Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and
our Lord Jesus Christ,
“Praise
waits for you, O God, in Zion.” King David, the psalm writer, describes the
position of God’s people before him. Because we are saved, we wait silently for
him to come to us. We are ready to offer him praise. We give him thanks. Thanksgiving
is part of every Christian’s life. Someone said that our thanks rise up
automatically from the spirit of joy that distinguishes God’s people. Our Heavenly
Father created us to rejoice in his works and to receive his gifts with humble
and hearty thanks. We thank him every day as well as on the special day that
comes once a year. It’s not hard to think of reasons to give thanks that we all
have in common – physical blessings such as a place to live, enough food to
eat, the benefits we receive from living in Canada. We give thanks for loving
friends and family and the support of a stable community. We thank God, too,
for his word, our faith, and the church. We thank him for his Son, who died for
our sins, and for the hope of eternal happiness in heaven. We thank him for the
willingness to hear our prayers and for the promise that he will sustain our
faith so that we don’t fear that we’ll lose hope tomorrow or fall into despair.
His blessings to us will continue and for this we give him thanks.
A
wiser Christian than I said that our thanks are echoes of the praise and thanks
that the heavenly choirs place before the throne of heaven. Our thanks come
from our close fellowship with the Lord. Thanksgiving completes our enjoyment
of God. When he commands us to thank him, the Father invites us to enjoy him.
Let’s
have a look for a moment at Psalm 65, which draws us into an atmosphere of
thanksgiving, for we have many of the same reasons for giving thanks as King
David. He praises God for the strength that created the mountains and the power
that quiets roaring seas and ends turmoil among nations. Storms come, but they
are the exception rather than the rule. God calls us away from harmful violence
to peace and rest in him; he quiets the ambitions of rulers and nations. We ask
him to bring peace where conflict and fighting are taking place. We’re grateful
for the Lord’s steadying hand. Without him, the turbulence of the world would
be much worse than it is.
David
thanked God for the care he gives to the land and the bounty he brings from the
earth. He described the prosperity of his own nation, Israel – an abundance of
rain, plentiful harvests, and enough grazing land for livestock. He said that
the meadows were covered with flocks and the valleys with grain. Then he tells
us that God thinks differently from the way we do.
Jesus
sees the parts of creation that seem speechless to us as shouting and singing
for joy. We can find the same picture in Psalm 96, “Let the seas resound...let
the fields be jubilant...then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy.” The
author of Psalm 148 invites the sun and moon and shining stars to praise God. “Praise
the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you
mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals, cattle,
small creatures and flying birds...let them praise the name of the Lord.”
We
could find quite a bit in the Toronto area to include in the list of thankful,
rejoicing nature – trees and parklands, rivers, one of the Great Lakes, a
wonderful zoo, sun and stars, clouds and rain, the four seasons, and lovely
twilights typical of northern places. To the eyes of God, all his creatures
praise and thank him and testify to his great power.
We
know from our own experience as well as the news that the world is fractured
and full of sin, but God sees all creation as unified under his rule through
the restoring work of Christ. The whole world exists because of his gracious
willingness to restore and renew. He sees in the unity he created a wonderful
hymn of praise and thanksgiving to him. God’s faithful people join all creation
in a chorus of thanksgiving. There is joy at the center of the universe, and
Jesus invites you and me, all people everywhere, to take part in it. He
delights in our praise and worship; the joy of his people pleases him. He is
happy with the gratitude that rises up to him even though we may be passing
through a time of trouble and testing. Paul once wrote that he was glad and
rejoiced even though he might be poured out as a sacrificial offering. The
thanksgiving of God’s Christian people that takes place every day soars above
trials and tribulations like fragrant smoke that rises above a pile of burning
leaves. We rejoice that God has given us the habit of thanks and praise. We
praise him for his plentiful supply. We thank him for Christ’s death and
resurrection, which brings hope and meaning to every moment of our lives.
The
thanksgiving of Christians expresses our faith that God is good and that he
brings plenty of good things and that he turns every evil into good in his own
way, not just in general but for ourselves, each one of us. The parable in this
morning’s gospel, however, gives an example of the opposite of faith and
thanksgiving. Some guests invited to a certain king’s wedding were too busy to
attend. They were absorbed in their own private affairs. Some even had murder
on their minds. They didn’t care that their king had honored them. The parable
draws a picture of the selfish world, with people wrapped up in comfort and
material gain, even to the point of committing a crime. Anyone who lives only
for material things builds a house on quicksand. No one can say when earthly
things will be taken away. Materialism dishonors God. It shrivels souls and
cheats neighbors and cancels the blessings of salvation, but God’s justice will
prevail. The parable reminds us that the Lord will reverse all wickedness on
the last day. Those who repent of their sins and keep the faith and live in
thanksgiving will receive an eternal reward. The rest will not, because it will
be too late. We are thankful that God sees things differently from worldly
minds. Faith toward him and love for our neighbors is what counts with him. He
sees deeply into every heart and rejoices when one of his own recognizes his or
her need and reaches out in faith to take hold of his promises.
What
a witness to God’s love his people make as we live day by day in faith. We are not perfect. We always need the
forgiveness he provides. At the same time, he uses our lives to make a
statement. Material things don’t shape us. Jesus does. He uses us to show that
even in a tarnished world it is possible to live for him and to be generous to
him even before we are generous to ourselves. He molds us so that materialism
doesn’t capture our souls. We don’t fret about nice things we may lack. Though
temptations abound, we don’t envy the rich or covet their worldly success. Jesus
teaches us how to be content with what we have. He forms us so that we don’t
respond to material things with greed for more, but with joy and thanksgiving.
How
easy it is to be caught in a conflict between desire for worldly goods and the
repose of spirit that brings thanksgiving. Jesus uses his thankful people to
help folks who are still struggling find the trust in God to let go of the
world. Without your knowing it, your spirit of praise and rejoicing may give
someone close to you just the environment he or she needs to seek God. We
testify that Jesus works miracles of contentment and thanksgiving even in
today’s world.
Jesus
once met a rich young man who wanted heaven but not at the expense of his good
life on earth. His soul was caught in a terrific tug of war. He needed God, but
it seemed impossible that he could ever live with him. Impossible for him, that
is, but not impossible for Christ. All things are possible with God. His people
give a witness to our neighbors that Jesus can solve all human dilemmas –
including those of the rich young man – by giving us faith in the value of his
life and death and resurrection.
It’s
not that we’re better than others but that we live in the assurance of our
Lord’s forgiveness. “Praise is due you, O God in Zion,” David wrote, “you who
hear prayer. To you shall all flesh come on account of sins. When our
transgressions prevail over us, you do forgive them.”
Heaven’s
pardon washes us clean every day: it renews us. The heavenly Father declares us
to be righteous in his sight because of Jesus’ death on the cross. He has
adopted us as his sons and daughters. David affirms that the people whom God
brings near him are blessed, and we are chiefly blessed because the good Lord
has brought us full and abundant lives through the gift of his forgiveness.
So,
to conclude, we remember that Thanksgiving as a holiday in North America began
among native people, and early Christian settlers adopted their custom. Our
thanks delight the Heavenly Father. Giving thanks helps to clear our brains and
free us from the vice of tunnel vision. The spirit of thanks lifts us up. It
works to strengthen our relationship with the Lord. The more we thank him, the
easier it becomes to give thanks. We find, like St. Paul, that we can thank him
in every situation. With the assurance that he will hear us, we ask the Lord
Jesus to lift us up and keep us his thankful people every day...day after day,
now and always. In his Name we rejoice. AMEN.
The
peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the
knowledge of Christ Jesus. AMEN.
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