Be The One, Give Thanks

A group of men, sat on rocks, in small clusters, some were telling stories of their families others, looked longingly out across the hills of Jerusalem to a city they could not enter. Unclean, the title that shattered their lives separating them from their families, work, homes, and Temple worship. One of the men looked at the open sores on his hands, knowing that in time, the leprosy would take his fingers, as well as, infect other parts of his body. With little to no hope the men exist from day to day by the support of family and mercy of others.

One of the men spotted a small group traveling, and as they approached he recognized this rabbi, the teacher who many said healed the sick. Getting the attention of the other men, they stood and called out “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” The rabbi stopped, turned and his companions quieted as he gazed upon the pain, loss of dignity, and hopelessness expressed across their faces. With his hopeful command “Go, show yourselves to the priests”, the words prompted all ten men to walk, some faster than others, to the city.

As they traveled, their steps quickened, their backs straightened, their strength returned, and their skin was renewed. No sores, no pain, no disease, means a life restored with family, work, dignity, and they are men once again. Rejoicing some quicken their pace, others stop to show their restored skin to one another, but one man turns back and leaves the group.

He sees the Rabbi in the distance and emotion springs forth as he shouts praises to God. The lone leper, a Samaritan, falls at Jesus’ feet and thanks him, tears flow from a life fully restored. Jesus looks into the hearts and thoughts of his traveling companions and asks, “Were not all ten cleansed?” Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Turning back to the man he softly commends, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Paraphrased from Luke 17:11-19

Charles L Brown asks the question, why did only one cleansed leper return to thank Jesus? He gave a list of nine suggested reasons why the nine did not return:

One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, “O, well, Jesus didn’t really do anything.”
One said, “Any rabbi could have done it.”
One said, “I was already much improved.”

In our season of Thanksgiving, we celebrate the joy of family, the comfort of material blessings, health and enjoyment of life, but let’s not forget the lesson of the lone, Samaritan who fell at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. Turn back, pause, in your celebrations this week, fall at Jesus’ feet and in everything give thanks to God.

Who Are Our Veterans?

Who are our veterans? On 11-11-11 we remember the men and women present and throughout our history that sacrificed for our liberty and security of our nation. From the undermanned Patriot Freedom Fighters, to the underappreciated Vietnam Veterans to our present soldiers serving we honor you. Who are the vets that we honor today? The truth is only you can share their story of who they are in remembrance or in gratitude. The Vets I honor today are my father and brother.

My father, Staff Sergeant, Jerry Koetitz served as an Air Operations Specialist during the Vietnam War stationed in Tennessee (where I was born) and Thailand. Today as a semi-retired minister and doting grandfather his gentle and affable spirit is a joy to be around. I am sure that raising five boys was his greatest challenge in life (we gave him plenty) and I have the war stories to prove it. I remember one hot summer day in Rhame, ND as a bored teen, I saw several five gallon buckets of paint sitting in the garage. So without asking I grabbed a brush and began painting the exterior of our house. Mid-way through I came to my senses and asked Dad if that was okay. Each of us have given him his battle scars like driving a station wagon full of screaming girls through a garage, or wrapping his mini-van around a tree, playing baseball in the house, setting bologna on fire on the kitchen floor, or bringing home a live turkey for Thanksgiving. I am surprised he is still with us.

My brother, 1st Lt. Jon-Mark Koetitz is currently serving in Afghanistan as a C-130 pilot in the Air National Guard. He is a devoted husband and engaging brother and friend. His magnetic personality draws others around him with warmth, joy and wit. I remember his basic training began in Kindergarten during the winter in N.D. I had him put on his snow suit with gloves and boots and I grabbed my BB Gun. Outside in the snow, I had my little brothers practice their running, ducking and rolling to evade enemy fire. Training went well as I heard the “puffs” of my BB’s zing off their snow suits as they darted from the house to the fence, till Jon-Mark let out a howl in pain. He was wounded by enemy fire as a BB hit his skin in between his mittens and his snow suit. Drill Sergeant Mom put an end to this basic training exercise. I know my little brother will sit by himself at the dinning room table in defiance at not eating his vegetables…even as an adult. He doesn’t like to search for leftovers in the fridge, but he enjoys surfing in So. Cal and snowboarding pristine mountain slopes.

Who are our honored veterans? They are brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, grandfathers, grandmothers with a story of life. They have battle scars, some from the engagement in war and some from us. They also celebrate victories and pride in their service to our nation, and in their shared lives with each one of us. Today, I honor two veterans who are close to me and I say “Thank you Dad, Thank you Jon-Mark” for your service and sacrifice to keep our nation strong and free and for your love and friendship. I am proud of you.

Till Death Do Us Part

“Till death do us part”, we state in our marriage vows full of hope and expectation. The reality for many couples is they have lost that hope. The joy, the strength, the reliance upon one another and the hope of a life-time commitment seems like a fading mist in the memory of their wedding day. A couple of weeks ago there was a news story of a couple that swept through our nation that reminded me of my commitment “Till death do us part”.

KCCI News in Iowa reported the story of an elderly couple that had been hospitalized after a car accident, News Story.  They were given a room together with beds side-by-side and sadly both were very weak. Gordon Yeager (94) and his wife Norma (90), had been married 72 years and as their bodies weakened he held Norma’s hand till his breathing stopped. As the nurses attended to him the heart monitor still registered a heartbeat. It was Norma’s pulse through his hand. Still holding hands, exactly one hour later Norma passed from this life. “Till death do us part”, Gordon and Norma give us a tender, tearful, but hopeful example of what those words really mean.

If we were to interview Gordon and Norma and listen as they shared what their 72 years together were like, I think we would hear about times of joy and celebration, times of pain and struggle, times when they were close, times when they weren’t, but through it all they never let go. They never let go. Only after both had taken their last breath did their grip loosen. "They just loved being together," Dennis Yeager [their son] said. "He always said, 'I can't go until she does because I gotta stay here for her.' And she would say the same thing." Our Heavenly Father saw their love and called them home together.

When I heard this tender story of life-long love, I reached for Charlene’s hand. While we were sitting on the couch holding hands I wasn’t paying attention to the kids or what was on the TV, but engrossed in my thoughts of how petty and self-centered I can be in our marriage. I think it is safe to say that when we allow disappointments and struggles in marriage to fester over time in self-centeredness that’s when our grip begins to loosen. Thanks to Gordon and Norma I was reminded of my vows and to never, never, never let go…“till death do us part”.

“My Lover is mine and I am his…when I found the one my heart loves, I held him and would not let him go.” Song of Solomon 2:16, 3:4

“How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh how beautiful!” Song of Solomon 4:1