Gospel of Luke, chapter 17:15

A priest went into a crowded restaurant to have a meal. As he was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. The priest invited him to have a seat, and then, as was his custom, he bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, “Do you have a headache?” “No, I don’t.” The man continued, “Is something wrong with your food?” “No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat.” The man said, “Oh, you’re one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know that I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don’t have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!” “Yes, you’re just like my dog;” replied the priest, “that’s what he does.”

There are many people in our society today who behave like the priest’s dog. Such people believe they have earned every good that comes their way and, therefore, do not need to thank God or anyone else for that matter. They forget that the blessings that come to us are God’s blessings before they become ours. What did anyone do to merit being born when some were never born or were even aborted? How much did you do to deserve loving parents when many people never had any? What did you do to have eyes to see; ears to hear; a tongue to speak; feet to walk; when so many people are crippled? How much did you pay God to make you healthy and sound? Think of the many wonderful teachers, friends and relations that you have had and that you still have! We take these blessings for granted, don’t we? If the stars came out only once a year would you not stay up all night to watch them? We have seen the stars so often that we take them for granted. How easily we grow accustomed to our blessings and forget to give thanks to God for them.

The Gospel of Luke, chapter 17:11-19, tells the story of the ten lepers, and how only one returned to give thanks to the Lord. What were the other nine doing? Why were they so ungrateful? Were they too busy performing the temple ablutions to return thanks to Jesus? Sometimes people are too busy doing all kinds of things to take the time to express their gratitude to someone. Ingratitude is nothing more than putting selfishness above gratitude. How often we see this today!

Fortunately there is the tenth leper in today’s Gospel (Luke 17:11-19) who says nothing but simply returns to thank Jesus. He is a Samaritan, a foreigner. He cannot go to the temple because the priest would not minister to him. He does not belong to the “right” religion, and he is regarded as a sinner. The Samaritan, however, follows his natural instincts and common sense, and gives thanks to Jesus. There is an important lesson here. People who disregard common sense and reason and seek only to fulfill some detail of the law or other often end up getting it wrong, like the nine lepers.

Let us never forget that all of life is a blessing; it is God’s pure gift which we should always celebrate with a prayer of thanksgiving

Fr. Hugh Duffy