The Lutheran Hour
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"The Power of a Thanksgiving Life in Christ"
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Text: Luke 17:11-19
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Grace, and mercy, and peace be to you in the Name of our Lord Jesus, Who is the Source of our life, our Salvation, our Healing, our Hope, now and forever! Amen!
The attitude of thanksgiving, it can bless a nation. This is the week of the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, a time to reflect on the blessings that God makes not only to America, but to the world in which we live. A “thankful attitude” in life can bless a nation. But even more, the attitude of thanksgiving can bless your life!
G.K. Chesterton says, “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
But Martin Luther challenges us further when he teaches us to pray after every meal.
“O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever, He gives food to every creature, He provides food for the cattle, the ravens…the Lord delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love!””For the believer in Jesus, life is not merely a “generic” thanksgiving response to God’s general blessings, as helpful as that might be, it is a personal response to the God we know and trust, Jesus Christ. It is a thanksgiving “in full view” of His enduring love and blessing. It is an attitude of gratitude no matter what the circumstances because our lives are ultimately secure in His hands! Christians know that the power of faith is a life lived thankfully towards God and towards one another!
There is a relationship, then, between faith in Jesus and one’s ability to give thanks in one’s heart to God!
Just look at our lesson for today, ten lepers approach Jesus hoping for a miracle. They called out for mercy in their hopeless condition and they found it in Jesus. I’m sure that all ten were thankful in general, but only one’s thankfulness was rooted in faith, faith in Jesus as Healer and Savior, only one, the tenth leper, learned the power of thanksgiving for his temporal and for his eternal needs!
Our text says, “One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice…He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and he thanked Him – and he was a (outsider) a Samaritan…Jesus said to him, ‘Rise and go, your faith has made you well.'”
O give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever.
Would you agree with me today that God is worthy of our thankfulness and praise? He not only created the world that we live in, the blessings that we enjoy, even more, He sent His Son, to live and to die and to rise again, so that there might be hope in the most dire of circumstances, so that there might be lasting peace in the middle of struggle, and joy in the midst of sorrow….that real life and salvation might be possible for all who would believe in Him…Thank God…He is worthy of all thankfulness and praise.
* So, in view of all that God has done for us, and not just the momentary blessings of health and healing, but the eternal life that He has earned for all…do we see it? Do we rejoice in it?
Our text invites us to live a life of thanksgiving through faith in Jesus Christ because faith in Jesus Christ frees us from the hellish ineptitude of living a selfish, self-centered life!
Ten men met Jesus. Ten called him Master. (Luke 17:13). All ten lepers were healed. Jesus is like that! His mercy goes out to all people…He sends rain upon the just and the unjust.
The tragedy in this event is that nine received the temporal benefit, but missed a relationship with the “eternal Source” of that benefit. When we refuse to acknowledge Jesus’ love and grace as pure gift, when we refuse to see even life itself as God’s gift to us, but instead live life with an “I earned it, I deserve it” attitude towards God Himself, we miss out on what life is to be, period, now and forever.
I realize that sometimes problems overwhelm us all and challenge our ability to give thanks to God. There are many of you today who can’t imagine being thankful this year with issues like unemployment, house foreclosures, public scandal, personal struggles, I understand the challenges to being thankful. But, in our text, sadly, nine people received great benefits from the hand of Jesus and they, too, made no attempt to be thankful to Christ, the One Who healed them. Wow! It seems that we human beings have a tough time giving God thanks or credit period!
An ungrateful life, even when blessed, wastes the gifts that God brings. To receive God’s blessings and hoard them only for yourself, it not only snuffs out the gift in your life, it actually destroys your relationship with others too. Thanksgiving matters in life. Thankfulness makes a difference! To miss it, is to miss out!
It is an amazing thing this “thanksgiving attitude” in life, isn’t it? Can you imagine living in a world where spouses were thankful for each other, where parents were thankful for their children and children for their parents? Can you imagine working in a place where the workers appreciate their bosses and the bosses appreciate their workers; where the company appreciates their clients and customers, and the customers and clients appreciate the services of the business?
But a thankfulness that can be up to all these tasks in this sinful world, it has to be rooted in something deeper than mere circumstances for the moment. It has to be rooted in more than an encouraging response from another human being. Our world is a fickle world, a sinful world. The power of a thanksgiving life finally has to be rooted and resourced in our life with God for it to last.
Thank God, such life is possible for all who will trust in God. A life full of thanksgiving and praise needs to be rooted in what the God/Man Jesus Christ says and does for us. He is the One who knows us as we are, sins and all, and calls us still to life in Him.
One of faith’s first priorities then is to give thanks in word and deed to Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior!
All ten were healed, but only one looked beyond the healing to the healer Jesus. To him, giving thanks was the highest priority! To him, trusting in the Lord was the answer to all of life’s problems!The text speaks of the joy of the One healed and who is thankful, but it also calls the other nine to repentance! That, too, is the message of thanksgiving!
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and he thanked him…and Jesus said, “Rise, go, your faith has made you well.”
Jesus clearly wanted all ten healed lepers to revel in the thanksgiving life that comes by faith and trust in Him.
And, our text invites us in the same way to live a life of thanksgiving through faith in Jesus…because such thanksgiving faith opens our eyes to God’s heart for us.
For our life, and salvation, and healing, even peace in the midst of illness…these are God’s gifts of mercy to us as a gift, not something we deserved.
On that miraculous day, the Samaritan returned to Jesus and he fell on his face in submission to God! He knew his place in the world; he was an outcast. He was probably even more aware of his place before God too, undeserving. What joy for him to discover that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, really cared for him. He knew that this healing was not only a miracle, but an act of mercy, an act of grace!
Contrast the Samaritan with so many today! Most people, it seems, are ready to blame God for a whole host of things, but when anything good happens in their life, it’s always a result of their hard work, or their good fortune, or their organization. Well, the tenth leper, a Samaritan, an outsider of the church of that day, shows us to look to Christ first in all things. Look at what God has done for you in Him. Never forget the one thing that animates, and sustains, and empowers all of life, the good news that God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, and that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but shall have eternal life! Look first to Jesus in all things; He is God’s Love in the flesh for you, even in the midst of your daily trials and tribulations.
Does anyone bother to thank God today? Does anyone have the power to live a thankful life today? Yes! People who put their trust in Jesus Christ, for their salvation, direction, for their power and peace!
Faith, confident trust in Christ and His Word is the source of thanksgiving in our daily lives!
Because such thanksgiving faith in Jesus Christ always sees the big picture, Christ’s picture for our very lives!
Thankfulness is the by-product of received faith in Him, not merely the changing of circumstances.
Leprosy in the ancient world was the great equalizer. For all who suffered from leprosy were cast out. All were reduced to people that society said were “unclean.” Like those with a communicable disease, they were reduced to a wandering band of hopeless and helpless people; that is until they met Jesus, the Christ.
Now, today, leprosy might not be the same equalizer that it was then. But something more sinister lurks among us, seeking to rob us of our thanksgiving joy. Sin is the great equalizer today! No matter who you are, your sin makes you no better than I and its power, its temptations separate you and me from our God. The guilt that we all struggle with, the inadequacies that we all share, they bond us in a common need for God’s grace and mercy and that’s why there is such thankfulness and joy in meeting the same Lord Jesus as that tenth leper, by faith.
This text reminds us that Jesus came to give faith to sinners, to give healing to lepers, to grant forgiveness by His cross and His resurrection! This is the source of an eternal thanksgiving for our life.
So, if you’re aware of your sin, don’t despair. See the big picture from God’s point of view for you, in spite of the enduring circumstances of the moment. Remember Good Friday; remember the cross of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. If you are struggling through illness or difficulties, don’t give up hope because Jesus Christ’s resurrection is God’s promise that whatever you’re facing today, it’s temporary. It’s for the moment only. Life in Him is eternal.
Thanksgiving’s power is to see the big picture of your life, in the life, and death, and resurrection of Jesus, this is the power that can sustain a nation. Yes, but even more, it is the power to overcome guilt in your life, it is power to prevent sadness and suffering from sapping the strength out of your life, it is the power to love each other as husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, to love neighbor, stranger, friend, and even enemies now and forever.
That’s the power of a thanksgiving faith!
What a way to live. What a life to receive from God’s gracious hand. What a life to share with those who need encouragement in this often “thankless” world. There is great blessing for those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, and there can be great blessings for others too when we strive to live lives of visible thankfulness towards God.
Norman Vincent Peale told a story about a man named William Stidger who was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The man had been very vital, a dynamic person; but he had become an empty shell of his old self.
A friend suggested the way for him to avoid further breakdown and to be healed was by the therapy of thanksgiving and by practicing an “attitude of gratitude.” His friend advised Stidger to sit down and to make a list of all the people who had helped him through the years. Then he was to fill his mind with thankfulness for all these people and for all they had done for him. His friend asked if he had ever thanked anybody. Stidger replied, “No, I never really made much stress on that.”
Next, his friend advised him to think of someone who especially had blessed his life and to write that person a letter thanking him or her. He thought of a schoolteacher, who was now a very old lady. Stidger sat down and wrote the teacher a letter telling her that he remembered the inspiration she had given him and how much her love had meant to him over the years.
A few days later he received a letter written in a trembling hand. Using his boyhood name, it said, “Dear Willie: When I think back over all the children I have taught in my lifetime, you are the only one who ever wrote to thank me for what I did as a teacher. You have made me so happy. I have read your letter through my tears. I have it by my bedside. I read it every night. I shall cherish your letter until the day I die.”
This sense of encouragement did so much for him that he thought of someone else to write and then someone else and before he was through, he had written five hundred unexpected letters of thanks. The therapy of thanksgiving had much to do with curing him of his depression. He was so grateful for every new day; he lived every day to the fullest in the wonder of thanksgiving, of what such a life would bring to him and to others each and every day!
This is a time to remember such things. What a week for those in the United States this week. It is a time of reflecting on all the blessings that we have received in this life. Yes, in full view of life’s struggles and challenges. Even then, “Such generic thanksgiving, a generic thanksgiving attitude” can bless. It can bless us. It can bless others. It can still even bless a nation.
Now, imagine the joy and the power of living each day in thanksgiving towards Jesus, and all that He has done and still promises for us, who literally gives you and me all that we need to live now and forever with Him.
Let His promises, His mercy be your refrain of thanksgiving no matter what you are facing in life. Be confident because of Jesus Christ and what He has done for you, that His mercy, His joy, His very life and salvation will always be God’s final word for your life!
So, when your job is good, or when there is struggle at work, say, “O give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever!”
When you feel good about myself, your appearance, or when you don’t feel so good about such things, say, “O give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever!”
When you feel like you’ve made it in life; or when you feel like you’re still struggling up life’s hill, say, “O give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever!”
When there is peace and joy in your family or even when there is strife, remember He never forsakes His people. Say, “O give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever!”
When you feel like you’re making a difference in someone’s life, in the issues of the day, or even when things still seem out of your control, say, “O give thanks to the Lord for His mercy endures forever!”
Because you, Lord Jesus, You are the very source of our lives, our salvation…Your gifts, temporal and eternal, will always be the deep well of our thanksgiving joy for life!
This is the message of the tenth leper, the Samaritan. He looked to Jesus for more than healing for the moment. He looked for the healing that would last a lifetime! He’s inviting you to that same joy of a thanksgiving faith in Jesus, now and forever. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for November 20, 2011
Topic: Thanksgiving Holiday a Must?ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. Today a listener asks, “Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday. While we enjoy the day, should the government be promoting such a religious holiday?”
SELTZ: Mark, it sounds like our listener has a “separation of church and state question.”
ANNOUNCER: It sure does, and it sounds like they would expect your answer to be “no”.
SELTZ: I think you might be right, but I think that would be unfortunate.
ANNOUNCER: Could you explain?
SELTZ: Glad to. Separation of Church and State, it was never meant to stifle faith, to stifle God’s love in action in our communities. Even Jesus talked about separation. He said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.”
ANNOUNCER: Okay, so, a Biblical worldview actually undergirds this idea of Thanksgiving?
SELTZ: Yes, but it’s about balance and focus. Separation, just means that the Church and the State have different roles and responsibilities in our public lives. In fact, America is a grand experiment of reducing the power of the state and unleashing Faith in God, especially the God who died on the cross and rose again!
A small government, a big individual and faith in God released in loving one’s neighbor; that is a powerful thing.
ANNOUNCER: Okay, but should our listener be concerned about a “government-endorsed Thanksgiving holiday”?
SELTZ: No, because I even think the state can speak about “God.” When one looks at the complexity and orderliness of nature, the beauty and the abundance of the world in which we live and even the uniqueness of humanity, one can certainly see the hand of God at work.
ANNOUNCER: And so, even that knowledge, that basic awareness of God, could cause a person to give thanks!
SELTZ: Absolutely, and acknowledging those blessings as coming from God actually blesses people, believers or not.
ANNOUNCER: Well, how could that be?
SELTZ: Well, just think about the declaration of independence and those words “certain inalienable rights endowed to us by our Creator,” that’s a pretty wonderful perspective of life that flows from a general thanksgiving to God point of view.
ANNOUNCER: Okay, so the state can honor the God whose power is seen by people even in nature.
SELTZ: Yeah, I think so, and not honoring God to that degree can have detrimental consequences for society too. When you fail to see life as a gift from God, you can even begin to see yourself and others differently.
ANNOUNCER: Okay, yeah, people sure would act differently if they thought they were, let’s say, “just animals” and not children of God.
SELTZ: That’s right. But here comes a “separation of Church and State” challenge. It’s not wrong for the state to advocate a “day of thanksgiving to God,” but the Christian will want to celebrate even more than this, not less.
ANNOUNCER: Because as Christians, we know there is a lot more that can be said, right?
SELTZ: Exactly. God does more than just make the sun rise, and the rain fall, and the crops grow. He also sent His Son to die for the sins of the world and offer the world the hope of resurrection and life as a gift, He wants people to know Him personally, not generically. So, it’s not the state’s job to “mandate” that. It’s the church’s job to offer it freely as a gift to all who would believe.
ANNOUNCER: So while others might share a family meal that day and enjoy an afternoon of football, thank God for all of those blessings.
SELTZ: The Christian would take that freedom to give thanks to go to church and to give thanks to God for the greatest Gift, the Gift of His Son as our Savior…..then off to the dinner and then off to the football game!
ANNOUNCER: So we can have a generic thanksgiving day, but as Christians, we have even more!
SELTZ: Yeah, you can say that again! And we sure would not want anything less.
ANNOUNCER: Well, it’s good to think about the “separation of state and church” as really a double blessing from God, each has its own focus, its own purpose, but both are gifts from God. And we thank our listener for that intriguing question. We wish our listeners in the U.S. a blessed Thanksgiving holiday coming us this week. Thank you Pastor Seltz, this has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” arr. G.J. Elvey. From Music for the November Feasts by the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter’s, Chicago (© 1995 The Order of St. Benedict, Inc.) © 1982 The Church Hymnal Corporation
“Prelude on “Beach Spring'” arr. Alan Mahnke. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“We Praise You, O God” arr. Timothy Moke & Georg Masanz. From Magnificent Christian Hymns, vol. 3 by Timothy Moke & Georg Masanz (© 2006 T. Moke Recordings)