Good Shepherd Lutheran Church(elca)

Following Christ, Growing in Faith, Sharing God's Love

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Thanksgiving

Pastor: 
Pr. John Gerike
Sermon: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Eve
November 24, 2011
 
 
(Thanksgiving—
            --people.
                        We decided to leave up the All Saints’ crosses.
                                    And those relationships that continue on earth.
            We give thanks for gifts God has given us.
                        What is it you give thanks for this year?
                                    Turn and share that with 1 or 2 or 3 others.)
 
 
Give thanks to the Lord,
            for God is good;
                        God’s love endures forever.
 
That’s from Psalm 136.
            It starts with these words:
                        “Give thanks.”
 
 
Notice, it doesn’t say:
            “Give thanks when things are good.”
 It doesn’t say:
            “Give thanks when everything is going your way.”
 It doesn’t say:
            “Give thanks when you have everything things are good.”
 It doesn’t say:
            “Give thanks when everything is going your way.”
 It doesn’t say:
            “Give thanks when you have everything your way.”
 
It says:
            “Give thanks to the Lord,
                        for God is good.”
 
Give thanks at all times.
            For God is good.
 
 
 
 
 
I was reading an article about life struggles—
            --talking about a man who learned the lesson
                        that thanksgiving doesn’t depend on everything going right.
 
When he was 7 years old,
            his family was forced out of their home.
When he was 9,
            his mother died.
When he was 20,
            he lost his job.
                        He wanted to go to law school,
                                    but—at that point—didn’t have the necessary education.
At age 28,
            after courting a girl for 4 years,
                        asked her to marry him.
            She said no.
At age 37,
            on his 3rd try,
                        he was elected to Congress.
                                    But then didn’t get re-elected.
He lost a young son.
He ran for the Senate,
            and lost.
He ran for vice-president,
            and lost.
 
But at age 51,
            he was elected president of the United States.
 
 
Not that all his problems ended there.
            Ruth and I visited Springfield, Illinois,
                        earlier this fall.
            And we learned a lot more about this man—
                        --Abraham Lincoln.
           
 
 
Did you know that it was Abraham Lincoln who,
            in the midst of the Civil War,
 in 1863,
            established the annual celebration of Thanksgiving?
 Not after the war.
            But right in the middle of it.
 
 
In his Thanksgiving proclamation,
            Lincoln said:
 “It has seemed to me fit and proper
            that the gifts of God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged
                                    with one heart and one voice
                                                by the whole American people.
            I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens…
                        …to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next
                                    as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent
                                                Heavenly Father.”
 
 
Give thanks.
            Regardless of the circumstances.
 When things are going great,
            and we’re tempted to think that we deserve
                        everything we have—
                                    --remember to give thanks.
 And when things are going badly,
            when times are tough,
                        when we face struggles,
                                    and sickness and grief—
            --we give thanks then, too.
                        For God is good…then…too.
 
Give thanks.
 
 
 
Give thanks,
            to the Lord,
 for God is good…
 
 
 
One of the things I’ve realized in the last several years,
            and I’m guilty of it, too, at times,
 is that Thanksgiving is a kind of generic thanks.
 
But the Psalm reminds us
            to give thanks to the Lord.
 
 
 
 
 
I’m reminded of a story
            of a little 5-year-old boy.
 His family sat around the Thanksgiving table.
                                    And his Mom asked that everyone say
                                                what they’re thankful for.
 
And this little boy started with the turkey
                                    that he saw in front of him.
            And gave thanks for the turkey.
 
And then he started thanking everyone he could think of
            who had helped get that turkey in front of them.
 Thanks to the people at the grocery store.
            Thanks to the farmer who made the turkey fat.
                        Thanks to the man who grew the feed.
                                    Thanks to those who delivered the turkey to the store.
            He tried to thank everyone
                        who might have had anything to do with that turkey.
 
And then he solemnly said,
            with his brow wrinkled in concentration:
                        “Did I leave anybody out?”
 
His little brother said:
            “God.”
 
The little boy said,
            in his best big-brother voice:
                        “I was about to get to him.”
 
 
In the midst of our celebration,
            in the midst of our thankfulness,
                        in the midst of our Thanksgiving—
            --we give thanks to God.
                        For God is good.
            And God’s mercy endures forever.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I read the story from Luke’s Gospel
            just a few moments ago,
                        about the 10 lepers.
 Jesus healed all 10.
            All 10 were made clean.
                        But 90% of them kept on going to the priests.
 
            And they were doing exactly what Jesus had told them to do.
                        They were following the rules.
                                    They were being obedient.
            But perhaps,
                        even as they were thrilled with the gift,
                                    they didn’t—with the same level of excitement—
                                                --keep focus on the giver.
 
But one,
            an outsider,
                        a foreigner,
                                    a Samaritan—
            --one came back.
 
And that one,
            when he saw he was healed,
                        turned around,
                                    praising God with a loud voice.
            He threw himself down at Jesus’ feet
                        and thanked him.
 
 
And Jesus said:
            “Were not 10 made clean?
                        But the other 9, where are they?”
 
And the next line says:
            Was none of them found to return and give---
                        ---what?
 
            How many of you thought “Thanks”?
                        That’s what I thought
                                    (Especially in a Thanksgiving sermon.)
 
But it doesn’t say:
            “Give thanks.”
 It says:
            “Was none of them found to return and give praise to God.”
 
 
We can be thankful
                        and still forget the ultimate giver of the gift.
            We can be thankful to those around us
                        and forget that God is the great giver.
            We can be very thankful for what we have
                        and forget that God is the source of everything we have,
                                    of everything we are,
                                                of everything we will be.
 
 
Tonight,
            we give thanks.
                        And we give praise to God.
 
 
And we don’t only say thank you when everything is going well.
            We also thank and praise God
                        when things are not going well.
            The danger when things are good
                        is that we forget God.
            The danger when things are bad
                        is that we forget that God is still good.
 
 
 
 
It was 1637,
            during the 30-years-war.
 That was one of the worst wars
            in history.
      In the midst of that war,
                        there was a German pastor whose name was Martin Rinkart.
 
In a single year,
            from war,
                        and famine,
                                    and disease,
            he buried almost 5000 people in his parish—
    --10-15 a day.
 
 
But in the middle of all that,
            he wrote the words to a hymn
                        that we will sing tonight:
 
(ELW 840)
Now thank we all our God
            With hearts and hands and voices,
 Who wondrous things has done,
            In whom this world rejoices;
 Who, from our mothers’ arms,
            Has blest us on our way
 With countless gifts of love,
            And still is ours today.
 
 
 
This Thanksgiving,
            may our tables be graced with the awareness of God’s presence.
 May we give thanks,
            whether times are good
                        or times are bad.
 
Oh give thanks unto the Lord,
            for God is good;
 And God’s mercy endures forever.
 
 
In Jesus’ name,
            Amen