So that even you, who have not been to church today, may serve our Lord God and not become unreasonable animals, hear the holy gospel.
Luc. 17, 11-19.
And it came to pass, as he journeyed toward Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And when he was come into a market, ten leprous men met him, which stood afar off, and lifted up their voice, and said: JEsu, dear Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them: Go and show yourselves to the priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were cleansed.
*) Held in the house, 1533.
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned again, and praised God with a loud voice, and fell on his face at his feet, and gave thanks unto him. And this was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered and said, Were not ten of them clean? But where are the nine? Has no one else been found who has turned back and given glory to God, except this stranger? And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath helped thee.
1 In this gospel you hear at the end how the Lord praises faith. For that these ten lepers were healed, he blames their faith, and not himself. "Your faith," he says to the Samaritan, "has helped you." He does not say, "I have helped you," but gives the credit to faith. With this he wants to provoke us to believe in God boldly and with all confidence according to this example, and to be sure of what we believe, that we will have it through Christ. If we believe in forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Christ, then it shall be yes. If we believe that God is gracious and merciful to us for Christ's sake, He will be gracious and merciful. So that everything should be attributed to faith, not to God, who alone does it; so that everyone may learn, where we do not obtain something that we would like and need, that it is not because of God, but only because of our unbelief; otherwise, if we believed firmly, we would certainly have it.
2 So this is the first lesson of today's gospel, that we should know that everything we can provide for ourselves and comfort ourselves in God should be yes. But whoever does not believe in God and does not want to provide good things for Him, let him not think that he will get anything. Therefore, as Jacobus says in his epistle, in the 1st chapter: Whoever wants to deal with God and ask something of Him, must not doubt or waver, saying: Who knows whether God will give it to me, or whether I am worthy? No, by no means! But in this way you shall say, "I know what I ask of God, that He will gladly do and give it for the sake of Christ. And if he does not do so now, as I would like him to do, he will do so at another time and in another way.
3 For a fickle heart that does not believe, nor think for certain that it will gain anything, certainly gains nothing. For
Our Lord God can give him nothing, even if he would like to. It is just like a vessel that you hold in your hands, and yet you do not want to hold it still, but keep moving it back and forth, so you cannot pour anything into it; and even if you would like to pour it in, it still misses and perishes in vain. So it is also done for an unbelieving, wavering heart. God would gladly give us what we need, but there we stand like a mad beggar: we hold out our hat that he may throw something into it, and yet we shake our hat without ceasing and will not keep still. Our Lord God does not want to throw His gifts away in vain, so that they fall by the wayside and are lost. Just as if you had a candelabra or bottle in your hands and asked for wine to be poured into it, and wanted to throw it back and forth with your hand, this would make a very unwilling host, especially if he were to give you the wine and not take any money from you. He would say: Always roll yourself; do you think I want to pour the wine on the ground? It is the same with a wavering, unbelieving heart; God cannot pour anything into it, even if he would like to.
4 Again, where one does not waver, but stands still, he will gladly give, as we see here in the ten lepers. They stand still and cry out, "Jesus, dear Master, have mercy on us! They were very still and did not doubt that he would help; therefore, as they believed, so it happened to them. We should keep this in mind, so that we may learn to trust in God's goodness and not waver in our hearts, but rather remain steadfast in everything we ask, whether for health against sickness, or for food against poverty, or for righteousness against injustice and sin, or for life against death. For God will gladly give all these things, without at times forsaking tempting us to see if we can do what is right.
Prayer and faith also want to persevere. This is the first part of today's Gospel, that we should pray in firm faith and not doubt God's gracious will through Christ.
The other piece is a very frightening example, that ten of them have such a fine faith and are healed, and only one of them recognizes such a blessing and thanks the Lord Christ for it. The other nine fall away again and do not give thanks to Christ because of such good deeds.
(6) Such an example should serve us to learn to be grateful and to guard against the shameful vice of ingratitude. For it is our Lord God's will, and not unreasonably, that we should have the honor of thanking Him for all His benefits.
(7) We should also do this gladly and willingly, for it is a thing that does not require much effort and work, for what harm can it do you to turn to God and say, "O Lord, you have given me healthy eyes, healthy hands and feet, this and that, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for it, for it is your gift. So what harm can it do you to thank your father and mother, your master and wives, your friend, if a benefit has come to you from him? It does not break your leg, and the only thing you need to do is to confess it and give thanks, so that it may be seen whether it has been done to you. So the Samaritan does here, turns back to the Lord and gives thanks. It cost him neither a penny nor a farthing, but a few words, and yet it pleases the Lord so much that it is a miracle.
(8) People are also pleased with gratitude, and it does them good; they are also provoked by it to help more at another time. The pagans said that ingratitude was the greatest vice; therefore, if one scolded someone for being ungrateful, he scolded him the most. Nevertheless, we learn that such ingratitude is very wicked, and is most common to those who have earned all thanks from us, such as father and mother, who dare to give their children life and limb, honor and property, and whatever they have. But how do the children reward them? What do they experience in
them? It is rare that a child is grateful; almost all children become ungrateful and would like their parents to die soon. That's what the wretched devil does. It is the same in other classes.
(9) Therefore learn to beware of the great and shameful vice, from which, it is said, the fountain of all faithfulness and goodness of men dries up. And is also the loud truth. For men are too weak and cannot bear ingratitude. Wherever one finds an ungrateful heart, the desire and love to help and benefit such people vanishes. Whoever wants to help other people and is not a Christian, and should get no other thanks for it, than that one should throw it into his hands: that is a very annoying thing. The first word is, "All is lost with the wretched man; let him always go in the devil's name; I would not look upon him to help him with a penny. So people become unwilling. This is what shameful ingratitude does, and yet it is a very common vice in the world.
(10) Therefore, this example teaches us, if we want to be devout Christians, to learn to be grateful, first to God, our gracious Father in heaven, who gives and sustains life and limb, and then all that pertains to eternal life; then to be grateful to our parents, friends and neighbors, who have shown us good, done us good, advised us or helped us, so that we recognize and give thanks, even if we cannot repay them. Such things are rightfully ours, and God wants them from us; but the least part of us does them. The world cannot be made to show its gratitude in words, much less will people be made to repay, as the saying goes: Nihil citius senescit, quam gratia. (Good deeds are soon forgotten.)
In monasteries, when an old monk gave them only a cut feather, the young monks were accustomed to bend down and say: Benedictus Deus in omnibus donis suis: Praise be to God for all that he gives us. This was not a wicked way; for it was done so that the
young people should be accustomed to accept everything with thanksgiving to God and man. Therefore, although it was not always so in the heart, it was nevertheless that the words were spoken. Thus it is written in the 116th Psalm, v. 12, 13: "How shall I repay the Lord for all his benefits that he has done for me? I will take the cup of salvation and preach the name of the Lord"; that is: God has done good to me, therefore I will give Him sermons, that is, preach His word, praise Him, and give thanks. Yes, dear child, says our Lord God, I have just had enough.
(12) But the kind Father can obtain it from few people. Most of them persecute his word and blaspheme him, regardless of the fact that everything we have we have only through him and from his graces. And if this is not enough, even his only begotten Son, whom he gave us to comfort us against sin and eternal death, they still hang him on the gallows. This may ever be a world, which God should be cheaply hostile to and do it no good. When he gives the sun, the moon, and all things, and his only begotten Son, the world goes and condemns his word, and puts his Son to the cross. The third part of this gospel is a fine example, that Christ does not let the ingratitude of the nine lepers, who were cleansed, deter him from doing good to other people, but has patience and is satisfied that the tithes come and give thanks to him.
(13) We should learn not only to be thankful, but also to be accustomed to the virtue that can suffer ingratitude. No one has this virtue except God and true Christians; the world does not have it. For there are enough examples before our eyes, which testify that the world cannot stand ingratitude. The Greeks had very fine people who faithfully stood by the fatherland and risked life and limb for it; but as soon as they found that the thanks remained outside and they did not enjoy such benefits, but one wanted to inflict more on them and press them, they became impatient about it, so that, just as they had previously protected the fatherland against the enemies, they afterwards resisted the enemies.
helped the fatherland, and became its worst enemies. This is our way and nature; but it is an evil way that we should renounce.
(14) If any man will be a Christian, let him freely refrain from earning ingratitude with all his good works, faithfulness, and service, and beware lest he be moved thereby, and serve or help others no more. For this is a Christian virtue and the true fruit of faith, that when you have done your best and are rewarded, you be patient and say, "No, you must not anger me or make me unhappy. I will suffer it, and still help where I can. Will you be ungrateful? I know one above us in heaven who will thank me in your stead; I would rather have that than have you thank me. This means to be Christian and, as Solomon calls it, to heap burning coals on the head of the ungrateful.
You will never learn this art from the world. She does the antithesis. If you do not want to be grateful, it makes you think that what it has done is lost, that it will not use its good deeds so badly from now on. But our Father in heaven and our dear Lord Jesus Christ is the one from whom we are to learn this art. The Father in heaven lets his sun shine not only on the pious, who thank him for it, but also on the wicked, who do not thank him, but misuse all gifts. He could also say to the right half: I have let the sun shine for so many years, I have given grain, wine and all kinds of fruits and benefits, but I deserve little thanks. Therefore I will not let the sun shine any more, and let the ungrateful world die of hunger. But he does not do it, the merciful father. No, he says, the ingratitude of the world should not be so great that it should make me angry with it; if it will not be grateful, I will still be kind and find the ungrateful well in its time.
16 Our dear Lord Christ also does this, tolerating ingratitude, as seen in this gospel. So should a Christian also do. For this is the way of Christian love, that it bears and endures all things, even ingratitude.
Ingratitude, and yet does not allow itself to be made bitter. But there are very few of them who have such love, and therefore very few are true Christians. If we want to live in the world and still be Christians, we should learn to do good to people and help them. If we earn ingratitude by doing so, we should not be annoyed by it or think it strange, as the world does; it suffers and is very annoyed by it if the good deed is not repaid. But you think and use it. If thou hast done good to one today, and he escapes thee by ingratitude to-morrow, let it not offend thee; God will find him well repaid. Go on, and say, "I have lost my good deed in this one, but have brought another, and have done him good also; if this one also escapes me, let the third come to me, and so on; so that you may learn to say, as our Lord Christ says here, "If not ten have been made clean, where are they?
(17) The dear Lord also deserves little thanks, but he is content that one of the ten should return who recognizes the good done and thanks him; yet he asks about the others, saying, "Where are the nine?" lest they think they have done right. As if to say, "Be thankless, you will not escape me like this; I will ask where you have gone, that you have never thanked me for helping you. So, in his time, he will ask all of you: Why did you not recognize the glorious gift and the beautiful light of the sun? Why have you not known that I have given you life and limb and have created all that you need? Then it will be found what a shameful vice ingratitude is.
18 Therefore we must be accustomed to learn from the example of our Lord Christ that we can despise ingratitude. For experience shows, and everyone can see, that where our Lord God gives ten kingdoms, he is hardly thanked for one; where he gives ten good years, he is hardly thanked for one year; and what is more, we always misuse the best years in the most shameful way. If God gives a rich year with
Wine, grain and other things, there are misers who buy it up and wait for theurung. Others think that because much has grown, they must kill, indulge and drink all the more. In this way they thank God for His blessing. Thus, our Lord is hardly thanked for the tenth part of His gifts and goods; for nine parts, He is not thanked at all. We should be accustomed to this, and not let it hurt us, but be content if we find one among ten who has done well and is grateful. The others will find it in their time. For they shall not so bear it away to our Lord God, who will have thanksgiving.
(19) From today's Gospel we have these three teachings: the first is about faith; the second about the beautiful virtue called gratitude; the third about the virtue of suffering ingratitude. We are to take an example of faith from the lepers, that we keep still and do not waver in faith, so that God may give us. We should learn gratitude from the Samaritan and follow his example, so that we are not found ungrateful to God and man. From Christ, however, we should learn that, even if we do good to someone and it is done badly, we do not deserve thanks and our good deeds are lost; we should not take offense at them, much less let others repay us. In the world, as said before, it is a very mean vice to make people unwilling and discontented by ingratitude, so that they henceforth do not want to help anyone and often have to pay for their ten ingratitude. But if you are a Christian, do not do this. Let nine be thrown at thee before the tenth be grateful to thee. For Christ himself does not find people who would be grateful for such a great good deed. Would you have it better than he? Therefore let it come to the ninth, you will have no more harm than Christ; but they will have the harm, that neither happiness nor salvation will be with the ungrateful people.
20) In sum, we will be fine Christians if we first have a firm faith and trust in God's goodness.
After that, we will be grateful to God and man, and finally be patient and suffer ingratitude when we have done everyone all the good we can. For nine will always be ungrateful if someone recognizes the good deed done and gives thanks for it. And it may well happen that
It is the one who gives thanks, and it is well placed, since one had the least trust and hope, as the Samaritan is here. May our dear Lord God grant us His grace to keep and improve, amen.