Ten lepers were cured, but only one came back.  How is that for ingratitude.  Surely - I would never do that.  When I read the story of the ten lepers that were healed – that is what I think.  I would be that one.  But would I be?

Listening to the homily at Mass, the answer and the insight struck me – the opposite of gratitude is not ingratitude.  It is resentment.  It is pettiness.  It is misery.  The opposite of thanksgiving is not unthankfullness.  It is conceit.  It is haughtiness.  It is snobbery.  It is miserliness.

It is easy to be resentful.  In the consumeristic culture that we live in today, it is easy to let greed take control.  It is easy to look at our neighbors, or friends, our co-workers, our hero’s, or even our adversaries, and ask ourselves, why don’t I have what they have?  Why don’t I deserve the cars, or the houses, or the boats, or the vacations, or friends, or courage, or strength, or athletic ability?

It is easy to be petty.  They forgot my birthday.  They never call.  They didn’t stop to see me.  They never invite me to a game.  It is easy to see others happiness when we wallow in our own misery.  They have all the friends.  They have all of the influence.  They have all of fun.

Life wasn’t made to be easy.

Think of all of the people that have no homes, no cars, no food on the table.  Think of all of the people that do not have family, or friends, or hope.  Think of all of the people that seem happy – with their friends, and their influence, their families, and their money.  But we do not see the struggles that they endure.  The hurts.  The anguish.  The demons that they battle in private.

We all struggle.  We all fight our own demons.  We all live in fear of loneliness.  In fear of worthlessness.  In fear of being left to a life not worth living.

That is the easy way.

Think of how our perspective changes when we look at being grateful for what we have.  I don’t have what my neighbors have – but what I have is enough.  I don’t have the great vacations or trips – but I have a loving family to go home to, or a special place that brings me peace.

It is about changing our perspectives.  It is easy to be resentful.  It is easy to be petty.  It is easy to be conceited.  Our lives were not meant to be easy.  We were meant to choose the better way – not the easy way.

As we celebrate this Thanksgiving – let us chose wisely - today, and the rest of our lives.  May we always have that spirit of gratitude in our hearts.

You are going all the way to Illinois to see some people that you went to college with and a football game?

Darn right I am.

Fifty-five degrees. Sunshine. A slight breeze. The leaves were turning. The smell and the feel of autumn hung in the air. The last leaves of corn were blowing through the air and through the stadium.

This was perfect football weather.

The University of Illinois Fighting Illini and the Northwestern University Wildcats were playing the last game of the season. My class was celebrating their reunion. The weather was perfect for both.

While the stadium is under construction and Chief Illiniwek have been retired, the basic look and feel haven’t changed. There were the good plays and the bad plays. The old alumni and fans cheering on the team and the students just there for the good time. The college friends standing in a row and singing along to the “Alma Mater.” Still the young couples kissing after a good play.

The people too have changed, just like the stadium and the names on the jerseys. Some are still single. Some are married. Some have children. Some are working. Some are building their own businesses.

Perhaps more striking is the fact that the people are still basically the same. Wiser perhaps. More world-weary, perhaps more cynical. Maybe just plain tired.

While nature may have bowed us under her constant pressure of work and family, the basic goodness is still there. The reasons that drew us all together so many years ago, our diverse band of scholars setting out to change the world while so very different, are really not that different at all.

That was the truth then, and that is the truth now.

We might hail from Sweden and France, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, small town and big city – but the basic human goodness that was there all those years ago is still there.

The football game was good. The reunion was great. The people – the people were the best of all.

I’ve never regretted a trip that revolved around friends.