The Trick of Gratitude

And as he entered a certain village ten men with leprosy, who stood far off, met him, And they raised their voices saying, “Jesus, master, have mercy on us.” And seeing them he said to them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And it happened that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned glorifying God with a loud voice, And fell on his face at his feet, thanking him; and he was a Samaritan. And in reply Jesus said, “Were not ten of you cleansed? But where are the nine? Was none found returning to give glory to God except only this man of another people?” And he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has saved you.”

(Luke 17:12-19 DBH)

When I was a kid, a special on magic always appeared on TV the night before Thanksgiving. Not only was it fun watching, but it also taught a few simple tricks, ones that I’d try on my family the next day.

Of course, a card trick was always among the ones taught. The key to card tricks is distraction. While your audience is distracted by one part of the trick, you set up the big surprise at the end. If done correctly, the chosen card will always appear. 

Today’s Gospel reading is a bit like a card trick. We’re often distracted by the lepers. We think that leprosy is the problem and that faith is the solution.

When the lepers go to show themselves to the priests, they’re healed by their faith, and we are satisfied. But, what we miss is that the real disease is the stagnant faith of the 9 who didn’t return to praise and give thanks to God. In verse 19, Jesus says that only the man who returned is saved as well as healed.

This story teaches us that if gratitude does not accompany our faith, but remains unidimensional, then it’s not true faith. It remains stuck on the level of a miracle, as if it’s a magic trick, and it doesn’t reach the level of salvation. 

It’s easy to let life make us bitter. Sometimes it seems like it’s one hardship after another, whether it’s our health, financial difficulties, or, perhaps, family drama. When we get caught in a cycle of nihilism, we forget to praise God. We ignore God rather than give thanks in the midst of struggles. 

But the church helps by giving us an opportunity every week for thanksgiving. For us, as Orthodox Christians, we give thanks by means of the Divine Liturgy. By offering up bread and wine, we’re offering up a bit of ourselves. This is a thanksgiving of praise for the life that God grants to us through resurrection. 

Through Liturgy, we become the ones who have returned to praise God, and we’re able to “get up, for our faith has saved us.”