Seeking God

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Lepers at the time of Jesus were placed outside of the community. They lived generally outside the town and were shunned by others. It seems to me no surprise then that they stuck together as some sort of support to each other. They went collectively to Jesus to ask for the gift of healing but from a distance we hear in the Gospel. “They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" As they went to show themselves to the priest they were cleansed. Jesus showed pity on them. This healing story has other dimensions. Notice that there were not many of them who came back to thank him. It was not any ordinary person it was a Samaritan someone who was disliked by the main Jewish people. This unexpected person came back to say thank you.

I have a friend who when the sun is out and it is a lovely day says “it’s too hot” when it is a bit cooler they say “it’s too cold” When it has not rained for a long time they say “It would be nice if it rained for the garden” When it is raining they say I hope the Sun comes soon. IT carrying on into every walk of life.  I have even begun to think that their favorite past times is moaning or complaining.  You know the sort of person their glass is always half empty rather than half full.

I am sure that each of us can see something of this person in us. I wonder how many times we say thank you especially to God for the good things that he has done for us. So too often we are quick to criticize or to turn our back on God and not the good things that God has brought into our lives. 

 
 

And yet I wonder actually how difficult we find saying thank you. Do we start our prayer like a shopping list of things that we want or a list of complaints? Do we say thank you to God for the good things our families our friends the sun and the rain. Or have we become so caught up in the material world that we use God as another service provider getting what we need out of him and then putting him confidently in a draw until the next time we need him.

Ultimately seeking God to say thank you is part of what we are as Christians. It is trusting and appreciating his love. I was very stuck on our trip to the Holy Land that the people there although oppressed by the Israeli government, although had very little freedom were able to see and thank God for what he had done for them. I wondered to myself could I have done the same?   

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