Sermon 
2009 
Thanksgiving 
11-26-09 
Text: 
Luke 
17:11–19 
Theme: 
“The 
Journey 
of 
Thanksgiving” 


Jesus 
was 
on 
a 
journey 
towards 
Jerusalem 
and 
as 
he 
passed 
between 
Samaria 
and 
Galilee 
he 
came 
across 
some 
lepers. 
This 
was 
not 
a 
particularly 
uncommon 
thing. 
Leprosy 
was 
a 
highly 
contagious 
skin 
disease 
and 
people 
who 
caught 
it 
had 
to 
live 
apart 
from 
everyone 
else. 
I 
imagine 
they 
were 
always 
calling 
for 
help 
from 
passersby, 
especially 
if 
they 
had 
heard 
stories 
about 
said 
passerby 
– 
stories 
of 
healing 
and 
raising 
people 
from 
the 
dead. 


Jesus 
did 
not 
heal 
everyone 
who 
called 
on 
him 
but 
he 
decided 
to 
heal 
these 
10. 
It 
was 
a 
very 
simple 
healing. 
Go 
show 
yourself 
to 
the 
priest, 
who 
would 
be 
the 
one 
who 
had 
to 
declare 
them 
clean 
and 
that 
was 
it. 
On 
their 
way, 
they 
were 
healed 
of 
the 
disease. 


Of 
the 
10 
who 
were 
healed, 
9 
headed 
off 
to 
enjoy 
life 
and 
we 
assume 
they 
did. 
There 
were 
probably 
tearful 
homecomings 
and 
parties 
and 
hugs 
and 
kisses 
that 
had 
been 
foregone 
for 
a 
long 
time. 
Imagine 
being 
touched 
by 
another 
human 
being 
for 
the 
first 
time 
in 
years. 
Imagine 
being 
a 
pariah 
to 
society 
for 
years 
and 
assuming 
that 
you 
would 
be 
so 
for 
life 
only 
to 
find 
yourself 
healed, 
clean 
and 
welcomed 
back! 
It 
must 
have 
been 
an 
amazing 
day 
for 
those 
9 
and 
I 


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guess 
that 
was 
enough 
for 
them. 
They 
got 
what 
they 
wanted 
and 
they 
moved 
on 
with 
life. 


But 
for 
that 
one, 
it 
was 
not 
enough. 
It 
seems 
to 
me 
that 
the 
one 
Samaritan 
wanted 
more. 
If 
Jesus 
could 
cleanse 
him 
from 
leprosy 
by 
speaking, 
what 
else 
could 
he 
do? 
What 
else 
could 
be 
done 
for 
this 
foreigner 
by 
this 
strange 
Jewish 
Rabbi? 
Why 
not 
head 
back, 
ask 
and 
see 
if 
there 
was 
more 
to 
be 
had? 
Oh 
I 
know 
we 
always 
praise 
the 
Samaritan 
for 
remembering 
to 
say 
thank-you 
but 
I 
don’t 
buy 
it. 
I 
know 
how 
human 
hearts 
work 
and 
I 
am 
betting 
this 
guy 
saw 
opportunity. 


We 
were 
like 
that 
Samaritan 
leper. 
You 
and 
I 
were 
not 
deserving 
of 
any 
special 
attention. 
To 
my 
knowledge, 
none 
of 
us 
trace 
our 
lineage 
from 
world-renowned 
pious 
and 
holy 
saints. 
Nor 
are 
any 
of 
us 
high 
born 
nobles. 
We 
are 
nobodies, 
just 
working 
class 
stiffs 
trying 
to 
make 
our 
way 
in 
the 
world 
as 
we 
know 
it. 
We 
are 
like 
that 
Samaritan 
leper, 
living 
in 
our 
little 
village 
and 
doing 
the 
best 
we 
can, 
and 
yet, 
Jesus 
Christ 
called 
us 
and 
washed 
us 
with 
the 
healing 
baptismal 
waters 
making 
us 
clean. 
We 
were 
born 
facing 
not 
only 
temporal 
death 
but 
eternal 
death 
and 
not 
because 
of 
some 
vile 
skin 
disease 
but 
because 
of 


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sin. 
We 
caught 
it 
from 
our 
parents 
and 
it 
damned 
us 
before 
we 
had 
a 
chance 
to 
even 
enjoy 
a 
juicy 
misdeed 
or 
two. 


Like 
the 
lepers, 
we 
called 
out 
“Lord 
have 
mercy” 
to 
anyone 
who 
we 
thought 
might 
be 
able 
to 
help 
out. 
Often, 
people 
who 
do 
not 
have 
a 
close 
relationship 
with 
Jesus 
may 
not 
even 
know 
quite 
what 
they 
are 
asking. 
“Lord 
give 
me 
a 
break. 
Lord 
cut 
me 
some 
slack. 
Lord 
if 
I 
could 
just 
win 
the 
lottery. 
Lord 
if 
you 
would 
just 
keep 
me 
from 
failing 
Calculus.” 
We’re 
just 
looking 
for 
what 
we 
perceive 
that 
we 
need. 
But 
every 
once 
in 
a 
while, 
someone 
will 
turn 
back 
to 
see 
if 
perhaps 
there 
is 
more 
to 
be 
had. 


That’s 
where 
the 
journey 
really 
begins. 
We 
are 
gathered 
here 
today 
to 
thank 
Jesus 
for 
providing 
all 
that 
we 
have. 
We 
have 
a 
home, 
food, 
people 
who 
love 
us. 
All 
of 
that 
is 
great 
and 
it 
is 
right 
to 
say 
thank 
you, 
but 
is 
there 
more? 
Yes! 
Absolutely 
there 
is 
more 
because 
it 
is 
when 
you 
return 
to 
thank 
Jesus 
that 
the 
excitement 
really 
begins. 


See 
Jesus 
is 
good 
to 
everyone. 
Everyone 
in 
Villa 
Park 
had 
air 
to 
breathe 
this 
morning. 
The 
vast 
majority 
of 
people 
woke 
up 
in 
a 
warm 
bed 
and 
had 
fresh 
coffee 
to 
drink. 
But 
now 
that 
you 
have 
come 
here, 
you 
have 
upped 
the 
ante. 
Now 
Jesus 
doesn’t 
just 
give 
you 
the 
things 


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you 
need 
to 
survive. 
Now 
he 
magnifies 
your 
faith. 
In 
a 
moment 
you 
will 
receive 
the 
raw 
power 
of 
God 
in 
the 
body 
and 
blood 
of 
Christ. 
And 
Jesus 
says 
to 
each 
of 
us, 
“"Rise 
and 
go 
your 
way; 
your 
faith 
has 
made 
you 
well." 


As 
we 
leave 
this 
altar 
each 
week, 
that 
is 
where 
the 
journey 
of 
Thanksgiving 
truly 
begins. 
That 
very 
thanksgiving 
in 
our 
hearts 
draws 
us 
here 
to 
the 
Great 
Thanksgiving 
– 
the 
Eucharist 
– 
The 
Lord’s 
Supper 
and 
that 
Great 
Thanksgiving 
changes 
us. 
Our 
faith 
balloons 
at 
this 
feast 
and 
fills 
us 
and 
heals 
us 
and 
we 
rise 
to 
a 
new 
level 
that 
will 
draw 
us 
along 
to 
follow 
Jesus 
further. 
And 
one 
day 
this 
journey 
will 
end. 
All 
the 
festivities 
– 
the 
friends, 
family, 
food 
and 
football 
that 
we 
all 
enjoy 
today 
is 
just 
a 
foreshadowing 
of 
where 
the 
real 
journey 
of 
Thanksgiving 
ends. 
There 
a 
banquet 
awaits 
us 
beyond 
our 
imagination; 
no 
burnt 
rolls, 
frozen 
turkey 
or 
gummy 
potatoes; 
no 
family 
tension 
or 
old 
grudges; 
no 
illness, 
stress 
or 
tears. 
There 
is 
the 
true 
Great 
Thanksgiving 
for 
which 
we 
so 
joyfully 
wait, 
where 
the 
journey 
finally 
ends 
for 
all 
of 
us 
lepers. 
AMEN 


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