Sermon: Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving Day B

November 21, 2012

Matt 6:25-33

1 Tim 2:1-7, Joel 2:21-27

  

         As some of you know, I spent a year of my life living in a village in Slovakia as a missionary. I struggled that year to learn the language, a language with complex grammar and too many consonants, and I quickly learned to cling to those few words and phrases I knew very well. One that I learned early on was “neboj sa!” Don’t worry! It’s not one I would immediately think to be very common, but it does pop up more than I realized: when someone is upset, when someone apologizes, when I want to simply say, “It’s no big deal,” neboj sa, don’t worry is what comes out of my mouth.

         It’s a common phrase to say in English too, of course. It must be because worry is so very prevalent in our world, so the simple suggestion to NOT worry seems appropriate in many situations. It’s so easy to worry, to take 3 or 4 steps down the road and try to anticipate the unknown. As soon as we feel we don’t have as much control in a situation as we would like to, worry is often the first place we go. Oh, we all know how much good it does – that is, no good at all. Even Jesus’ words in our Gospel lesson from Matthew remind us that worrying doesn’t do much good. Jesus wisely asks us, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” Well no, of course not! And studies show that in fact the opposite is true, that worry causes stress that decreases one’s lifespan! And yet, neither the wisdom of modern science nor the wisdom of Jesus himself can pull us out of our desperate tendency to worry.

         I would love to just tell you, “Don’t worry! Trust, and God will take care of it!” and believe everything would be fine. Truth is, that probably won’t stop very many of us from worrying! So instead, let’s try to understand some ways to overcome our inevitable worry when we feel it creeping into our hearts and minds, so that it doesn’t keep such a grip on us.

         So how can we overcome worry? The key statement Jesus makes in our Gospel lesson this evening is at the very end: “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” It’s sort of an, “If you build it, they will come,” mentality, but in this case, it is, “Strive for the kingdom of God, and the rest will follow.” Well in order to strive for something, we need to know what we’re striving for. So the first question we have to ask ourselves, then, is: what is the kingdom of God?

         Our other texts for today give us some insight into this. One thing about the kingdom of God: it is a time and place where God’s abundance is clear to all, and where we all trust enough to rely on that abundance. Our passage from Joel speaks of a time of true abundance, where God has made every tree to bear fruit, and rain to come down. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,” he says, “and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.”

It is hard to imagine a time like this when you consider that half of the world’s population doesn’t have proper access to clean water, or that every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger. It’s hard to imagine when you see how many people in our communities are served by our food cupboards. Certainly, these are things to worry about! But trusting in this promise of abundance from God is the first step – at the very least, it offers hope in times of despair. At best, it draws us closer to God in trust, and encourages us to work toward that goal. It gives us direction, an ideal to work toward, and the hope and strength to achieve that ideal that is the kingdom of God.

         In this time around Thanksgiving Day, we think a lot about abundance. Especially around stewardship season, we often talk about the difference between an attitude of abundance and an attitude of scarcity. An attitude of scarcity tells us that whatever we have, it’s never quite enough. An attitude of abundance relishes in the many gifts we have been given, and opens our hearts to sharing those gifts. That year I spent in Slovakia, I lived out of one and a half suitcases for the whole year. I would sometimes wear just one or two outfits the whole week – which felt just fine because that’s what everyone else did. Now back in the States, I have a lot more than one suitcase worth of clothes, and yet I never seem to have just the article of clothing that I need. How can that be, when I have many times more options than I did that year in Slovakia? That’s the difference, see, between an attitude of scarcity and an attitude of abundance. In an attitude of abundance, I was glad to have a coat to keep me warm, and pants that fit and roughly matched my shirt. When I have much, I need much more to keep myself satisfied.

         Timothy also offers us important instruction on how to strive for the kingdom of God in our second lesson. He writes, “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” Prayer is a powerful thing. It can be a very transformative thing in many ways. I am struck in Timothy’s words by his specification to pray for kings and those in high positions. How many of you pray regularly for our president? Regardless of who the president is or what party he represents, we tend to hear a lot more slander than we do praise of our president, or any political leader for that matter. It is easy to make political leaders the enemy, if they fall at all short of perfection, or if they’re not doing things exactly like we want them to be done. But Timothy says we should pray for everyone, even our political leaders, even – and maybe, especially – if we don’t agree with them. I don’t mean pray that they would change. I mean pray for them, for the their health, their well-being, that they would be guided by God’s will. This, he writes, is “so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” This is another aspect of the kingdom of God for which Jesus urges us to strive: to lead a peaceable life. And when you pray for your enemies, for people that cause you frustration or even anger, it may or may not change them, but it certainly changes you. It is hard to hate someone for whom you pray regularly. And doing away with hate and living peaceably – that is certainly a part of the kingdom of God.

On this Eve of Thanksgiving, what if we took this to another level: what if we not only prayed for, but gave thanks for our enemies? What if we gave thanks for the things that cause us worry or distress? In the book The Hiding Place, Corrie and her sister Betsy find themselves in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Living in tight, flea-infested barracks, it is hard to be thankful for anything, but one day, they begin listing all the things they DO have to be thankful for. They are thankful to be together, assigned to the same barracks. They are thankful that they still have their Bible, and are able to bring those words of hope to so many of their fellow prisoners. They are thankful for the daily worship services they are able to lead in their flea-filled barracks. Now on a roll, Betsy gives thanks for the fleas, too! Corrie is doubtful that this is truly something to be thankful for… until they realize that the reason they are able to hold their worship services and read their Bible at all is that none of the guards want to step foot in that overcrowded, flea-infested place. Because of the fleas, they are afforded some small amount of privacy they would not otherwise have had. Had they not prayed in thanksgiving for those annoying little fleas, their hearts would not have been opened to the possibility that God was blessing them so richly.

         This is how prayer, and especially prayers of thanksgiving, work, and how God works through prayers. When we are thankful, when we foster an attitude of abundance instead of scarcity, when we see the work God already does in our lives, we allow our hearts to be opened to that work. When we dwell on worry, or on hate, or on all that we do not have, our hearts are closed, and we cannot see God’s abundance. Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful reminder for us to give thanks – not just for the obvious gifts and abundance God has poured on us, but also for those things that are difficult to understand, that cause us to worry.

         Worry is inevitable. But it need not keep its grip on us. “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” Jesus tells us, “and all [that you need] will be given to you as well.” This Thanksgiving – and every day, for that matter – I hope you will find a way to give thanks not only for the abundance God has provided, but also for the worries, the distress, the fleas that you find in your life.

Let us pray. God of all grace and abundance, we give you thanks this day for our many blessings, and we give thanks for the many things in this life that challenge us. Guide us to see your love in all things, and help us to live fully in your abundance and strive to live peaceably in your kingdom.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.Thanksgiving Day B

November 21, 2012

Matt 6:25-33

1 Tim 2:1-7, Joel 2:21-27

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

         As some of you know, I spent a year of my life living in a village in Slovakia as a missionary. I struggled that year to learn the language, a language with complex grammar and too many consonants, and I quickly learned to cling to those few words and phrases I knew very well. One that I learned early on was “neboj sa!” Don’t worry! It’s not one I would immediately think to be very common, but it does pop up more than I realized: when someone is upset, when someone apologizes, when I want to simply say, “It’s no big deal,” neboj sa, don’t worry is what comes out of my mouth.

         It’s a common phrase to say in English too, of course. It must be because worry is so very prevalent in our world, so the simple suggestion to NOT worry seems appropriate in many situations. It’s so easy to worry, to take 3 or 4 steps down the road and try to anticipate the unknown. As soon as we feel we don’t have as much control in a situation as we would like to, worry is often the first place we go. Oh, we all know how much good it does – that is, no good at all. Even Jesus’ words in our Gospel lesson from Matthew remind us that worrying doesn’t do much good. Jesus wisely asks us, “Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” Well no, of course not! And studies show that in fact the opposite is true, that worry causes stress that decreases one’s lifespan! And yet, neither the wisdom of modern science nor the wisdom of Jesus himself can pull us out of our desperate tendency to worry.

         I would love to just tell you, “Don’t worry! Trust, and God will take care of it!” and believe everything would be fine. Truth is, that probably won’t stop very many of us from worrying! So instead, let’s try to understand some ways to overcome our inevitable worry when we feel it creeping into our hearts and minds, so that it doesn’t keep such a grip on us.

         So how can we overcome worry? The key statement Jesus makes in our Gospel lesson this evening is at the very end: “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” It’s sort of an, “If you build it, they will come,” mentality, but in this case, it is, “Strive for the kingdom of God, and the rest will follow.” Well in order to strive for something, we need to know what we’re striving for. So the first question we have to ask ourselves, then, is: what is the kingdom of God?

         Our other texts for today give us some insight into this. One thing about the kingdom of God: it is a time and place where God’s abundance is clear to all, and where we all trust enough to rely on that abundance. Our passage from Joel speaks of a time of true abundance, where God has made every tree to bear fruit, and rain to come down. “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,” he says, “and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.”

It is hard to imagine a time like this when you consider that half of the world’s population doesn’t have proper access to clean water, or that every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger. It’s hard to imagine when you see how many people in our communities are served by our food cupboards. Certainly, these are things to worry about! But trusting in this promise of abundance from God is the first step – at the very least, it offers hope in times of despair. At best, it draws us closer to God in trust, and encourages us to work toward that goal. It gives us direction, an ideal to work toward, and the hope and strength to achieve that ideal that is the kingdom of God.

         In this time around Thanksgiving Day, we think a lot about abundance. Especially around stewardship season, we often talk about the difference between an attitude of abundance and an attitude of scarcity. An attitude of scarcity tells us that whatever we have, it’s never quite enough. An attitude of abundance relishes in the many gifts we have been given, and opens our hearts to sharing those gifts. That year I spent in Slovakia, I lived out of one and a half suitcases for the whole year. I would sometimes wear just one or two outfits the whole week – which felt just fine because that’s what everyone else did. Now back in the States, I have a lot more than one suitcase worth of clothes, and yet I never seem to have just the article of clothing that I need. How can that be, when I have many times more options than I did that year in Slovakia? That’s the difference, see, between an attitude of scarcity and an attitude of abundance. In an attitude of abundance, I was glad to have a coat to keep me warm, and pants that fit and roughly matched my shirt. When I have much, I need much more to keep myself satisfied.

         Timothy also offers us important instruction on how to strive for the kingdom of God in our second lesson. He writes, “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” Prayer is a powerful thing. It can be a very transformative thing in many ways. I am struck in Timothy’s words by his specification to pray for kings and those in high positions. How many of you pray regularly for our president? Regardless of who the president is or what party he represents, we tend to hear a lot more slander than we do praise of our president, or any political leader for that matter. It is easy to make political leaders the enemy, if they fall at all short of perfection, or if they’re not doing things exactly like we want them to be done. But Timothy says we should pray for everyone, even our political leaders, even – and maybe, especially – if we don’t agree with them. I don’t mean pray that they would change. I mean pray for them, for the their health, their well-being, that they would be guided by God’s will. This, he writes, is “so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.” This is another aspect of the kingdom of God for which Jesus urges us to strive: to lead a peaceable life. And when you pray for your enemies, for people that cause you frustration or even anger, it may or may not change them, but it certainly changes you. It is hard to hate someone for whom you pray regularly. And doing away with hate and living peaceably – that is certainly a part of the kingdom of God.

On this Eve of Thanksgiving, what if we took this to another level: what if we not only prayed for, but gave thanks for our enemies? What if we gave thanks for the things that cause us worry or distress? In the book The Hiding Place, Corrie and her sister Betsy find themselves in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Living in tight, flea-infested barracks, it is hard to be thankful for anything, but one day, they begin listing all the things they DO have to be thankful for. They are thankful to be together, assigned to the same barracks. They are thankful that they still have their Bible, and are able to bring those words of hope to so many of their fellow prisoners. They are thankful for the daily worship services they are able to lead in their flea-filled barracks. Now on a roll, Betsy gives thanks for the fleas, too! Corrie is doubtful that this is truly something to be thankful for… until they realize that the reason they are able to hold their worship services and read their Bible at all is that none of the guards want to step foot in that overcrowded, flea-infested place. Because of the fleas, they are afforded some small amount of privacy they would not otherwise have had. Had they not prayed in thanksgiving for those annoying little fleas, their hearts would not have been opened to the possibility that God was blessing them so richly.

         This is how prayer, and especially prayers of thanksgiving, work, and how God works through prayers. When we are thankful, when we foster an attitude of abundance instead of scarcity, when we see the work God already does in our lives, we allow our hearts to be opened to that work. When we dwell on worry, or on hate, or on all that we do not have, our hearts are closed, and we cannot see God’s abundance. Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful reminder for us to give thanks – not just for the obvious gifts and abundance God has poured on us, but also for those things that are difficult to understand, that cause us to worry.

         Worry is inevitable. But it need not keep its grip on us. “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” Jesus tells us, “and all [that you need] will be given to you as well.” This Thanksgiving – and every day, for that matter – I hope you will find a way to give thanks not only for the abundance God has provided, but also for the worries, the distress, the fleas that you find in your life.

Let us pray. God of all grace and abundance, we give you thanks this day for our many blessings, and we give thanks for the many things in this life that challenge us. Guide us to see your love in all things, and help us to live fully in your abundance and strive to live peaceably in your kingdom.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.