FROM YOUR PRIEST:
"the one who gave thanks"
Luke 17:11-19
The heart of Christian worship is giving thanks. The very word “eucharist’ is Greek for “thanksgiving.” Our Eucharistic Prayer is called the “Great Thanksgiving.” In fact, we proclaim that it is good to give thanks “at all times, and in all places.” Really? It’s hard to give thanks when we are in pain or in doubt and struggle. Maybe we are just too busy (or tired? or bored?) and we fail to take the time. Of the lepers Jesus healed, only one turned back and gave thanks. He was a Samaritan--an outsider and a foreigner. Think of the people in your life, or in the life of St Mary’s, who have demonstrated this type of “thanksgiving" faith—who are genuinely thankful. They offer us an image of true discipleship. What made the one leper turn back and give thanks to Jesus, when the others did not? Let us think on that..
