Luke 17:11-16: in context

As Jesus travels toward Jerusalem, ten men with leprosy meet him, standing at a distance, and cry out, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. He tells them to go and show themselves to the priests; and as they go, they are cleansed. But only one of the ten, seeing that he is healed, turns back, praising God with a loud voice, and falls at Jesus' feet to thank him. And he was a Samaritan, a foreigner. Where, Jesus asks, are the other nine?

The detail that stands out is the arithmetic of gratitude: ten were healed, and one returned to give thanks. All ten had cried out for mercy; all ten received it; and nine of them, having gotten what they wanted, simply went on their way, never returning to thank the one who healed them. Only one came back, and he a foreigner, the least likely to be expected. Jesus notices the absence of the nine: were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? The question hangs, a gentle rebuke of the ingratitude that takes the gift and forgets the giver. There is a searching mirror here for our own hearts. Gratitude, it turns out, is rare, even among those who have received much. We are quick to ask God for what we need, to cry out for mercy in our trouble; and how often, when the mercy comes, do we simply move on, taking the gift and forgetting to return and thank the giver? Like the nine, we get what we wanted and go on our way, our prayers of request far outnumbering our prayers of thanks. The one who returned is held up as the exception, and the example: the one who, having received, came back to give thanks. It is worth asking which we are like, the nine or the one. Do we take God's gifts, his provisions, his answered prayers, his daily mercies, and move on without a backward glance, or do we return, like the Samaritan, to praise God and give thanks? In everything give thanks, Scripture urges; and the returning to give thanks is not a mere formality but the fitting response of a heart that recognizes the giver behind the gift. The nine were healed and forgot; the one was healed and remembered. May we be found among those who return to give thanks, not among the nine who took the mercy and forgot the merciful.

When God answers my prayers and gives me his mercies, am I like the nine, taking the gift and moving on without a backward glance, or like the one who returned, coming back to praise God and give thanks, recognizing the giver behind the gift and not merely taking his mercy and forgetting him?