Which one are you?

This week in youth group and in confirmation class, we focused on Thanksgiving and the importance of giving thanks and praise to God. I prepared a lesson based on Luke 17:11-19, Jesus Heals Ten Men with Leprosy. 

Jesus Heals Ten Men With Leprosy

*image not mine*

¹¹ Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹² As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy^[a] met him. They stood at a distance ¹³ and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”¹⁴ When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.¹⁵ One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶ He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

After reading and reflecting on the passage, we had a great discussion on which one of the men we related to. Are we like the one that ran back and thanked Jesus for healing him, and essentially giving him his life back? Or, are we like the 9 that got what they wanted and forgot to give thanks? 

Unfortunately, I think that sometimes it is easy to be like the 9. It is easy to run to our loving Father and ask, ask, and keep asking for everything we need. When in reality, we should be thanking and praising him for everything! Good and bad! He already knows what we need; He knows what we really need better than we do! Then why do we waste so much time asking and asking instead of thanking and praising? 

One of my teens in confirmation class today, said something that I really liked. She said, "I used to just ask and ask of Him, but now I make sure to start off my prayers by thanking Him for everything. Sometimes I get caught up in thanking Him so much that I forget to ask Him for things!"

Don't get me wrong..I know that our Father wants us to run to Him and I have faith that when we ask, we receive in His perfect timing. However, for this Thanksgiving season we need to remember that it is better to give thanks. In order to give thanks to Him, we must be humble. Humble to understand that we are nothing without Him and need to thank Him for our everyday breath. Thankful for the biggest sacrifice which is Him! After all, Eucharist means Thanksgiving...We need to be celebrating Thanksgiving everyday and not just once a year. 

What are you thankful for today? 

Blessings,

Clare