Jesus Loved Them, Part 9: Why was he the only one to say thanks?
“What did I do to deserve this?”
It’s common to utter those words, or at least think them, when something bad happens. More than one caregiver has sat alone with their plight and screamed the question at God, followed by their own answer: “This isn’t fair!” I daresay no one believes the person in their care deserves dementia.
She did nothing wrong.
He ate a healthy diet and exercised regularly.
She is a good person.
Many people loved him, and he helped so many with their [fill in the blank: finances, class schedule, marriage problems, handyman tasks].
She was such a good listener.
He was such a hard worker.
She was so smart.
He was so capable.
How can a fair and just God allow evil to happen to people like these?
Suffering—ours or that of the person in our care—keeps us in at the center of our world. It’s as if we are the only ones experiencing our pain, as if we are the first to face the disability lingering in the next room. We may have little energy left to think about disease or distress beyond our doorstep.
And if somehow time brings healing, we may feel we deserve it.
It seems this was the plight of the nine ungrateful lepers in today’s story. They left Jesus without even saying thank-you. The writer makes a point of indicating they were Jews. Special. Members of God’s favored nation. Is it possible they thought they deserved to be healed?
The one who did say thanks was a Samaritan, one of a half-breed race despised by the Jews. Is it possible he thought he deserved to be sick, or at least unworthy of any special favor from God?
The story touches an issue that has intrigued philosophers and theologians for centuries: the problem of pain. Why do some suffer when others do not? Why do some find relief when other situations only worsen?
There’s certainly no space here to explore all the possible questions. But the story prompts us to wonder how we would react if our sufferer were suddenly healed.
Would we collapse in gratitude for mercy we know we haven’t earned?
Or would we secretly harbor the notion that somehow we deserved God’s blessing? After all, we and our sufferer are such good people. We didn’t curse God; we prayed! We asked for his help, and he gave it! Think of all the good we’ll do for him now that this is behind us!
Would we harbor the notion we deserved God’s blessing?
We might wonder if the nine ungrateful lepers had long before given up gratitude. Their lives were terrible, but they were alive. They were ill, but they weren’t alone. They could still feel the sunshine and smell the rain. In spite of all they’d lost, they still had something to thank God for. Had they forgotten that?
Have we? Maybe if we practice gratitude in the middle of our mess, we’ll be ready to express it with abandon when some part of that mess is tidied up. Maybe God is most gracious to those who realize he really owes them nothing at all. Or maybe they are the ones best equipped to say thanks.
Read: Luke 17:11-19
Pray: Father, we look around us and see we are not the only ones suffering. Forgive us for seeking favor from you we haven’t prayed for them. And thank you, thank you, Lord, for every evidence of your goodness we see in spite of our pain.
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