Ten men with leprosy stand at a distance and call for mercy, and Jesus sends them to the priests; as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, seeing he was healed, turns back, praising God in a loud voice, and he was a Samaritan.

Were not all ten cleansed? Jesus asks. Where are the other nine? Today is a day to turn around and come back with your thanks.

Ten received the same mercy; one let the mercy turn him around. Gratitude, in Luke's telling, is not politeness; it is the completion of the miracle, the difference between being cleansed and being made well at the feet of the Healer. And the returner was the outsider, again, the Samaritan who had the least religious training and the most working thankfulness.

Joshua's king-list and the psalm's sparrow both preach the same practice: count what God has actually done, line by line, and come back to say so. Make today a returning day. Name ten mercies out loud, then bring yourself, loudly if you like, back to His feet. The Valley of Baka turns to springs under grateful feet.