Message: One Who Returns / Luke 17:11-19

Today is Thanksgiving Sunday. It is a time to look back on our lives. What are you thankful for? Who has brought you joy or helped you through a difficult time? Perhaps you remember your family, a friendship, work you enjoyed, or a place that still makes you smile.

Today’s first scripture reading invites us to think about the meaning of gratitude. Jesus was travelling toward Jerusalem and passed through the region between Samaria and Galilee. Jews and Samaritans had a long history of religious and political conflict, yet Jesus travelled through this region, crossing a boundary that had divided people for generations.

There Jesus met ten people with a skin disease. According to the Law, they had to keep their distance from others and live apart from their families and communities. As a result, they suffered not only physically but also socially. Their condition had become another boundary.

Then they saw a sign of hope. It was Jesus who was passing by. The ten could not come close to him, so they stood at a distance and called out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” Jesus heard their cries and did not ignore them. The love of Christ crosses boundaries and opens the way to healing and restoration. He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.”

The ten went as Jesus told them. On the way, they were made clean. All ten were healed, and they were filled with joy and amazement. Once the priests confirmed that they were clean, they could return to their families, eat with others again, and resume ordinary life. Their healing meant more than the end of their illness. It meant they could begin again the life and relationships they had lost.

Nine of them did exactly what Jesus told them. They kept walking toward the priests. But only one person stopped when he saw that he was healed. He turned back, praising God with a loud voice, and fell at Jesus’ feet to give thanks. While the nine continued toward the priests who could confirm their healing, he turned back to the one who had healed him.

The text tells us that the one who returned was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the nine, where are they? Was none found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”

As a Samaritan, he came from a community that had long been separated from the Jewish people by religion, history, and conflict. He faced physical suffering and social exclusion. He had lived on the margins. Yet he was the one who saw what the others had overlooked.

Grace had been given to all ten. The difference was who recognized where it came from. Many of us are happy when we receive a gift, but after a while, we forget the giver. When trouble comes, we cry out to God, but when it passes, we may forget to give thanks.

The Samaritan saw not only that his body had been healed but also the mercy of God in his healing. His praise showed that a deeper change was taking place within him. This is why gratitude is more than an emotion. It is the recognition that we have not made our lives by ourselves. We have received help. We have received love. We have received grace. Gratitude includes humility, relationship, and memory.

Thanksgiving Sunday is important because it gives us an opportunity to look back. It helps us see not only the difficulties we faced but also the love that helped us through them. Perhaps you remember laughter around a kitchen table, children playing outside, a neighbour who helped without being asked, or a friend who knew just when to call. At the time, these seemed like ordinary moments. Looking back, we see how precious they were.

We have not come this far alone. Some of those who helped us are still with us. Others are deeply missed. Remembering them may bring both a smile and a tear. Gratitude and grief are not opposites. We can give thanks that someone was part of our lives while still wishing they were beside us today. God receives both our gratitude and our sorrow.

Of course, we know that gratitude is not easy for everyone. Some of us carry pain that has not gone away. Some are waiting for a test result, caring for someone who is not getting better, or facing a first holiday without someone they love. Not every illness is healed, and not everyone receives the care they need.

We cannot be told to feel thankful on command. Today’s story does not promise that stronger faith will make illness disappear, and it does not rebuke those who find it hard to give thanks. Instead, we can look at where the story begins. Before anyone was healed, Jesus crossed boundaries that separated people, and ten people cried out to him from a distance. Jesus saw them, responded with mercy, and opened the way to healing. He did not ignore their cries for help.

Then Jesus said to the Samaritan who returned, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” The word translated as “made well” can also mean “saved” or “made whole.” His return suggests that something more was happening in his life. He had not only experienced physical healing but had also come to recognize God’s grace and respond to it with gratitude.

We are used to moving forward. We think about the next task, the next goal, or the next problem to solve. Sometimes, we forget the people who have helped us along the way.

The Samaritan did not just keep going. He stopped and turned back. Thanksgiving invites us to do the same. We can turn to God, who has seen us and carried us this far, and remember the people God has placed in our lives. We can remember someone who stayed with us when life was hard, someone who listened to us, someone who prayed for us, or someone who has been by our side for so long that we have forgotten how much their presence means to us.

So, let us express our gratitude. Gratitude that remains unspoken is like the sun hidden behind the clouds. We know the sun is there, even when the clouds cover it, but we cannot fully feel its light. When we express our gratitude, it is like the sun breaking through the clouds, bringing warmth and beauty into our relationships and reminding others that their love and kindness have mattered. 

Today, we can make a phone call. We can send a short message. We can look someone in the eyes and say, “Thank you.” We can also say, “Because of you, my life is more beautiful.”

Christ crosses boundaries first to reach out to those who suffer. When we understand this, gratitude is no longer a duty. It becomes a natural response, a sign that our hearts are open to God and to one another. We begin to see the love and kindness we have received, even in ordinary moments. We remember that we have not come this far alone, and we learn to give thanks for the people who have walked beside us.

Let us be people who turn back. Let us return to God with gratitude and reach out to the people whose love has carried us this far. We may not be able to repay everything others have given us, but we can let them know that their love has been seen, remembered, and received with gratitude.

The nine kept walking. One turned back. May we be the ones who turn back.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Rev. Min Hwang