Thought for the Day - Friday 16 April 2021

Thoughts for 16th April from Netta Lithgow A reading from the Gospel of Luke 17:11-19 Jesus Heals the Ten Lepers When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back and praised God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him v.15 I have chosen this story from Luke’s Gospel because even though I have read and heard it a good few times over the years it always astonishes me that nine out of the ten men who were healed didn’t say thank you to Jesus.  Can you imagine if that had been one of us, completely healed and restored - we wouldn’t be able to get to Jesus quick enough, full of praise and thanksgiving.  Nine out of ten of these lepers chose not to bother! The Gospel story tells us that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and as he was going into a village, ten men who had this dreadful and contagious skin disease met him.  They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!”  So they’d clearly heard about Jesus and recognised him and had enough faith to ask Him for help.  They also knew that they could not go near Him or anyone else because their leprosy made them an outcast – they couldn’t even go to the Temple because the religious leaders thought lepers were “unclean”.  The lepers’ skin was full of sores and disease as well as being painful.  Some lepers would be very lonely and have to live in leper colonies.  In answer to their plea Jesus told the men to go and show themselves to the Priest - so they went on their way and it was then that they saw they were healed!  Why on earth didn’t they rush back to Jesus and fall on their knees in thanksgiving – even after they had called Jesus ‘Master’ and asked Him to have pity on them.  I don’t understand it. I can accept that these nine lepers would be overjoyed to be healed and would probably run to show their families or friends of whom they would have been separated for who knows how long – but, incredibly, only one ran to find Jesus and threw himself at His feet and thanked him.  The reading tells us that this man was a Samaritan - they were generally thought of as foreigners.  It tells us too that he thanked Jesus in a loud voice, so he obviously wanted everyone around to hear. Jesus asked “didn’t anyone else return and give praise to God except this outsider”?  Then said to the one who thanked him, “Get up and go.  Your faith has healed you”. For me, the main point of this astonishing story is clear to see and easy to apply – we should each be truly thankful for what Jesus has done for us.  Follow the good example set by the Samaritan and always remember to say “thank you Lord God” for all our blessings.   Eternal God, Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives thank you for your goodness and for your blessings. Thank you that you are able to bring hope even in the most difficult times, strengthening us for your purposes. Thank you in Jesus name.  Amen --------------------------------------------