Into the Year 2022 with Gratitude and Confidence
The present, ongoing COVID pandemic started in the year 2019, it spread throughout the world in 2020, and continued in 2021 in spite of the growing availability of various vaccinations. Now, at the turn from 2021 to the year 2022, there is no end in sight, with ongoing mutations of the virus and break-through infections, where even those who have been fully vaccinated can still be infected. In many parts of the world, booster vaccinations are becoming available, and even then there is no guarantee that those who have been vaccinated are safe from being infected. In fact, with new mutations and variants of the virus, more people everywhere in the world are threatened by the disease, and more and more break-through infections are being reported even in countries where vaccines are widely available. And so the pandemic enters the fourth year of inflicting the human population. And even with all the medical advances, there is no end in sight to isolation, mask mandates, fear, illness, suffering, and even death.
An interesting episode in Jesus’ life speaks directly into our challenging situation today. The Gospel of Luke tells us how Jesus met ten people with an infectious and dangerous skin disease. Keeping their distance, they called out to him, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well” (The Gospel of Luke, chapter 17, verses 11-19).
What we see in this story is, first of all, that Jesus can and will heal many, both then and today. Second, Jesus cares about everyone, even the vulnerable and the marginalized, such as the lepers, even lepers who were foreigners like the man from Samaria in our story. Third, Jesus expects gratitude when he brings his blessings into our lives. In our story, he healed ten people, but only one of them returned to praise God and to express his gratitude to Jesus for healing him. Jesus was pleased with this man’s grateful response, but he was also surprised because of the lack of gratitude in the other nine people who had been healed. He expected that all of them would return to give praise to God for their healing. Yet only one of them did.
The one who returned to Jesus did not take his healing for granted, but he recognized that he had received a miracle, an unusual amount of grace, mercy and goodness. He was truly grateful to Jesus and he praised God with a faithful heart. His gratitude was so strong that he praised God with a loud voice, and he even prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet to thank him.
As we can see from Jesus’ reaction, the Samaritan foreigner’s gratitude was the correct response. By contrast, the response of the other nine people who had been healed was wrong. They had taken their healing for granted. They remained complacent about God’s love. They were ungrateful.
There is so much in this story that is relevant for today and that helps us to deal with our own situation of the COVID pandemic today. For example, when we read in the story that the people with a dangerous infectious skin disease met Jesus outside of the village and that they “kept their distance”, we realise that they were doing what we now call “social distancing”, to avoid spreading the infection to other people. When Jesus told them to show themselves to the priest, in accordance with Moses’ regulation that those who had been healed from their skin disease needed to get official confirmation that they were not infectious any more (cf. Leviticus 14:3-7), we realise that they were doing the equivalent of our modern COVID tests.
In this New Year 2022, let us be thankful to God and let us follow the example of Jesus, who himself always was thankful to God. It is God who has helped us to get through the past few years. Let us be deeply thankful to God for his protection and help in facing the challenges we have overcome and are still overcoming today.
As we consider the opportunities that the New Year 2022 will offer, let us gratefully contribute to the common good. Here in The Gambia, we are people from many different backgrounds, cultures and traditions. The nation benefits greatly from this rich diversity. We are called to work and live together in peace and harmony.
We need to encourage and strengthen one another and help families, especially young people, to join in to contribute to the country. We should be inspired and go forward to the New Year in hope.
What is God’s purpose for your life in the year 2022? As you enter another New Year, take time out and examine yourself. What can you do for others and for God to show your gratitude?
Answering these questions will help you set priorities in your life. Prayerfully ask God for his guidance. What does God want you to do to express your gratitude? Take risks and answer the challenge to be obedient to God in living a life that benefits something greater than your own desires. Be willing to leave your comfort zone and build relationships with others who need your help. Become the type of person whom God wants you to be.
To experience this change in your life, you need to set goals. You need to have a plan to achieve those goals. And you need to make yourself accountable to God for achieving those goals. Remember, you do not need to do this on your own. God has promised that his Holy Spirit will work in us to desire and to achieve his purposes (Philippians 2:13). Trust that God is with you always. He is your confidence and your guide.
In the past year, some people have gone through pain, sadness, sickness, loneliness, anxieties and many other challenges, and 2021 was a bad year for them. If that is you, please continue to trust and hope in God. The word of God in the Bible says that “weeping lasts for a moment, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). Promises like these appear throughout the Bible, and Jesus himself says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). God always keeps his promise and fulfils his word.
A Happy New Year 2022 to all of you, in The Gambia and in every part of the world!
I pray that it be a year filled with thanksgiving and peace. I pray that God will grant us a year filled with prosperity, joy and happiness. I pray for peace in our families, communities and the nation. I pray that God will give us deeper wisdom, knowledge and understanding in our relationship with him and with others.
I pray that God may protect us in good health, delivering us from harm and danger. I pray that God will bless us this New Year. I pray that it may be a year filled with faith, love and gratitude.
The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you, The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you Peace.
Shalom, shalom. Amen.
