Only this foreigner?

So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God,  and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.  So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well– Luke 17.14-19

This is a really sad story – heart-breaking in fact. I guess it is most heart-breaking because the topic is so prevalent. The ‘gratitude attitude’ is something that is sadly lacking in the world in general and the church in particular.

As Jesus passed through the region of Galilee He happened upon ten lepers who called out to Him, ‘Master, have mercy on us!’ All ten men went off to the priests to be checked for leprosy. That was required by the Law. As they went all ten were cleansed of the leprosy.

Wouldn’t you think that these guys would show some gratitude? Leprosy was the scourge of its day. Those who had it were cast off by society. It was deadly and the days leading up to that death were days of misery.

But only one of them came back to say thank you. ‘And he was a Samaritan’ the Bible says. Here we have another, lesser known, ‘good Samaritan.’ I like how God mentions that just as a reminder that the gospel was not only for the Jews, but for anyone. Nobody gave thanks except for the foreigner!

Anyway – isn’t it sad that nine men were healed from leprosy and didn’t think it worth their while to go back and say thank you? Isn’t it even sadder that we can do the same thing? Like the Jews we can get so accustomed to God’s goodness that we take it for granted. May God give us this ‘foreigner’s’ heart when it comes to being grateful for God’s manifold gifts.