8th Trinity III
Luke 17:11-19
And as he was on the way to Jerusalem, he passed through the middle of Samaria and Galilee. And as he was entering a certain village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance, and they raised their voices, saying, "Master, Jesus, have mercy on us!"
And seeing them, he said, "Go, and show yourselves to the priests." And it came about that as they went on their way, they were cleansed.
James Christensen
Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell on his face at his feet and thanked himęˇand he was a Samaritan.
And Jesus responded and said, "Were not all ten cleansed? And the nine—where are they? Was no one seen returning to praise the revelation of God's working in this event except this foreigner?" And he said to him, "Rise and go your way. The power of your trust has healed you."
8th August Trinity
September 12,
2021
Luke 17:11-19
We human beings can rise above the immediate moment. We can see the bigger picture, the great sweep of the seasons. From this elevated awareness, we have learned to foresee and plan, to plant and harvest. By rising somewhat above nature, we have also developed truly human attributes: for example, to feel and express gratitude.
The leper who returned to Christ to offer his thanks was the only one in ten who returned to express his gratitude. The nine accepted what had happened to them as a joyous event of the moment. Most likely, they felt tremendous gratitude. But the tenth recognized that he also needed to give something back. Christ says to him that what lives in him as trust and gratitude makes him strong. In offering gratitude, the man's evolving humanity was strengthened.
The important element here is not just feeling grateful, but giving—opening ourselves and pouring out the soul substance of gratitude in return for all we have been given. Being able to offer gratitude is a necessary precondition to being able to give love. And learning to love is our primary task.
God gives
through nature because He loves; our giving thanks is a step in learning to
love. Developing great gratitude is a necessary step along the way toward
developing our full humanity, and ultimately our divinity, the kingdom of God
within. 
Oleg Shuplyak
In the Act of
Consecration, we celebrate a Eucharist. The word in Greek means to give
thanks. This giving of thanks is expressed in both words and actions.
Christ takes the bread…the cup…and gives thanks to his Father. Christ
offers thanks to his Father and offers all of Himself in love to the world. His
great gratitude supports His great love. In the Eucharist, we are dedicating to
God our full humanness by pouring out a deed of gratitude so that one day we
too will be capable of great love.
