Verse of the Day for November 21

Ten lepers were told to go and show themselves to the priests, and as they went, they were cleansed. They were healed on the road, mid stride, somewhere between Jesus and the temple.

Nine kept walking. That is not a terrible thing in itself. They were doing what they had been told. But one stopped, and Luke gives four quick details about what he did with his body.

He turned back. He used a loud voice. He fell down on his face at his feet. And he was giving thanks the whole time. This is gratitude with feet and lungs and knees, not a pleasant thought kept quietly in the head.

Then Luke adds the sting at the end: and he was a Samaritan. The outsider, the one the others would not have eaten with, was the only one who came back. Sometimes those who expect God's kindness least are the quickest to say thank you.

Gratitude can stay too spiritual, too much in the mind. Try making it physical today. Turn round and go back to someone who helped you. Say thank you loud enough to be heard. Kneel by the bed tonight, even if your knees complain.

Gratitude that never moves your body may not have reached your heart yet.

The outsider who comes back is the one Jesus praises.