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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Today’s Gospel reading (Luke 17:12–19) is devoted to the theme of thanksgiving. In this short passage, we hear about the ungrateful lepers who, after being healed by the Savior, did not return to give glory to God. Only one of them—a foreigner, a Samaritan—performed this most important act—before the face of the Lord and Savior who had healed him, he gave thanks to God for His great mercy.
The theme of thanksgiving is of great importance. In the Old Testament, we often encounter the word praise. To give praise to God is synonymous with giving thanks to God. In the New Testament, the word thanksgiving (eucharistia in Greek) appears dozens of times, in the same sense in which the Old Testament speaks of glorifying God. Father, glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee, says the Savior in His final prayer before His agony in Gethsemane (see John 17:1, 5). But Christ knew what He was saying. What glory awaited Him, other than suffering, humiliation, and the Cross which He was to endure? He was to offer a sacrifice—but this sacrifice was itself the glorification of God the Father.
It is no coincidence that the Church’s principal act of worship is called the Eucharist—the “Thanksgiving”—for in it we commemorate the sacrifice of thanksgiving that God received from His Son and our Savior. That sacrifice was indeed both a sacrifice of redemption and a sacrifice of thanksgiving, a sacrifice of praise to God. This is precisely how the Church has always understood the Sacrifice of Golgotha. That is why the remembrance of that sacrifice became the central act of Christian worship. And every time we celebrate the Divine Liturgy—every time we celebrate the Eucharist—we glorify the Lord for all, from the creation of the world to this very day, that has been accomplished by His divine power for the salvation of humankind.
It is crucial to understand that thanksgiving is an essential part of religious life. Without thanksgiving to God, the chain connecting man to God remains incomplete. We cannot only receive from God what we ask of Him. If that were the case, the chain would work in only one direction—from God to man. But the very word religion, derived from Latin, means “connection,” and a connection cannot be one-sided. A bond always requires a response. And this response to God’s benefactions, to the fulfillment of our prayers by Him, is our thanksgiving—which we offer as the Church in remembrance of the Sacrifice made by the Lord and Savior, and which each of us must also offer in our personal prayer.
When we come to church, we most often think first of our own problems, our sorrows and burdens. There are indeed many of them, and our first words to the Lord are often: “Help me, lighten my cross, give me strength, heal me.” And how often the Lord truly answers our prayers! But do we have the time and strength to thank Him for all that He gives us? For our life, for our health? For even if we are not completely healthy, if we still have the strength to move, to speak with one another, to work—then we ought to thank the Lord for all this, and for every day we live. For each day is a day of God’s goodness.
Thanksgiving, therefore, is an essential mark of the religious life. According to this can each of us measure the level of our own faith. Ask yourself: How much space in your prayer is taken by thanksgiving to God? The answer will immediately show the depth of your faith and your spiritual life. A person of fervent faith gives thanks to God before all else—unceasingly thanking Him for every day that passes, for sight and hearing, for the ability to labor, for family and friends, for those who accompany him through life. He thanks God for peace on earth, for fresh air and clean water, for having food to sustain his strength. The believer first gives thanks to God, and in the light of this thanksgiving asks the Lord for His blessing and help in life and in every good work. This is precisely how the saints lived. The central element of their inner spiritual life was thanksgiving to the Lord; and in the radiant light of that thanksgiving all other petitions took their rightful place—for it is the divine rays of grace that bring to us the power from God that transforms our life and through which He answers our prayers.
This day and today’s Gospel reading are therefore especially important for us. First of all, that we may, as I have just said, measure the level of our faith, the depth of our religious life. And if we realize that it is not very high, then perhaps from this day onward we will begin each morning with thanksgiving to the Lord—for ourselves, for our loved ones, for our people, for our country, for peace and quiet—for all those blessings we enjoy, often without even realizing how great is the mercy of God in them. Let us remember always that thanksgiving to God is the chief sign of our faith and of our hope in Him.
Let us give thanks to the Lord for all His marvelous works, and let us go through life with this heartfelt gratitude—so that our thanksgiving may bring our prayers nearer to Him. And that in answer to those prayers the Lord may grant us all that we need, all that we ask for, and all that we hope for. Amen.
