Celebrates Twenty Years of equipping and supporting faith communities!

A message for the week starting on Sunday 2 October 2022

Lectionary Week: 17th Sunday After Pentecost
Prescribed Texts: Lamentations 1:1-6, Lamentations 3:19-26 or Psalms 137, 2 Timothy 1:1-14, Luke 17:5-10 

Our Attitude Towards Gratitude

On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus met ten men who had leprosy. They were the outcasts of society and lived together on the borders of the city. When Jesus passed by, they stood at a distance. In verse 13, they called out in a loud voice: ‘’Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”.

Jesus was aware of their specific needs and sent them to their priests. The priests were the only people that could declare them healed again. As the ten went, all of them were immediately healed. It is important to note the reaction of these cured men when they realised that they were totally cleansed. Only one of them came back to Jesus and thanked Him for the miracle, and he was not even a Jew, but a Samaritan. In verse 16, “. . . he threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him”.

Jesus asked the question, “Were not all ten of them cleansed, but only the Samaritan came back to give praise to God?” Jesus gave him a specific message: “. . . rise and go, your faith has made you well.” We are also living in a broken and ill society and a lot of the people feel like outcasts. It is our responsibility to go to those people and support / help them so that they can feel welcome and be part of a caring and loving community.

To think about: In our current environment where we support and help people, we will find that some of them will not come back to thank us. What is our attitude towards these people? Do we want to be thanked? What is my reason/motive for helping my neighbour?

It is better to give than to receive and may the attitude of gratitude start with us. Let us not become weary in doing good. 

Written by: Rev. Benjamin Martin, Calvyn Protestant Church and trained Churches Channels of Hope (CCoH) facilitator