What Do You Say?

Jesus asks, and we are left to wonder, too, what happened to the other nine?  Presumably, they went to the priests, showed themselves, were declared miraculously healed, and they returned to their homes – to their children and wives, to their jobs and friends, to their Jewish way of life – and what was lost was restored.  I am sure there was joy – they went from being estranged from all their relationships and condemned to die of an awful disease to returning home healthy.  There had to be questions when they returned, and they must have talked about this Jesus who gave them instructions to go show themselves to the priest and how on their way, they realized that their itching had stopped, and looked down and their skin was healing.  It must have amazed them.              And yet, they didn’t turn back.  They pressed on – to the goal – follow the instructions – complete the journey.  When I honestly put myself in their place, I know that there are times when I would have done the same thing.  Task-oriented, surely they were behind at work.  How had their family kept things afloat without them?  Family-focused, surely they imagined the shock on their wife’s face as they walked through the door and the squeals of joy as their children ran and jumped into their arms.  They had to be eager to get back to life – they had already missed so much.  They were so forward focused that they didn’t look back.              One did.  The one who had always known what it was to be an outcast.  The one who didn’t have as much to look forward to.  The one who would not tell you he was blessed to be born a Jew, but rather that he was a Samaritan.  He couldn’t believe it.  He was overwhelmed.  He stopped in the moment and appreciated.

There was a television series in the early days of television, back in 1951, that was based on a family that first appeared in movies.  Some of you might remember the old Ma and Pa Kettle television series?  Ma and Pa were a farm couple with 15 children, Pa wins a contest and the series is based on the antics of the new adventures the winnings afford them.

There is a classic scene in many of the episodes, at supper time, Ma Kettle bangs the triangle on the porch, and from every corner and crevice around the yard hordes of screaming, yelling children pour into the house fighting for a place at the table.  Then Ma hollers, “Hold it!” and everyone freezes in silence.  Pa Kettle rolls his eyes heavenward, tips his hat, and says, “Much obliged.”   And immediately the melee begins again as abruptly as it had stopped.

It strikes me as a response like the nine who didn’t turn back.  I’m sure they were glad they had supper just like the nine were glad they were healed.  It’s like children who are given a gift and don’t appreciate it.  We’ve all been there – either as a parent or as the gift giver – when a child opened a gift and didn’t acknowledge the gift-giver.  And, as parents, we all nudge (quietly, if possible), “What do you say?”  We hope that they will realize that they are grateful and turn back, right.  We want them to make eye contact and smile, and even give a hug, “Thank you!”  full voice.  But sometimes, instead we get, “Thank you” mumbled with eyes down, and no turning back.

When I googled children and gratitude, most of what I found was about teaching children manners, but I also found psychological studies on the positive impact of a week-long curriculum on giving for elementary school kids, the greater life satisfaction that seventh-graders experienced after writing 5 things they were grateful for every day or two for 3 weeks.  I also found a study published in 2013 on high school seniors that tracked materialism from 1976 to 2007; researchers found that the desire for making lots of money has increased while the willingness to work hard has decreased.              As the Israelites were preparing to go into the promised land, God knew what the impact of having everything you ever wanted would be.  They would face nations that were stronger and would win.  They would live in a land of flowing streams and clear pools of clean water, a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil, and honey, a land where bread would not be scarce and they would lack for nothing.              Not much has changed, has it?  And it’s easy to look at kids and teenagers and wonder what has gone wrong.  But, the truth is, their lack of gratitude is just a reflection of our lack of gratitude.  We may have learned the manners, but at the core, we are with the nine who don’t turn back.            “You may say to yourself,” warns Moses, “’My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”            Gratitude, researchers tell us, is like an emotional muscle.  It gets stronger with exercise, and makes us healthier.  According to findings by leading psychological researchers, grateful people may be more likely to:“take better care of themselves physically and mentally,…get more regular exercise, eat a healthier diet, have improved mental alertness,…cope better with stress and daily challenges, feel happier and more optimistic,…have stronger immune systems, and maintain a brighter view of the future.”

So, how do we exercise our gratitude muscle?  Moses says remember – remember where all these blessings came from.  Jesus says turn back – turn back from running headlong into whatever is next, as good as it might be – and say thank you.  Appreciate what you have been given.

Stewardship is not about getting enough money to run the church.  If we don’t have enough money to run the church, then the church isn’t doing God’s ministry.  There are plenty of other churches we could go to for worship.  Stewardship is about gratitude.  It is a spiritual discipline – exercise for your spirit.  It is about remembering where all that we have comes from and turning back, falling on our knees, and saying thank you.

Because Jesus’ words to the Samaritan and Moses’ words to the Israelites are as true for us today as they were for them.  Jesus says, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”  A better translation is your faith has made you complete, saved, whole.  What was empty is filled, the feeling of being less-than, a Samaritan, is erased, you know God’s love for you.  Similarly Moses says, “Remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives you the ability to produce wealth and so confirms his covenant.”  God keeps his covenant, and in remembering we keep ours.  We are whole.

Stewardship is about relationship – our relationship with God.  It is being reminded, “What do you say?”  How do you respond?  Head and eyes down, mumbled “thanks.” Or  Head up, eye contact, full voice, “Thank you!”

Thanks be to God, the source of all our blessings, whose greatest desire is relationship with us, and who seeks to make us whole.  May our faith make us well.  Amen.