The Holy Gospel: October 13, 2013 (Year C)

Read:  Luke 17:11-19

Meditation: “The Importance of Gratitude”

All ten lepers were cleansed.  It is important to see that.  We do not have to be grateful to God in order for God to do something good to us.  God’s generosity flows from His love, not from our response.  That is the nature of agape–love expressed because of the nature of the giver, not the receiver.

So, why the emphasis upon the one who turned back to say, “Thanks?”

Simply this, gratitude does something to us.  Without it, we become insensitive and unresponsive to grace.  We take things for granted.  We begin to feel entitled.  We may even attribute the good result to someone or something other than God–perhaps to our own efforts.

Gratitude, on the contrary, turns us back to the source of our blessing.  Gratitude connects us to the cause of the effect.  It prevents misplaced affection. It helps us see that God is not “somewhere out there,” but rather near and involved in our lives.

Going on with an unacknowledged benefit moves us farther and farther away from the One Who can do more for us than we can ask or imagine.  Turning back to say, “thank you” keeps us in a relationship where occurrences turn into patterns and where responsiveness become a lifestyle.