A sermon for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, by Fr. Daniel Suelzle.
The story of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) illustrates the deep connection between faith and thanksgiving. Leprosy isolates and destroys the body with no human cure, sin is a condition that corrupts humanity beyond self-repair. The lepers did not bargain with Jesus; they simply cried out for mercy, recognizing their complete dependence and need for healing to come from outside of themselves. While all ten received miraculous healing on their way to the temple, only one—a Samaritan foreigner—returned to fall at Jesus’s feet in gratitude. In the return of this single, former leper we see that the one who has received the gift of faith and healing, does not keep his gratitude private, but actively seeks out the presence of the Healer.
Living a life of active thanksgiving means consistently returning to the place where Christ promises to meet us. Though gratitude is an attitude of the heart, it is more than that. Gratitude is also a bodily act, as we return to the corporate worship of God in the Divine Service, where He delivers His salvation through Word and Sacrament. A faithful response to God’s mercy isn’t found in choosing a church based on personal preferences or entertainment, but in gathering where sin is rightly taught, the Gospel is purely preached, and the Sacraments are faithfully administered. When we recognize the depth of the disease we have been healed from, our natural response is to gather regularly with His people—returning again and again to the feet of the Savior who freely gives us life.
Listen to the full sermon below.