How long has this community-wide thanksgiving service been taking Place?
I’ll guess…several times…at least
And I’ll guess again…that this story of the ten lepers
From the Gospel of Luke
Has been chosen before!
In my tradition…it is chosen every year!
It is so perfect, though…isn’t it?
And we all go home thinking
“Yea…I need to…no, I WILL be more thankful for all that God has done”
Which is good and fine and worthy
But there is more here…more trouble and more grace!
It isn’t so much about Jesus…really
It is about how those who have encountered him ‘on the way’…Respond.
And there are 2 different responses.
By the ONE
And the NINE
The ONE returns to give thanks
And the NINE continue along the way…
The way that Jesus directed them to go;)
They are doing exactly what he said.
The obvious question for me is WHY?
WHY didn’t the others do as the Samaritan did?
Isn’t that what any of us would do in the face of SPECTACULAR NEWS?
Isn’t it inevitable…almost involuntary?
Don’t we HAVE to Say Something?
What happens to you when you notice something spectacular…some really Good News?
I just saw the best movie…
I just had my Doctor’s Appointment…the cancer is in REMISSION
He proposed! I said YES!
My son…the one who lives in the middle of Alaska…he’s coming home
to New Harmony for Thanksgiving!
WE HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING!
I think that’s what it must have been like for the Samaritan Leper
He NOTICED his cure
And even though Jesus instructed him to show himself to the priests at the Temple
The “almost involuntary urge” to “say something” took over
But we still have part two of the question
…WHY him and not the others?
Something got in their way
Something strong enough to overpower that almost involuntary human reaction to Good News.
We might call it…
· Tunnel Vision or …
· hyper focus…
· or Sticking to the plan…
· eye on the prize
The Samaritan was no friend of the Temple
He didn’t play by the same rules
He would do what Jesus asked…but only until something more important over road it
And because he wasn’t chained to the program…
The steps according to the Law,
I think this Samaritan NOTICED the miraculous
He noticed the FULLNESS of what happened
a healing…yes
But much more
A restoration into the community
An absolute gift of new life
HE NOTICES
His broader vision
Sees more
Sees fully
And the result
Is ANOTHER GIFT…Another blessing
He turns around, falls on his knees in praise/thanksgiving/and wonderment
And what is born is a relationship
Healer and healed
Gift giver and gift receiver
He hears Jesus commend his faith
Gift upon gift
My friends
Isn’t that how “giving thanks” always works?
Isn’t it aways a double blessing?
So…why is it hard to just leave and be more thankful?
I think the trouble lies in the ‘NOTICING’
All those things that narrowed the vision of the NINE
Get in our way too:
· Tunnel Vision or …
· maybe hyper focus…
· or Sticking to the plan…
· eye on the prize
And isn’t it true that sometimes an outsider sees what we can’t see ourselves?
I have this beautiful window in my kitchen…it looks out into the woods…and truly every day it offers something new…if I notice.
And whenever someone comes to help unclog my sink,
or fix an electrical issue
or any number of house problems (it’s an old house) …
they always comment on that window.
I forget about it…walk by it grumpy…some days morning/noon/and night!
I’ve been coming to St Stephens in New Harmony for 10 years now
It IS my spiritual home
But I don’t live here
SO…I guess I have a bit of Samaritan in me;)
And I think that gives me a bit of what I’ll call “guest privileges”
I notice
1. I notice that NH is something more than many a small town
2. I notice a kind of Mayberry spirit that seems to call forth talents…Artistic or Practical,
and puts them to use in service to the community
3. I notice how you care for one another
4. And I notice that here tonight you’ve chosen to gather and give thanks…and to receive a double blessing
Maybe
This year
Instead of leaving here with a fresh desire to be more thankful
Let’s leave with a new commitment to check our tunnel vision
Or whatever it is that steals our attention and narrows our focus
And blinds us to the Holy Spirit at work all around
Let’s NOTICE
and then let’s
let that double blessing spill over into the lives and world around us.
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