If you’re a driver – you know when you stop and let another car out of a junction, or allow someone coming in the opposite direction to turn right, in front of you? Isn’t it nice when that person indicates their thanks to you. But don’t you find it somewhat irritating when they don’t? Even a nod of the head or a small indication of the hand – something which shows acknowledgement of your courtesy. It’s being courteous in return. Showing gratitude – a really small gesture but one which can make a huge difference.

In our gospel reading today, Jesus heals 10 people of leprosy, but only one of them shows any sign of gratitude. Because of their condition, these lepers will have been shunned by society, ostracized with absolutely no interaction with anyone except other lepers. But once they implore Jesus for mercy, He takes pity on them and facilitates their healing – all of them. Now I’d like to think that if I’d been one of those lepers that I would have shown gratitude to the man who has just freed me from my social prison, rather than just walk away as if I’d just been given something which I believed was owed to me. But with the exception of one man, that is exactly what happened. The nine were indeed healed of their leprosy and will, as Jesus instructed, have gone to be ceremonially cleansed by the priests. They were free of leprosy externally, but what about internally? Were they still effectively leprous in their hearts, having given no indication of thanks to Jesus? The one who came back did show gratitude and is told by Jesus that his faith has healed him. So, he didn’t need to go to see the priests; his faith, his show of thanks had assured him of his total cleansing – inside and out. This man was thankful, in the midst of thanklessness.

We still live, today, in a thankless generation; a generation which expects, oftentimes expecting the undeserved. But Jesus is merciful to us all, even the underserving. And by being thankful, by showing gratitude – this is a way in which we worship Him, a way that we worship our God. It doesn’t take much, hardly expends any energy, but a small gesture of thanks can make a world of difference. In a thankless generation, we can be thankful. “A thankful heart is one of the primary identifying characteristics of a believer. It stands in stark contrast to pride, selfishness, and worry. And it helps fortify the believer's trust in the Lord and reliance of His provision, even in the toughest times. No matter how choppy the seas become, a believer's heart is buoyed by constant praise and gratefulness to the Lord” (John MacArthur in Grace to You Newsletter, March 2009.)We have so much to be grateful for. The many blessings that God bestows on us every single day. Far too many to number and yet so many we simply take for granted. When God blesses us, whatever He blesses us with, we should be sure to thank Him. And most especially when He blesses us with something for which we have prayed, the first thing we should do is to be sure to show gratitude. We cannot ‘be’ without God’s good graces, not least the perfect balance of the elements around us which ensure the sustenance of life. And gratitude does not have an expiry date. We should never cease to be grateful, for whatever good graces we receive day in day out, we should continue with our expression of thanks.Paul instructs the Colossians to be ‘overflowing with thankfulness’ and warns that one of the signs of the last days is unthankfulness (2 Timothy 3:2).

And Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote ‘In ordinary life we hardly realise that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.’

So let us think about when we last stopped, just stopped, and were thankful for our blessings. When we last just spent time with God, being thankful for what He has done, even without our asking. Let us live with an attitude of gratitude and make the world just that tiny bit better.