II Timothy 2:8-15
Luke 17:  11-19

As a young kid, one of my favorite times of the year was at Christmas.  There was only one problem:  Once the gifts were open, my mother insisted I write thank you letters that day to everyone who had sent me a gift.  I remember loving the gifts, but feeling it was a real chore to thank everyone for everything!

    But eventually I grew up and found myself even enjoying thanking people for their kindness.  Then I had kids of my own!  And sure enough:  At Christmas their Dad insisted that they write thank you letters too.  But he went one step further:  All the gift money was collected and held until the thank you letters were written.  And the toys could not be played with the next day, until the thank you letters were written.  What a strict dad!!   

    Some people seem to be blessed with the gift of gratitude.  They are able to say a simple thanks so easily, and really mean it.  Some do it all the time, while others do not.  Does it make any difference whether or not one feels gratitude, and then acts on those feelings?

    When I was in 8th grade, I had Mrs. Case for social studies and English.  Mrs. Case was a tough teacher.  She gave me my first letter grade of “D”.  Simply because I did not turn in my assignment for the whole semester!  Sure I gave my oral report, just like 35 other kids.  Sure I took notes on all 36 reports.  But then she wanted us to submit an outline of all our notes—a 36 topic outline.  What a waste of time.  So I didn’t do it.  When Mrs. Case, my mother and I met after the reports card came home, I knew all was lost.

    My mother asked if I could turn the outline in late and still receive a grade.  “Yes,” Mrs. Case said.  And so the next afternoon, Friday, I found myself lost with my typewriter and report notes.  All weekend I worked under the watchful eyes of my mother.  Late Sunday night I finished.

    The next day I turned the paper in to Mrs. Case.  She read it that night and gave it back to me on Tuesday.  B+/B+ was my grade; with a handwritten note saying this was the best report she had ever seen.      I was angry.  B+ and it’s the best report ever!!  I marched up to her desk after school and demanded to know why I had not received an A+.  Mrs. Case simply said, “Your report was turned it late.” 

    And so I learned.  It was years later when I realized the gift she had given me.  Actually two gifts—the gift or organization, and the gift of fairness!  Some 15 years later I tracked down her address, and wrote to her….to say thanks!  I don’t know if she received the letter or not, but she is a teacher I will never forget.
    Truth be known, we would all like to have someone say they are grateful to us for something.  It feels good.  It helps make the hard work we do for another worthwhile.  But scientists are discovering something else being grateful does….and it does it for the person who is being grateful.

    David Columbia was having one of those days.  New to New York City, David was tired from the pace of Manhattan.  A young, talented writer who was working in a magazine office.  But life was passing him by.  One day when he was feeling exceptionally down, he was headed across town.  David said, “I don’t know what possessed me, but I decided to start counting things along the way that made me happy.”  And so it went, until he found himself truly happy, and thankful for all the neat things around him:  A mother with her child in a stroller; a mixture of ethnic people & restaurants; eye-catching window displays; and on and on.

    Scientist are now proving that feeling grateful can actually make one healthier!  Recognizing the good things in our lives can change us for the better.  Dr. Robert Emmons has proved this in his lab.  A professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis, Dr. Emmons has discovered that gratitude plays a positive role in one’s physical, mental and emotional well-being. 

    And the difference isn’t just with the person who feels grateful; people around that individual recognize something different about him and begin to act differently too.  People who feel grateful are more likely to be active socially, be more compassionate, are more optimistic, have more energy and are more joyful.  They have fewer illnesses and are less materialistic.
    According to modern science, feeling gratitude changes one for the better.
    But maybe God already knew that.  The story of the Lepers in Luke tells of 10 men who were stricken with a horrible disease.  They were not allowed to mingle with the rest of society.  When someone approached them, they had to move back and shout, “Unclean, unclean.”  Kind of likes AIDS was in this country not too many years ago.  A horrible disease that few people understood, and a condition that few wanted to talk about, much less be close to someone who had HIV or AIDS.  And things haven’t changed much over the years.

    These lepers find themselves in the presence of Jesus.  They had probably heard of the miracles he had performed, and they ask him for help.  Jesus sends them off healed physically, to see the priest.  This was the custom of the time; the priest is the only one that could declare a leper ‘clean’ and return him or her to society.  So off went the 10.
    But one came back, and only one.  A Samaritan, a foreigner of Israel.  And this man says thanks to Jesus.  He says it with all the feeling and heart he can.  This man is different.  He appreciates what Jesus has does for him.  He is grateful. 
    And Jesus questions why only this one came back to give thanks to God.  Only one was grateful.  And because of this man’s faith, he found salvation.  He came to be healed physically, and was.  He came back to say a simple thanks, and found salvation.
    It should come as no surprise that God wants you and me to be thankful for what the Lord has done and does for us.  Today scientists tell us that our being thankful does some wonderful things for us personally.  And Jesus reminds us that being thankful to God, builds our relationship with God and with one another. 
    Gratitude can not be commanded.  It must come forth from the depths of an individual, as it did from the one leper.  In many ways, being grateful to God is a call to faith; acknowledging what God has done in our lives.  Only where gratitude is present, is there truth faith.
    This week, I invite you to consider the ways that God has blessed you.  And to share with God your gratitude.  And then look at your other relationships.  To whom are you thankful?  For what are you thankful?
    I invite you to begin that process right now.  Let us take a moment, bow our heads, open our hearts, and silently offer to God our gratitude for something the Lord has done for us this week.  And then think of one person for whom you are thankful; and share that with the person in the next few days.
    Let us pray silently……
    And all God’s people said….Amen.

Amen