This is Thanksgiving week. It is an important national holiday that speaks of American perseverance and survival. It also carries with it historical and spiritual significance for those of us who praise God through the Congregational Way. As my predecessor, Rev. Peay used to say, "Thanksgiving is the Congregational High Holy Day." This day is important to us because of what it represents³ freedom of religious expression, freedom to gather together around Christ and follow where the Spirit of God is leading, lives lived by faith and faith alone.
This year's four lectionary readings for Thanksgiving work together to paint for us a beautiful and inspiring picture of true thanksgiving. As we look at each reading, may our idea of the Christian life blossom and grow and may we ponder the meaning of Thanksgiving.
In Deuteronomy we hear the words of Moses to the people of Israel. Moses speaks words of warning and words of wisdom. You see, things are going pretty well for God's people right now. They are living lives that are comfortable and fulfilled. They have everything that they need. And because they have no worries, the people are tempted to think that they are self-sufficient, that they themselves are the cause of their abundance.
They have forgotten that God is the one who gave them the land, God is the one who has caused the land to be fruitful, God is the one who led them from slavery to freedom and provided them with food and water for sustenance. Remember, Moses is saying, that God is the one who has sustained you. God is the provider. Moses challenges the people. When you are comfortable and full, will you remember to praise God? Will you realize that God has made a covenant with you? The abundance that you are experiencing is proof that God is faithful to the covenant, Moses says. In face, the abundance we have is all God's. It belongs to God, and God shares it with us. Don't forget from whence your bounty comes.
Powerful words. Remember that God is the provider. Remember from where all good things come.
In our beautiful Psalm of Thanksgiving, Psalm 65, we hear King David offering thanksgiving to God for a bountiful harvest. David urges God's people to gather at the Temple to give thanks to God for the bounty that they have received. David is heeding Moses' lesson from Deuteronomy, that abundance belongs to God. But then, David adds another dimension to this song of praise. The final five verses of the psalm speak eloquently of the earth and God's interaction with it. David tells of the water that nourishes the ground and the growth that results. And, as David tells of the earth's abundance that provides the food for our sustenance, he broadens the picture by telling of the praise that the earth itself gives to God.
David reminds us that all of creation praises God and gives thanksgiving. Praise is what all of creation, earth and humanity, does to acknowledge that its very life comes from the Creator. We are not in this praise thing all alone. We join our voices in unison with all of God's creation to sing praise and tell of God's wonderful works.
David gives us another perspective to ponder as well. When describing the way that earth clothes itself in God's splendor, David seems to be saying that each act of creation is a new revelation from God, another affirmation of Godês covenant. Each time the grain grows, each time there is a shower to feed it, God is there, visiting us, acting in the life of all creation. Through the beauty found in the bounty of the earth, God is present. How can we help but praise our Creator?
In Luke, we read the story of the ten lepers who were healed by Jesus. Only one returns to Jesus to give thanks. The other nine obey Jesus and make their way to the priests. But there is one who is different, and he finds it necessary to give thanks. He is a foreigner, one who is an outsider to the culture not just because of his leprosy, but also because he is a Samaritan, one who is not welcome among the Jews.
Jesus seems to be telling us here that following Jesus is about more than just obedience. Remember, the other nine did as Jesus asked. They obeyed. But, following Jesus is about Thanksgiving as well. It is about acknowledging that Jesus is the maker of miracles, the one who heals, the one who gifts us with wholeness. When Jesus says to the thankful leper, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well," He is saying that the leper is saved. Because of his faith, the leper is gifted with salvation. Obedience and Thanksgiving³predecessors to the gift of salvation, ways of responding to God's action in our lives that are pleasing to God.
When we hear the beautiful words of 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, it is as if we are given an instruction manual on how to respond to God's gift of abundance in our lives. Responding to God's abundance to us is about obedience and thanksgiving, but it is also about the generosity that we show to other and the attitude with which we give.
It is like a chain reaction, Paul says. God give abundantly to us, we then share with others abundantly. Because of our generosity, there is more thanksgiving focused toward God. Paul says that when you do a good deed for someone else and share God's love with them, it doesn't end there. Abundance begets our generosity and thanksgiving. Generosity begets thanksgiving, which then begets more and more thanksgiving. Because of God's works of grace in our lives, we are empowered to give and to love, which results in others becoming aware of God's works of grace. The circle gets bigger and bigger. It is contagious.
Abundance belongs to God. We share in God's abundance. We join with all of creation to praise and give thanks. We respond with obedience and thanksgiving. We are then generous toward others. There is more abundance from God and more thanksgiving from us. That is the picture that has been painted for us. That is how it works, the Bible says.
When we praise our Creator through the act of worship, we give thanksgiving. But there is more to it than that. In our reformed way of thinking about God and our relationship with God, we no longer make sacrifices before an altar. We do not slaughter animals to lay before God, or take an offering from our harvest. We believe that Jesus has made the only sacrifice that is necessary, that when Christ died on the cross for us, the last sacrifice was given.
So, instead of an altar in our sanctuary, we have a communion table. We join with Christ at the table that feeds us. And, instead of giving sacrifices to an altar, we are asked to give our very lives to our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are given the opportunity to dedicate our very selves to God. That is our thanksgiving offering.
20th Century contemplative and prolific author Thomas Merton says of God's abundance toward us, "It is what God has given me, in order that I might give it back to Him." There is a purpose to God's generosity. Our scriptures tell us that the reason to give is that God has given to us. As 2 Corinthians, chapter 9 concludes, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" That gift is Christ on the Cross, who died for us; Christ Risen, that we might live with him. May our lives become gifts of thanksgiving to God, from whom all blessings flow. Amen.
Peace,
Rev. Cynthia Bacon
Minister
You may email at:
cbacon@heritagemadison.org
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