Beloved in Christ,
Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I am very happy to address you all through the messenger. During the last month God filled us with His abundant love and He saved us from every evil activities. Now I would like to start this message with a question “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Firstly, Jesus did raise this question to the Samaritan. Secondly He raises this question to all of us.
There is a most fascinating story in Luke 17: 11-19. Our Lord was passing through the border between Samaria and Galilee, where He met with a group of lepers. They cried for healing and mercy. Jesus told them ” Go and show yourselves to the Priests”. And as they went, they were cleansed. When the Samaritan saw that he was healed , he fell on his face at Jesus feet, giving Him thanks. Then said Jesus “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?
We see in this story a lesson of gratitude. Sometimes we feel that we are grateful, but we are not able to express our gratitude, very often we are not grateful at all. Always we are concerned about the gifts we are receiving, but very soon we forget about the giver of the gifts. If we forget the Lord and His gifts, it means that we are concerned only about the gifts. When these men were suffering from leprosy, they took much trouble to seek for the Lord. But when they were cleansed, the nine lepers forgot to thank the giver. If we are really grateful to God for all His benefits, we cannot but praise God. The Samaritan has shown public expression of his gratitude to God. He fell down at feet of Jesus. He first praised God and then thanked Jesus who healed him. At times there are strangers who surprise us with an unexpected thanks. Our Lord expected all of them to come back to Him.
Now let us examine our own lives. Are we really thankful to God for all His gifts. Now let us consider about our own worship services . Most of the chairs are vacant during the worship time. Why? When we really remember the giver of the gifts, we will surely come to the church and praise God.
Don’t forget the loving Jesus at any time. ” What shall I render to the Lord for all His bounty to me. I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord in the presence of all His people”. (Psalm 116: 12-14)
May God bless you all
Yours in Christ,
Rev. C.C. Sabu
