An unthankful spirit is, lamentably, one of the chief characteristics of our day. Yes, we Americans do have one day set aside as a day of Thanksgiving each year. But one wonders if a foreign visitor, by observing our traditions, could come to any proper understanding of what those things are for which we are most thankful, and more importantly, just who it is we are thanking. He might conclude, by our thanksgiving parades, that we are thankful for cartoon characters, Broadway shows, TV celebrities, dancing troupes, country music singers, clowns and high school bands; and he might conclude that we are thankful for football, and for turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie. Of course we SHOULD be thankful for all good things---although one would think that other blessings from God might take precedence in our minds. More importantly, this foreign observer would have a difficult time determining precisely WHO we are thanking. In this passage from Luke, Jesus was confronted by ten lepers asking for mercy. Evidently as a test of faith, He told them to show themselves to the priest, which was the first thing a HEALED leper was to do. Along the way, they were miraculously cleansed. However, only ONE of them returned to glorify God by thanking Jesus for the miracle of health, and that man was a Samaritan. Jesus marveled at the ingratitude of the other nine. This sermon includes a modern doxology Russ wrote as a parody of the kind of teaching we are receiving on "nature" programs today, "Praise Science whence all blessings flow, all e-volved beings here below..." which the folks at Liberty seemed to appreciate. |
