2 Kgs. 5:14-17; 2 Tim. 2:8-13; Luke.
17:11-19
There is an interesting story about
two Angels who were sent to the Earth. The cries and
petitions of the people reach the door steps of heaven constantly. So once
God decided that he should send the angels to the Earth to collect
them directly from the people. Thus two angels
were sent to the Earth with
carry bags. One was commissioned to collect all the petitions, and the other
was asked to collect gratitude.
The angel that was collecting the
petitions found her bag full in minutes and he flew up to heaven many
times. But the angel that was collecting gratitude could not
even fill a bag.
Today's First Reading [2 Kgs. 5:14-17]
from the Second Book of Kings speak of the healing of Naaman, a foreigner in
the land of Israel. Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Aram, was
a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had
given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from
leprosy." [2 Kgs. 5:1]
“Naaman went down and immersed
himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his
flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean." [2
Kgs. 5:14] Naaman was made well by his faith in the Word of God that was spoken
through the great prophet Elisha.
Following this, Naaman returned to
Elisha, acknowledging that there is no greater God on earth except in Israel.
And then he offered Elisha a present in thanksgiving but Elisha would not
accept anything.
During today's reading from the
Gospel of Luke, [Lk. 17:11-19] we heard that Jesus healed ten lepers, nine
being Jewish, the tenth being a Samaritan. It is interesting to note here that
while the Jewish people normally did not mix with the Samaritans, misery so
loves company that this group of lepers consisted of both Jews and a Samaritan.
As we heard, out of those ten, the one who was a foreigner, was the only one
who returned and thanked Jesus.
Gratitude is a rare virtue to
be found. Often we are ungrateful to God for the blessings that we
have received from God. One of the great commandments is to give
thanksgiving to God, for all He has done for us. In Psalms 100:4
we are taught to, "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." The first
way to show true thanksgiving to God is to always remember Him. Remembering Him
means that He is a part of our thoughts, words, and deeds. It is impossible to
give gratitude to God if we never think or speak of Him. When we remember Him
we are choosing to think, speak, and act as He would have us do. A good example
of this is the servant girl of Naaman. “On one of their raids in the
land of Israel, the Arameans had taken a young girl captive. [2 Kgs. 5:2] This
young girl served Naaman's wife. She told her mistress that if Naaman was with
the prophet who is in Samaria, he would be cured of his leprosy. [2 Kgs. 5:3]
Secondly
we have to show gratitude to our parents. There were years when we
were literally dependent on our parents. Yet the day often comes when the
aged parents are neglected. As King Lear said in the days of his own
tragedy:
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child.”
Thirdly we are ungrateful to our fellow
men. We have received great help and consolation from our fellow
men. "At times our own light goes out and is
rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with
deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." Says
Albert Schweitzer. But we often take for granted that it is their duty
to serve us, and conveniently forget our duty to express gratitude. While
expressing his feelings about man’s ingratitude William Shakespeare
wrote
“Blow, blow, thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.”
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen,
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.”
Dear friends let
us recall the words of Henry Jowett, "Life without thankfulness is
devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine
perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every
virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual
road."
Satish