—Horace McMillon

Scripture: Luke 17:11-17

Reflection:
For many of us, there are times when we feel alone. We sometimes feel like we have problems that are never going to get better, and that nobody even cares. That’s how the ten people in the story must have felt.

In the Bible times, leprosy was a disease where people where forced to live by themselves usually far away from the people, places and things they cared about.

It turned out that they were not alone. Even though they were a long way from home, Jesus was still passing near. They were able to call him and he came to them right where they were. Jesus did not cure them right away. Instead, Jesus sent them to see a priest. This was strange. Because if they went to the priest the way they were, they were just going to be sent away. They did what Jesus told them anyway. Sometime along the way, while they were doing what Jesus told them, they were healed.

One of them came back to say thank you.

Prayer:
God, thank you for never leaving us alone. Thank you for hearing us when we call. Help us to trust you even when it does not make sense to us the way the ten people in the story did. Help us remember to say thank you each time one of our problems is solved.

Practice:
Caretakers or older family members, share a time when you were younger and had a hard time or felt alone. Talk about the some of ways you asked for help. Were any of the solutions surprising to you? What were/are you grateful for about that experience?

Invite younger family members to share something they are having a hard time with now or something that they may have already gotten over. You may need to help them remember.

Close the time by remembering to thank the people who were like Jesus to you in your own stories. Thank God for sending them into your lives.