THANKSGIVING EVE - Deuteronomy 8:1-2, 6-10, 17-20; Psalm 65; James 1:17-18; Matthew 6:25-33 - A homily given by the Rev. Peter Munson for Christ the Servant Lutheran Church and St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

 

Life Is Thanksgiving

 

INTRODUCTION

 

It doesn’t matter if you were raised as a Jew, as a Muslim, as a Buddhist, as a Hindu, or as someone in a family with no religious practice. It doesn’t matter if you’re a “cradle Lutheran” or a “cradle Episcopalian” or a Roman Catholic or someone like me, who grew up in three different Protestant traditions. It doesn’t matter if you grew up in Asia or Europe or Africa or Australia or North or South America. At some point in your childhood, your mom or dad, or both of them, probably hovered over you, when you had just been given something, and if you hesitated for even a nanosecond, you heard, “What do you say?” And you said, “Thank you.” Or, if you were a little rebel or a little shy, and you didn’t say those magic words, you heard about it afterwards. And then, if your parents were anything like mine, the clock starting running, and the thank you notes appeared on the counter, and within a certain amount of time, when you asked if you could go somewhere, you heard, “Only after you have written those thank you notes!”

 

So what’s the deal? Is this just about wanting our children to have good manners? Well sure, I suppose we’d all prefer that our children have good manners. But something much deeper than that is going on here. Parents are hoping and praying that something grows and keeps growing in their children - a stance towards life, really. It is hoped that we will develop an appreciation of any and all blessings that come our way, for “every generous act of giving”, and every perfect gift, which all originate in the Father of lights, as James puts it. Our parents are praying that we will develop an attitude of gratitude, and no, you don’t have to be a Christian to be grateful.

 

GIVING THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

 

You do have to cultivate a certain discipline, though. It may not be the most rigorous discipline, as far as spiritual disciplines go. You just have to have the capacity to stop once in a while, even for a few moments, and reflect on your life. If we do that, no matter what our background, no matter what our wounds might be, no matter what the circumstances of our life might be in that moment, we can always find things to be thankful for. That is why I love this service so much. Whether Dan preaches or I preach or someone else preaches, that person only begins the sermon. The sermon, the real sermon, is given when we all write down all the things that we are thankful for, and it is our great privilege, as clergy, to read those out loud, and share them with everyone here. And we are all reminded of all that there is to be thankful for. More than that, the generosity that is demonstrated to us by God and by other people inspires us to be generous people, people who love and give as we have been loved and given to.

 

Paul challenges us to “give thanks in all circumstances”(1 Thessalonians 5:18). Rather than seeing that as some sort of impossible obligation, or something we should do so that we can be thought of as having good manners, maybe we should see it as a path to deeper relationships, as a path to wholeness, and as a path to joy.

 

Ten lepers sought out Jesus, seeking his mercy and his healing touch. He told them to go and show themselves to the priests, and as they went, they were all made clean. Nine continued on their way. One of them, a Samaritan, stopped - stopped long enough to take in what had just happened to him - and made a u-turn. After shouting out to God in praise, he went back and fell at Jesus’ feet, and thanked him. Jesus, commending the man for his faith, indicated that his thankfulness had something to do with his healing. Jesus also said, “But the other nine, where are they?”

 

OUR LIFE

 

We are here tonight to say that we want to be more conscious and grateful than that. We are here to say, in effect, “I want to be in the company of that healed Samaritan leper.”

 

I love Thanksgiving. There is something so simple and basic about it. Stop. Take some time to give thanks. But if you think about it, what we do at Thanksgiving time should not be a huge departure from what we do the rest of the year. It is no accident that a big part of our prayer time, whether individually or corporately, is spent in giving thanks. It is no accident that a huge theme in our worship - whenever we worship - is giving thanks. It is no accident that one of the words we use to describe Holy Communion is eucharist, which means thanksgiving.

 

We can worry about our lives, if we choose to. That was something Jesus saw a lot of people doing, evidently. You can worry about what you should wear or what you should eat or drink, or what your body looks like, or whether your money is going to last as long as you do. Or, he says, you can let go of that worrying business, and reflect on all that God provides for you - your very life and health, the people in your life, your job, your house, the earth that provides the food and water that we need, your church community - all of it.

 

Sometimes, when we start giving thanks, I get the impression that we could go on forever. You know what? Not only could we go on forever, but we will. That’s part of what we’re called to do, as people of faith. We are to keep on giving thanks to God, always and forever. It is our privilege to be able to do so. More than that, though, it is a stance towards life. Life is thanksgiving. All of life, if we really live it, is about the offering of eucharist, offering our thanks and ourselves to God and to others, in the same way that the Lord offers himself to us.

 

I’m going to stop now. Thank you for being here tonight. I am really looking forward to the rest of the sermon. May you and your loved ones enjoy a blessed Thanksgiving, and may you keep offering your thanks and your love - tomorrow, yes, and for the rest of your lives.