Luke 17:11-19

Thinking and living without gratitude robs us of potential joy, and lim-its our ability to thrive. Take these 10 men living with leprosy: All 10 were “cleansed.” I take that to mean that the physical effects of their disease were sufficiently removed such that they were ritually clean. This seems to be why Jesus sends them to the priests: We know from 13:45 that leprosy rendered a person ritually “unclean.” Upon the re-turn of one of the now ritually clean men – a Samaritan – Jesus wonders aloud what I would’ve likely asked: Where are the others? This man’s gratitude was real, was evident, and was aimed in the right direction: He was praising God. And that made all the difference. In addition to being “cleansed,” Jesus tells him that because of his faith – a faith we saw expressed in his gratitude and praise – in his joyful response, he has been saved, healed, made well, whole, delivered.