While journeying to Jerusalem, Jesus was approached by ten lepers who asked him to have pity on them. He responded to their request with healing but only one came back to thank him. How important is grati- tude in the life of a follower of Jesus? Why does thankfulness matter? Does it change our sense of per- spective and purpose as well as our understanding of God’s love? This story gives us a glimpse into ways we can have grateful hearts and live in such a way that each day is a gift to be received.

In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts re- ceived, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of grati- tude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a g!ift to be celebrated with joy. — Henri J M Nouwen

Grateful Hearts

Even though the angel came and announced to Mary that she was going to give birth to the
Son of God, and even though she responded with full submission, she didn’t start rejoicing
and singing until she fellowshipped with her cousin Elizabeth. It is often in the context of
community that we see what God is doing more clearly, and the penny drops.
She delighted and rejoiced in God because she saw the good news of what God had done for
her. She saw that God was extending mercy to those who are humble but scattering those
who are proud. She saw that God was turning everything upside down. She was utterly
captivated by the beauty of what God was doing in her life, in society, and in history.

Mary's Song

New City Church of Los Angeles is a multi-ethnic, multi-socioeconomic Christian church in downtown LA. We are a diverse and inclusive community seeking to be like Jesus.  We have roughly equal numbers of Blacks, Whites, Asians, and Latinos; about a third of us come from Skid Row, and the rest come from downtown lofts and outside of downtown; we are families, singles, and kids, Democrats and Republicans, gay and straight, poor and rich, moral and loose. At New City, we believe in not judging anyone because we know that we ourselves are more flawed and broken than we know—yet more loved and accepted by God through Jesus than we ever thought possible!  So, come as you are!

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