thank you” with much gratitude. Thank you for your response! Melannie
Thanks for the reflection! Will keep you in prayer.
God bless you, Sister, Melanie! When I heard this gospel as a child, I thought the nine did the right thing and the one disobeyed. Jesus said to go and show themselves to the priest so I thought they did the right thing by listening to Jesus and obeying as soon as possible. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
I always enjoy your reflections. Thank you for sharing your rich faith life and gifts with us in your blogs and books. Hoping that your retreat is blessed time for you.
The reason I wouldn’t have returned? I would be so overwhelmed and joyous of how much this would make my life and those around me better, that I forgot/didn’t take notice. And then when I remembered-I couldn’t find Him and was not persistant enough to keep looking.
Another gospel reading I will never look at the same way-Thank you!
Maria, You added another idea to our discussion: “I was not persistent enough to keep looking” for Jesus. I guess persistence can be a much needed virtue too! Thanks for writing! Melannie
I’ve wondered if the 9 lepers got stuck on the “letter of the law” while the 10th leper paid more attention to the giver of the gift rather than the gift … and I love Audrey Assad’s version of For the Beauty of the Earth!
I am grateful for your weekly inspiration. Prayers for your retreat, Sr. Melannie.
Mary, That’s another way of looking at it–emphasizing the letter of the law rather than its spirit. Focusing so much on the gift, we forget the giver. Thank you for your comment! Melannie
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Melanie. You are in my prayers this week and especially next week as you are on retreat. I read your blog every week. It makes my day and week. Thank you, Mary.
Sister Melannie THANK YOU for every blog. Every one of them has a little “challenge” for me. Your blogs (and the comments from your readers) help me to re-assess how I am living and what I believe. Thank you to all of you.
Prayers and blessings for you, Sister, on your retreat next week. I envy you. I so badly want to go on a retreat but taking care of older family members doesn’t allow it. Your blog is a mini retreat every week until I can get to a longer one.
Thank you for the reminders. Blessed Thanksgiving and a holy and joyful retreat. Prayers coming your way, Sister.
God forgives our lack of gratitude, as God knows we don’t always respond appropriately to blessings, to which we may feel entitled or just lucky. But this parable and your comment prick my conscience and stir my memory. Thank you deeply and warmly! I pray that your retreat surprises you with blessings of any kind that you might need or pray for.
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all,
I must honestly say that having been endlessly told to say, “Thank you” while growing up, I would not have neglected that….my mother would always say to trick-or-treaters, “thank you?”, to remind them of that even when receiving treats.
Having said that, I know that I take a lot for granted, not thinking of saying thank you , so THANK YOU for the reminder.
Something I have taken up in this self-centered world of ours, is saying thank you to the shelf stockers and the behind the scenes workers in the grocery store….telling them I appreciate the hard work they do and the reaction is always priceless….perhaps giving me more joy than they get. I am not looking for a pat on the back, but trying to show how easy it is to make someone’s day brighter, for we are all on this earth together trying to show what love looks like, which is given in thanksgiving for the love that we are given by our God.
May your retreat be a time of recalibration and renewal, Sr. Melannie and may you be filled to overflowing with the blessings received in the time spent away. Perhaps the lens through which you see will be tweaked a bit during this time….won’t that be exciting.
Blessings all,
Mary
Mary, Like you, I believe in thanking the “behind the scenes” workers when I meet them. I’ve spent a lot of time in airports, and I often thanked the individuals who were cleaning the restrooms or picking up the trash at the food court. We thank flight attendants and pilots when we disembark; why not thank the cleaners who are lined up to come onto the plane to clean it? And thank you, Mary, for praying that my retreat might be “a time of recalibration and renewal.” Melannie
Thank you for the weekly blog, the many books you have written, how you have made a difference in my children’s lives when you were their teacher. You have made a difference in my life too . Thank you for giving of yourself.
Julie, It was a gift to teach two of your teenagers and to get to know your family. You and your family have made a difference in my life too! Melannie
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Thank you, Sister Melanie, for your insightful blog. I really look forward to reading it each Monday!!
May the Lord Bless your retreat, safe travels.
Thank you for the reminder that it’s never too late to show our gratitude but how it can be so easy to let a multitude of excuses to take its place. On this Thanksgiving week, I will do my best to show my gratitude to others and try not to come up with an excuse. Happy Thanksgiving and thank you for your inspirations each week.
So many thoughtful reflections on the gospel passage today. Thank you to you Sr. Melannie for choosing this passage for this week and to all those who responded. They all gave me food for thought in ways I never saw before.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday as is the chosen music my favorite hymn of thanks for this holiday.
I have learned over the years how important it is to be thankful for EVERYTHING and to take the time to express thanks, to Our Lord God, even for suffering and loss; to our family and friends and all that show kindness in their care and/or service.
Beginning and ending the day with gratitude removes fear and self pity.
Wishing all a happy and graceful Thanksgiving. Melannie, I will offer prayers for you that you have a peaceful, and grace filled retreat.
Sr. Melanie,
Thank you for your so many wonderful blogs throughout the year. It ranks among the many things I am thankful for at this time of the year: (1) My family, past and present, which now extends to Great Grandchildren, (2) My faith which now extends throughout our family, and (3) the love and care we share amongst ourselves and throughout our respective communities.
As to the reflection on the Ten Lepers. In my 85 years I can’t count the number of times I’ve listened to this Gospel and have paused to reflect on it. There were 10, obviously 9 were of the Jewish Faith; the 10th, a Samaritan, an outcast to those true believers, would have no reason to see “their” priest. If anyone, then Jesus. [Thoughts of the woman at the well]. I apologize for being so long winded.
John, You make an interesting point about the Samaritan having no reason to see a Jewish religious leader. Would he have even been welcome there? So he goes back to Jesus, the source of his cure… Thanks for you words. PS: You are NOT long winded!… Melannie
Thanks for your reflection on gratitude, Melannie! I was reflecting on this reading last week and wondered if the nine were so caught up in going to the priests to be cleared for going home and joining family and friends that their focus was on moving ahead.
Ruth, you too make a good point. The former lepers needed “clearance” to go back to their families. That alone might have been their immediate focus… Thanks for the addition. Melannie
And one returns……is it the humble one, the unassuming one, the one with an open heart. ..Hmmmmmm
thank you for the wonderful sharings.
Sister Ave, … Hmmmmmmm… you might be on to something here… Melannie
I recently had an encounter with an elderly store clerk who was especially kind. As I reflected on this encounter, I thought that a reason for not showing gratitude may be that we feel the clerk is just doing his job. Could it be that the nine lepers, having heard about the miracles of Jesus, thought he was just doing his “job” of curing people?
I try to remember to thank God for the kindness of strangers when I pray at night.
Wishing you a prayerful and peaceful retreat filled with many blessings, Sr. Melannie.
Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Beverly, A good point… it raises the question, can’t we show our appreciation for people who are doing their job?… Thanks for your comment… Melannie
They did not say thank you immediately but maybe they eventually made their way back. I like to think so.
I wonder if they were so steeped in being treated with disdain and rejection that they may not have really known what to do. They spent years as outcasts being told to avoid everyone. Just a thought.
I’m grateful for you and all my teachers for the example, care and love I’ve received from God through your/their ministry.
Sr. Melannie,
You have been mentioned in my gratitude journal many times over the years. I am very thankful for your weekly blog as well as the reflections I read in Living with Christ. You have a gift and I appreciate that you share it with us.
Happy & Blessed Thanksgiving to you Sister Melannie & to all!!!
Thank you, Sister for your wonderful & inspiring weekly blog!!!
Thank you Sister Melanie for your wisdom, kindness, compassion, and sense of humor. I found your blog thanks to “Living Faith” tri-monthly publication and was always drawn to your input. As a convert, I was able to comprehend easily, and learn. Also, as a convert 16 years, I have had little exposure to Sisters, and I admire them and want to know them better. When I see sisters in habits in the airport, I want to run up say hi and try and come up with something intelligent to say to them. But, being shy and in awe of them that never happens.
I have always loved the 10 Lepers bible story. It is why I have created a very simple Thank-you Rosary I say every morning. I never want to take God, my faith, and all He has given me for granted. Thank-you for taking that story into an even more significant level.
I hope you have a meaningful and fulfilling retreat and a loving Thanksgiving.