The Gift of Simplicity
Simple Gifts - Part 3
Sunday, December 17, 2023
Psalm 100:1-5, Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with skin diseases approached him. Keeping their distance from him, they raised their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, show us mercy!”
When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” As they left, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw that he had been healed, returned and praised God with a loud voice. He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus replied, “Weren’t ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? No one returned to praise God except this foreigner?” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
Luke 17:11-19 (CEB)
Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:
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We typically think of gratitude around Thanksgiving, but the truth is, gratitude is at the center of Advent and at the heart of every part of our spiritual lives.
When we embrace the gift of slowing down, we notice how much of our lives are filled with clutter, both external and internal. As we simplify our lives, we become more grateful for those things that matter most, the things that often get buried under the distractions of busyness and clutter.
Slowing down and simplifying our lives helps bring healing to the chaos of our minds, our hearts, our spirits, and even our bodies, but if we are not careful, we will slip right back into our old habits. Nine of the lepers were so excited when they found themselves healed that they didn’t even stop to think about the implications. Presumably they went on and lived normal lives in a community from which they had previously been cut off, but they never pause to appreciate the significance of the gift they had received.
Gratitude is not just about writing a thank you card for a gift under the tree or praying a blessing around the dinner table for our family and friends. Gratitude moves us to a deeper awareness of the mysterious and surprising hope, peace, love & joy in our lives.
All ten lepers were likely thankful for their healing. If they lived today, they would probably share it as a praise report in Sunday worship. But only one experienced the deep, heartfelt gratitude that moved him to draw nearer to the source of his healing. He went back to Jesus, overwhelmed by the grace and love he had received.
Notice the man who returned was a Samaritan, a foreigner, an outsider among outsiders. Once, all ten were united by their disease which kept them in social exile, but now he alone remains an outsider, simply because he is a Samaritan. I wonder if this is why he, more than the others, was so grateful, because he had no expectation that God should come to his aid.
How often do we take for granted God’s presence in because we are good Christians who deep down assume we deserve it? The Samaritan had been conditioned to believe he was outside the bounds of God’s love. That is why his gratitude was so much deeper. He was not only physically healed, but because he was truly seen by Jesus, and his human dignity as a beloved child of God had been restored.
What would it mean for you to feel truly seen by God in this season and how might a deeper sense of gratitude open your eyes to truly see others and to help others see themselves the same way?