Overwhelmed by Gratitude - Fr. Gregory - January 17, 2021

Today on the 12th Sunday of Luke the Gospel lesson comes to us from Luke 17:12-19. In this pericope we encounter the miracle of Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers, a story that is applicable in many ways to the cultural concerns at this present time. Father Gregory shares with us a message that has both practical and salvific implications. The ten lepers in the Gospel lesson experienced isolation from society much in the same way we have during the pandemic. Their isolation and dreadful disease cause them to call out to Jesus as Master imploring Him for mercy. Our Lord grants mercy to the lepers and commands that they show themselves to the priests which was a requirement of the law. In their obedience to Christ, they are healed of their death sentence but sadly only one of them is overwhelmed with gratitude and returned to Christ giving thanks. Perhaps the other nine struggled with a sense of entitlement like we do today as consumerism makes it difficult for us to cultivate feelings of gratitude. As Orthodox Christians we must realize that ungratefulness is a sin and to find joy we should cultivate a sense of gratitude through humility not allowing our pride to make us think that God owes us something.