Many assume that being a good person means earning God's favour - following rules, respecting authority, and saying the right prayers. But St Paul says otherwise - God saved us not because of any righteous actions we might have done, but because of His compassion. Respecting civil authority and being a good citizen, he says, are not the cause of God's mercy - they are the result of it. We are not saved because we behave; we behave because we have been saved freely.

The psalmist also reminds us that the Lord leads, restores and protects not because we are worthy or entitled, but because the Shepherd is good and gracious to begin with.

The same goes with the ten lepers. Jesus heals all of them, but only one - a Samaritan, a despised outsider - returns to thank Him. Jesus does not withhold healing from the ungrateful nine who believed they are entitled. But to the leper who gave thanks, Jesus praises his faith. This Samaritan leper knows that gratitude is not a contractual payment for grace. Gratitude is the recognition that grace has already been given. This is the faith that Jesus refers to. Together, these passages invite us to live as people shaped by the mercy of God. We give thanks not as a duty, but as the natural response of a heart that knows it has been saved - not by works, but by mercy.