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You'll be more optimistic. You'll exercise more. You'll think more creatively. You'll bounce back from adversity faster. You'll be less intimidated by challenges. You'll have higher immune response. You'll be more alert and interested. You'll be more adventurous. You'll live longer. You'll be more likely to help others. You'll be more likable. You'll be more tolerant. You'll be a better boss or team leader. You just might do better on a test.

Wow! Let’s all be more grateful, or at least buy the book and read about it! If you have watched Inside Edition, it won’t surprise you that two of the people Norville interviews have experienced dramatic and traumatic events and managed to overcome adversity and be thankful just the same. Television loves drama so there is the woman who was attacked by a cougar while biking. Fortunately a friend was there to help save her from the jaws of death, for which she will always be grateful.

Then there is the young man who was attacked by a shark and lost his leg. He has been an inspiration to his family because of his amazingly positive and thankful outlook. It might be tempting to roll our eyes and say “here we go again!” There is a feel of the latest “self-help” cure-all, except that this is not new by any stretch of the imagination. Every major religion encourages gratitude on a personal basis and includes opportunities for thanksgiving into its worship life. As it happens, Ms. Norville is a Christian herself and a number of the people whose stories she tells have a deep faith.

Saying “thank you” is encouraged in our scriptures and we actually heard a passage from the gospel of Luke this morning which reminds us that Jesus recognized and encouraged gratitude. This is an excellent passage for the Sunday following Thanksgiving weekend because it is tempting to express our gratitude and then lie down until the feeling goes away, not unlike the way we cram down our Thanksgiving meals and then sleep it off.

The story we heard would actually have fit into Thank you Power quite well because it is very dramatic with a miracle of healing for those afflicted with the dreaded disease called leprosy. From ancient times to the present day, leprosy has been one of those scourges that had a life of its own. The terrible disfigurement which often results from the disease still leads to the sufferers being ostracized and quarantined. In the Middle Ages lepers were often required to wear a bell to warn others of their approach. The phrase “misery loves company” might have been invented for lepers who were forced to band together, as though they had only one identity.

In many cultures a spiritual connotation was attached to leprosy. Maybe they deserved their affliction and were being punished by God. So why not take a chance: “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” This is where the story takes a curious twist. Jesus sends them off to the priests to be certified clean and ready to re-enter society before they have actually been healed. They do as they as Jesus directs them and they are rewarded for their trust, but the story doesn’t stop there. Only 90% of them do as they are told.

One of these “no longer lepers” decides to disobey Jesus’ orders. He is an individual and he makes the individual choice to come back and yell in a loud voice “Wahoo! I’m healed. Thank you Jesus!”

To add to it all, this one is identified as even more of an outsider. He is a Samaritan who has learned the secret of gratitude and Jesus loves every minute of it. He tells this one, the one who has disobeyed, “your faith has made you well.”

Have you tapped into everyday Thank You Power? I say everyday Thank You Power because we generally don’t stand out in a crowd. Hands high if you know someone who has been mugged by a mountain lion? Lost a limb to a ferocious creature of any kind? Any lepers in the house?

While there are folk in our congregation who have gone through major challenges, most of us don’t have lives that are nearly that exciting and I’m sure we’re glad of it. Who needs that kind of notoriety? We are stuck with being regular folk who express our gratitude in regular ways – or at least we can if we choose. And it’s likely that learning how to be everyday thankful people which gets us through the big challenges of life. In fact the woman who was attacked by the cougar pointed out that it was her faith and her habit of counting her blessings in the little things that equipped her for the toughest challenge of her life.

Practice in the minor things, thank you power, so that when the big trial does hit, you have the practice, that kind of working out to strengthen the muscle, strengthen that positive thinking.

It is actually quite easy not be to be grateful for our blessings or even to realize that we have been blessed. A friend was telling me that his wife who works in the healthcare field received a raise recently. She and her colleagues have been seeking this wage increase for a long time and watched as others were rewarded twice or three times in contracts while they were passed by. When the raise finally happened they grumbled that it was “about time” and a lot more needed to happen before they reached parity. Then she realized that instead of being grateful for what she received and savouring the moment they were acting as though it was a big disappointment. While they supposedly got what they wanted, they decided the cup was half empty rather than half full. Fortunately she came to this realization.

Of course, life is often difficult and unfair and there can be seasons in our lives when saying “thank you” can seem next to impossible. When we hold up the cup, it isn’t a matter of half full or half empty. We are staring into the bottom in search of a drop or two. Resentment can build up over time toward our boss, our co-workers, our partner and family. We may end up asking God “why me!” If we are not careful, our spiritual nerve-endings atrophy and we end up with malformed spirits. We can get to the place where we no longer experience the positive effects of gratitude.

So what does it mean for Christians to live in the power of gratitude? With all due respect to Ms. Norville – after all, her book has got me thinking – the bible doesn’t suggest that gratitude is supposed to work for us, or at least not for us alone! Saying “thank you” is more than self-help. It is more than a science, as her title implies. It is the embodiment of grace received and grace given. It is God’s loving intention that we see the world through thankful eyes for the benefit of our spirits and for those around us.

In the story of the lepers they all head one way and then one of them changes direction, turns around and comes back to Jesus to say “thank you.” In a way this story invites all of us to “buck the trend,” to turn toward Christ in our “attitude of gratitude” rather than succumbing to the temptation of disfiguring dissatisfaction.

The wonderful thing about gratitude is that it is one of the most practical disciplines we can take on in our Christian walk. We can actually choose which direction we want to travel and make our way there in the best way we can.

I have been keeping a personal journal daily for more than twenty years and lately I have been taking a moment at the end of each entry to write down at least one thing I am grateful for in that day.

The psychologist Martin Seligman encourages people to make what he calls gratitude visits to those we have never thanked properly or fully or taken for granted. He suggests that we actually write out our testimonial to the person and then seek them out to read the tribute. Imagine what that would be like for the recipient.

It is one thing to identify the strengths and attributes of someone we love and respect. What about giving thanks in our hearts to those who rub us the wrong way or may have harmed us? In the beatitudes Jesus says “blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven . . . ” Okay, Jesus must have been having an off day! Seriously, would it help our healing and well-being to try to identify the positive attributes of those we are convinced have no good qualities whatsoever?

And of course we can always turn around and offer our gratitude to Jesus. Thank you Jesus for the times when you have been the light in our darkness. Thank you Jesus for the promise that we are loved and accepted whatever our faults. Thank you Jesus for our resurrection hope which overcomes the fear of death.

Our other reading today was from the apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. As best we know, Paul was near the end of his life when he wrote this and he was probably under house arrest with the prospect of execution. Despite this, Philippians has been called the letter of joy. As we heard, Paul encourages his friends to pray for joy and peace in their lives and to focus on what is true and honorable and worthy of praise. If we had continued on, we would have found these words:

for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

We are grateful today for the Christ who is Thank You Power.