“Gratitude of a Leper” 

Luke 17: 11-19 

October 12, 2025 - Pastor Deb- BRCC 

The word for today is GRATITUDE. What does gratitude LOOK LIKE? What does it FEEL LIKE? How do we become a person whose life is shaped by a heart that is truly GRATEFUL? 

I came across a quote from a strong and grateful woman who survived cancer and who, in her words, literally “danced her way” through treatment. At a conference celebrating the journeys of STRONG WOMEN, she said this: 

“It is not happy people who are grateful, but grateful people who are happy.” We are given the choice to BE happy, how beautiful is that? (Tia Stokes, Cancer Survivor) 

This week, as I learned of the passing of a dear friend and neighbor, Renee Hanson, a strong woman that touched my life deeply. I was thrown into a tailspin of grief. Renee left here with so much joy ahead of her. Little Madeline was born and her dream of being a grandmother was realized. Then like a thief in the night, her stage 4 ovarian cancer was discovered, her life, but not her spirit, was detoured. 

Renee often worshiped with us before moving back to the cities to be close to her one and only grandchild. But it was hard for her to leave as she loved the lake and this beautiful place. She was involved in many activities as a volunteer within the Silver Bay and Finland community and brought positive kindness and enthusiasm to everything and everyone. Renee was so easy to love and cherish, because she loved and cherished right back. She had her share of 

disappointments and heartaches, but they didn’t define her. Instead, she seemed to STEP INTO LIFE each day to discover and share as much richness as possible. I often thought how rare it was to experience someone so authentic, genuinely kind, spunky and fun. We shared so many wonderful adventures, glorious hikes and stories….and, she made sure I got to BONE BUILDERS. Something I don’t seem disciplined enough to do on my own! 

Renee shared with me her daily ritual of getting up in time for the sun to rise over the lake and sitting on her deck, wrapped in a blanket, sipping a cup of coffee, and writing in her GRATITUDE JOURNAL. She would list three things she was grateful for on that new day. I thought to myself, “Deb…why don’t you do that? Why don’t you push aside the many “to do’s” and the worries that seem to consume your morning thoughts, and follow her example? Maybe, it’s because, like Tia…and like Renee who discovered we are given the CHOICE, and made the effort to embrace it…I haven’t yet fully grasped this truth that gratitude is a choice and sets the heart free to “dance” through treatment….or follow Christ through the shadow of death. 

Today we are given two stories about leprosy…and GRATITUDE.

Naaman, a great and influential commander of King Aham’s army had the unthinkable, and dreaded scourge of Leprosy. Leprosy today is just a skin disease that can be managed, but in Jesus’ day it was a terrible curse, a living death. Because this disease would literally rot human tissue, it not only brought death, but looked like death. And touching or even being close to a dead body was considered spiritually unclean and morally repulsive to both Jews and Gentiles like Naaman. Those poor souls afflicted were scared to show themselves, they were met with fear and hostility, and often lived in forsaken colonies hidden from sight. How could such a man as Naaman even admit to such a condition? He had to seek healing any way he could, even if it meant threatening the King of Israel to produce a prophet that could bring a cure. 

It’s amazing, isn’t it, how God uses the meek to speak truth to the prideful? A young girl, who was taken captive as a slave, speaks a word of hope and points to the prophet Elisha as God’s instrument of healing. And Elisha says, sure…send him my way. And so Naaman, with all his men, horses and chariots, shows up at Elisha’s door. Elisha doesn’t rush out to meet him. He doesn’t acknowledge Naaman’s status. Instead, he sends word through a messenger that Naaman should go and wash in the Jordan River seven times to become clean. 

Now imagine that you are Naaman. A commander with power, authority and fearless might. Isn’t he at the very least entitled to respect, AND a spectacular healing befitting his status? Why should he go wash in the Jordan River of all places? The Rivers of Damascus are much cleaner for such a purpose. And his anger escalated to rage so much so that his own servants step up to calm him down and reason with him that he doesn’t have anything to lose by trying. For leprosy is no match even for someone of his status. Leprosy levels the playing field…it’s a human condition, something that makes Naaman as vulnerable and human as even the lowliest of those in his command. His entitlement and pride have to die so his life can be healed. What’s his response? A Grudging Respect and acknowledgment of the God of Israel. We are never told if he is a changed man who lives out his life with gratitude and faith. All we know is that he IS healed by God’s grace. 

Then, in our Gospel story, Luke relates the story of 10 Lepers who approach Jesus and cry out for mercy and healing. We don’t know much about these 10 Lepers except that one of them is a Samaritan. Samaritans were doubly outcast because they weren’t the “right kind of Jew.” They were hated because following the exile into Babylon, when the Jews finally returned and under Nehemiah rebuilt their temple in Jerusalem, there was a fight over land and religious practice. The “GOOD JEWS” followed the law of Moses and worshiped in the temple in Jerusalem, and the “BAD JEWS” now called “Samaritans”, intermarried with pagan Gentiles, and worshiped on a mountain. There was hatred and great hostility between them, yet, within a Leper’s colony, lepers were lepers and that normalized them into the same awful reality of hiding in fear and loathing…together. When Jesus tells them to go to the temple priest and show themselves, it's a big deal. For only being declared “clean” would they be restored to health. But, it also meant they could live again within the community, and be allowed to worship God. Imagine the plight of the Samaritan. He is not likely to be welcomed by the priests as the other men, nor restored to Jewish “purity.” He would continue to be an outsider… yet healing, true healing, is more than this.

The others hurry away to claim restoration, but the Samaritan stops and turns around. Who is this who looks past political hatred; religious bigotry; and human demonizing of the other and Loves a Leper? Why is he willing to heal the broken dead end life of a human crying out for mercy? What is this healing really about? 

For the 9, healing was obviously about getting back to normal life…being declared clean again; being welcomed back into community and into life that IS life. And that’s a good and wonderful thing! For which of us doesn’t want our life restored to some level of happiness and the disease tossed away? 

But for the Samaritan, something else is going on here. This Jesus isn’t the “lottery” or even a “wish come true.” He is HOLY…TRUE GOD…TRUE LIFE…ETERNAL, NOT JUST FOR NOW. And what is his response? To fall on his knees at Jesus feet and pour out his Praise to the Almighty one whose victory is beyond human imagination. Whose power to HEAL destroys any LEPROCY, even the leprosy of human sin that spirals out of control with violence and cruel hate. 

Jesus heals the child within us that we were always meant to be. He is willing to take us out of our places of hiding and shame, and restore us to the dancing and praise we were made for. 

And so we are back to the questions posed at the beginning: What does gratitude LOOK LIKE? What does it FEEL LIKE? How do we become a person whose life is shaped by a heart that is truly GRATEFUL? 

As I wrote this sermon for today…I realized that in my grief for Renee, God showed me what gratitude looks like. The gift of healing comes from letting her go with a thankful heart, praising God for using her as a vessel of God’s grace to heal some of my personal wounds and disease through her example. It feels like PEACE…and HOPE, that maybe, just maybe, I too can be a mirror or healing love and grace for another who is suffering. And how do WE become a people whose lives are shaped by GRATITUDE…perhaps by simply Praising the Holiness and magnitude of God’s amazing Love TOGETHER, in community…with faith..with Hope…and with dancing. Amen.