Attitude of Gratitude

July 4, 2021 Background Scripture: Leviticus 13 – 14; Luke 5:12 – 16; 17:11 – 19 Lesson Passage: Leviticus 13:45, 46; Luke 17:11 – 19 Leviticus 13 and 14 give extensive instructions concerning the proper diagnosis, treatment, and trespass offerings as it relates to leprosy. Those two chapters provide 116 verses of scripture related to leprosy. Israel’s priest had a significant role to play in diagnosing and providing instructions to those suspected of having leprosy. However, none of those verses gives the priest instructions on how to cure leprosy. All the priest was required to do was diagnose whether leprosy was in the person’s skin and how the situation should be handled. No doubt one of the most welcomed reports a person could receive was to be pronounced clean by the priest. Indeed, the priest was the only person authorized by the Law of God to make such a pronouncement. This was not some arbitrary call on the part of the priest. The Law specified precisely how the priest was to arrive at such a conclusion. After reading those two chapters, I concluded that I could follow those steps and reach the same conclusion as the priest. However, I do not have the authority of the Law to do such a thing. That is why in both situations presented by Luke in the Background Scripture Jesus instructed those who had approached him for healing to go and show themselves to the priest. Jesus healed them but the priest had to pronounce them cleansed so they could be admitted back into society. As the ten men went to show themselves to the priest, they were cleansed. And they knew they were cleansed. However, one of them saw that he had been cleansed and returned to Jesus. He was praising God and thanking Jesus for his healing. Jesus noted that the one who returned to him to glorify God was not a Jew. Jesus questioned why the other nine men didn’t return to give God glory for their healing. I have always read this and thought that it implied that there is an expectation that one should glorify God out of gratitude for the blessings He bestows on us. But there appears to be more to it than that. The scripture does not say the other nine men did not give God glory for their healing. Jesus noted that the other nine men did not return to give God glory. The one who returned was not a Jew which implies that the other nine were. Perhaps the Jew’s religion got in the way of them returning to Jesus to glorify God. The Law concerning leprosy was given to the Jews. The Jews were following the Law by going to the priest to be pronounced clean and to present a trespass offering. It is possible that they were so caught up in following the religious steps given in the Law that personal gratitude was loss in the details—or delayed until after the official pronouncement of the priest. Put another way, sometimes the formality of religion trumps spontaneous praise. If getting to the church on a Sunday is done to avoid “forsaking the assembling of ourselves together”, then we might forget to sincerely praise God and thank Jesus before we get there. If you can only shout at church, then there may be something lacking in your gratitude to God. Meditating on the goodness of God and the sacrifice of Jesus in solitude at home should be more profoundly moving than listening to skillful praise singers and musicians or eloquent speakers. The Samaritan wasn’t constrained by organized religion; therefore, he didn’t have to follow the “Order of Service”. He turned around to praise God and thank Jesus before he saw a priest. He was grateful for what had happened to him even before the priest could see it. Sometimes people don’t always follow the right protocol in church. They just showed up to thank God for doing what doctors could not. Where are the other nine? They were probably on their way to have some good church. Robert C. Hudson June 7, 2021