When we pray, we often do so according to what we need, or what we think we need.  When we really do it right, we remember to give thanks to God for whatever he has provided us, be it spiritual, material or emotional help.  But thanksgiving is more than just giving thanks to God in prayer for what we have received.  It is an intentional way of living out our lives, that bears a particular kind of fruit.    

The concept of prosperity was around, long before Moses gave his people the beautiful words of God’s promise we read about today in the Old Testament.  It follows naturally that without prosperity, humanity would not survive, and of course, God being the creator of a corporeal world, knew that.  In his talk to the Israelites, Moses offers up a kind of hope for an abundant life, as promised through God – one in which the land will be rich for growing, because there will be wells and streams and springs, to grow the crops.  So too, he tells them they will be able to mine copper, to build the things they need and to presumably engage in commerce.  They will eat their fill without fear of scarcity and lack for nothing – and for this, they will bless the Lord.

In the Epistle, Paul is trying to raise up the church in Corinth in a way that encourages them to be generous in spirit, and in whatever they have to give in terms of their own gifts.  He wants the people of this church to recognize that God has been generous in giving them enough of everything, so that they may willingly share abundantly in, as he says, “every good work.”  This work Paul is alluding to is ministry and in this particular chapter, he’s actually taking up a collection for the church in Jerusalem.  This is an important piece because he is fostering a kind of trust in God, who is the true provider of all things, and reminding them and us, that in relationship to what we have, whatever that is, we are merely stewards.  By giving generously, as they have been given, they will carry forth the work of God, by sharing what they have, by trusting God to look after them so that they can continue to help others, and by doing something to foster in others, thanksgiving for the gifts of God.  We are reminded in a subtle sort of way, that God’s reputation and the ministry started by Jesus Christ, are impacted for better or worse, by how we ourselves glorify God through our own spirit of thanksgiving.   

The Old Testament and the Epistle makes clear that while abundance comes from God, we are not to keep whatever we have received and worked for all to ourselves, but to be generous in sharing what we have.  In this way, others will benefit as well from having enough to live on, as well as deepening their relationship to God and others through a spirit of thanksgiving.

But there’s another human need taken up in the lectionary, and that’s the need to belong or to be recognized as a person of some value.  The Gospel reading today, highlights this for us in the story of the ten lepers.

We are all hard pressed to imagine what it must be like to suffer from leprosy, let alone in those days, and especially if one was a Jew where the Levitical laws barred people who were unclean from full membership in the community.  We are further challenged in today’s world of radical individualism, to fully grasp what it must have been like to live in a world where you were not known by your individuality, but by the community to which you belonged – and that if you did not belong to a community, you were nothing.  NOTHING.  So, these are the circumstances under which the ten lepers were healed.

To be made well would have meant being received back into the community.  It meant one could live, work and pray with his own.  It meant one had an identity and that one belonged.  It meant hope for and a real chance of prosperity.  Knowing this, it’s easy to see where in their excitement, the troubles and afflictions of the 9 lepers were quickly forgotten in the anticipation of being welcomed back and recognized by their communities.  

And as we so often see in typical encounters with Jesus, it’s the outsider, the foreigner, who stays behind to talk with him and give thanks.  Why the Samaritan and not the others is hard to know – but clearly, he knew before whom he was standing.  In any event, his prostration was an act of worship and thanksgiving to the God who had recognized him in all his infirmity, when no-one else would.  God had answered his prayer and for him, it was not about rushing on to what he would receive next, but focusing on the one from whom he had received such mercy.          

In all of this, we are reminded as Christians of several things:  The prosperity and the gifts we receive ultimately come from God with an agenda.  That is to say, God blesses us, not just because he loves us for ourselves, but also so that we can bless others in whatever way we are called to assist, be it through service, presence, faith or sharing material goods.  This is how God’s message of love gets communicated one to the other.  It is in the act of thanksgiving, that we receive graciously, give graciously, and help others into a relationship with God, in which they begin to receive and give thanks to God for their blessings.

 Less easy to grasp, but fundamentally true, is that it is in a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving, where we begin to develop our deepest trust in God.  It is here where we learn that God’s economy is one of abundance, and not scarcity.  It is here that we can remember that no matter what else is going on, God will provide us enough of whatever it is, God has asked of us to share.

On this Thanksgiving Sunday, I commend to you the words of Paul: Your great generosity will produce thanksgiving to God, through us.

                                                                      Amen