By Bishop Sam Rodman
Thank you, Lord, for saving my soul,
Thank you, Lord, for making me whole,
Thank you, Lord, for giving to me,
Thy great salvation so rich and free.
– “Thank You, Lord” by Seth Sykes
I learned that song in Vacation Bible School when I was growing up. It stayed with me not only because the tune is something of an ear worm but also because each line begins with the same words: Thank you, Lord!
It’s a song that teaches us about the gift of gratitude, and it is a song that has stayed close to my heart. I believe in the power of gratitude. I believe in its power because I have seen it at work again and again in my life, and in the lives of many I have loved and with whom I have served.
I reflected on gratitude as I sat to write a sermon on an early October Gospel reading: the story of the 10 lepers in the Gospel of Luke. It is a story unique to Luke, and it is one of my favorite Gospel accounts.
I love the story not only because it lifts up and celebrates the gift of a grateful heart. I love this reading because it follows several weeks of very tough, convoluted and difficult-to-interpret passages—“So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Luke 14:33) or “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes” (Luke 16:9)—to name just a couple. With the story of Jesus healing the lepers, we have a passage that is compelling, inviting and blessedly straightforward.
Ten people are healed of leprosy, a horrible disease common in Jesus’ time. Ten are healed, but only one of them returns to give thanks to Jesus.
If I were preaching this on a stewardship Sunday, I might point out, well, that’s 10%. And then I might go on to say that 10% seems a ridiculously small number when we recognize that all we have comes from God, and our grateful heart could be front and center every moment of every day. But this story is also about the connection between gratitude, faith and freedom. And that connection means we have another opportunity to go deeper on our journey of faith.
LESSONS OF THE HEART
In his book, Letters and Papers from Prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” But gratitude is not something we need the giants of faith to teach us. When it comes to gratitude, our own hearts are often the best teachers.
Think of the moments when you have felt a welling up within you, a deep thanksgiving in your heart. Perhaps that moment was the first day of a vacation, a sunrise bright with all that a new day holds, the smile of a child or grandchild as they begin to take their first steps, or an evening walk with your best beloved.
Our hearts are shaped by and for gratitude. We know how to feel thankful, and we know how to give thanks. Thomas Merton put it this way: “To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything God has given us—and—God has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of…love, every moment of existence is a grace….”
Or consider this excerpt from a letter I received a few years ago from a woman newly ordained to the clergy:
“I am grateful to spend my days imagining what it looks like to form followers of Jesus. I am grateful for time spent on pastoral care visits. I am grateful for a community garden program that feeds our neighbors in need, and that I get to spend a few hours of my week weeding, planting, and harvesting alongside church members. I am grateful for a solid church staff that welcomes, teaches, and teases as necessary.
“The gratitude I feel gives perspective to the challenges: burnt-out [sic] teachers who aren’t sure they want to commit to another year; low youth attendance at events in the past few years leading to low expectations now; cancelled events; personality clashes on volunteer teams; picky parishioners (and retired clergy) who have a knack for noticing mistakes; long days where I feel like I’m on for hours at a time; learning to navigate how to be in relationship with parishioners in the digital age. I list all of those challenges not because they weigh on me particularly, but because they are…they exist…and I see them. And I tackle them as they arise, and I listen hard for signs of fatigue in my body and spirit.
“This past Sunday was a major day in the life of the parish. We had an outdoor Eucharist, with baptism and a steel band, followed by a block party for the neighborhood with games, bounce house, food, and face paint. I preached the service and coordinated youth
volunteers for the bounce house and face paint. And then I stayed, and smiled, and talked, and met new people, and did all the things. And then I went home and ate tortilla chips while watching television on the couch, utterly tired and deeply grateful for my community.”
I love this account because it reminds us of what we already know to be true. She shows again not only how a grateful heart embraces the gift of all that God has given but how gratitude opens our eyes to see our difficulties and challenges from a different point of view. Gratitude actually transforms the way we see the world and the way we see ourselves.
When we are thankful, we also become mindful: mindful of the blessings we have received, aware and open to the needs of others, available to listen, willing to help, connected to one another. A grateful heart is a deep well. And these days we need that deep well to stay focused, in touch with and centered on what God is already doing around us, among us and within us.
This is why it is so important to make the connection between Eucharist, which, of course, literally means thanksgiving, and community—what it means to belong to one another. Gratitude is one of the markers of beloved community. We belong to one another because God has given us the gift of each other as companions on our journey of faith.
It goes even deeper. Not only is there a connection between gratitude and the life of faith, but there is a connection between gratitude and freedom. The word “gratitude” comes from the Latin “gratis,” which means free. Gratitude leaves us free: free to appreciate the expressions of God’s love for us, all around us; free to see even our trials and challenges in the context of God’s love, and the good gifts that are sometimes hidden in these challenges; free to recognize the movement of the spirit of God calling us to delight, to joy, to thanksgiving and the deep awareness that God is, indeed, with us every step of this journey of faith.
THE SIMPLEST LESSONS
A few days before writing this, I was invited to the Fuller School in East Raleigh to be part of a book reading for the first graders there. The Fuller School is the partner school of St. Ambrose, Raleigh, and the book reading was being done by a woman who was raised in one of our other congregations, St. Titus’, Durham.
The story was inspired by the author’s childhood and her family: the love and support she experienced there, and the ways they helped teach her that math is something we all do every day and not something to fear. The concept was based on a true story about the family gathering enough bread to feed the ducks at a nearby pond. But the lesson is part of a legacy that the author is creating for children who may struggle with math and the fear that they can’t do it.
She told me, “I don’t have children of my own, so these books are the way I can share the legacy of my family, and their love and support, with others.”
After reading the story and inviting the children to see the different ways they could count the pieces of bread and make sure that there was enough for all the ducks, the author introduced the first graders to some special guests: her father, her mother and her younger brother. All characters in the story, they were all there for the reading, much to the surprise and delight of the first graders.
As you read this and we enter the start of the blessed Advent season, remember that sometimes the simplest lessons have the most to teach us: about thanksgiving; about ongoing family support; about legacy; about being set free from our fears; about delight and joy; and about the gift of a grateful heart and knowing how to count our blessings.
Jesus said, “Were not ten made clean? So where are the other nine? Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” Today we might add,“Rise, go your way, your grateful heart has set you free.” Amen.
Bishop Sam Rodman is the XII bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina.
