Fields United Methodist Church

Side by Side with Jesus.                                                          Pastor Tom Joyce

November 20, 2020

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.”  Luke 17:15

Jesus encountered ten people along the way who were struggling with an insidious disease and asked Jesus to heal them, which he did. Nine out of ten went about their way living disease-free. Yet there was one that could not join them and instead turned back to give thanks to Jesus. This person not only was cleansed of the disease that had been devastating his body, he was healed from all that kept him from fully experiencing a new beginning in body and in soul. Living a life of thanksgiving, gratitude, takes effort; there are times we take the gifts we have received for granted without thinking of those offering the gifts. Our gratitude is the purest form of our spiritual health; it is humbling because by expressing our thanks we acknowledge that we needed something more than we could offer ourselves. Giving praise and thanksgiving to God is our confession that we are not God and that we do not live in a vacuum apart from God. Just as our thanksgiving to God deepens our relationship and love for God, when we thank someone else for a gift we have received we draw closer to them. In other words, we show our love for God and neighbor in our attitude of gratitude.  Perhaps one of the most self-less acts we can do is to thank someone else for the gift of their time and show of support for us, especially when we think we do not need their support.  As we enter into the time our nation celebrates thanksgiving, give thanks to those we encounter along the way, and especially thank Jesus for offering a second chance at life; filled with praise for the One who created you, called you by name, and redeemed you for no other reason than in the eyes of Jesus you, especially you, are loved so profoundly, so completely that Jesus has promised to be with you always, even to the end of the age. Thank you Jesus!

Rev. Tom Joyce