Pastor Michael Harman, St. Peters Lutheran Church, Newell, IA
Printed for congregations, fits on two sides of a sheet of paper
12 points Times new Roman in two columns. Parenthesis not printed.
Thanksgiving 2013.
(In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.) You know this text. People often teach it as the Samaritan
returning to give thanks to God. But is that the deeper reason why God
inspired Luke to record it for us? Is the main point to teach us to give
thanks to God? (Is it just for the Law?)
Consider the history of the Day of Thanksgiving. 53 Pilgrims and 90
natives had 3 days of feasting and thanks to God. 150 years later, Samuel
Addams wrote then George Washington proclaimed a day of rest without
recreation, a solemn day of thanks to God. While observance was a bit
spotty for a while, William Seward wrote then Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a
day of thanks to God in 1863 on the last Thursday of November. FDR moved
that day around in 1939, 40, and 41, but still he declared it a day of
thanks to God for God's many blessings. That's the original intent of
Thanksgiving Day.
So, how is it observed now? Businesses, desiring to be out of the red
(ink), have made Black (ink) Friday (now even Thursday) more notable.
Charities do much the same, with red kettles, stamps, seals, and 3rd class
mail. Quite a few folks look at this as just time for family gatherings
with football and (ragamuffin) parades. Honestly, it is called "Turkey Day"
in many places: a day to stuff yourself with stuffing, and begin stretching
the waistlines toward the December holidays and New Year's celebrations.
And, as I said last year, there's the problem of 'whom do we thank?'
Politicians are careful to say: "for this and that we give thanks."
Really? Who are they thanking? If a person believes he or she gets things
only by their savvy, strength, and stokes of luck: are they thanking
themselves? Who do we thank on Thanks-giving? Is it thanks to God?
The last statistics I found said about 18% of people in the USA go to
church weekly, in a church of about 75 souls. The Lutheran Annual tells us
the average congregation in the LCMS is about 374, and attendance is 141 or
~35%. When you consider figures for this congregation, we're in the same
percentage ballpark. And, like most LCMS churches, we are shrinking at the
rate of 2% per year. BUT, you're here. You are the Samaritan? Right?
Sorta.
It's very tempting to pat ourselves on the back. Yes, we may be few in
number, but we saw our healings and went to worship Jesus! Face in the
dirt, voices loudly praising, and giving thanks to God with a grateful
heart.
Don't take this wrong, but I don't want you to break your arm while
patting yourself on the back. This account in Luke 17 isn't about a
thankful Samaritan. Or you. At all.
Jesus asks, "Where are the nine?" Here. You could really say, "WE are
the nine." You!
How could this be? You are in His House! You are singing His praises
in hymns! You are joyfully saying the Psalms. You are going to Holy
Communion! How?
Let's take quick inventory. Raise your hand if you are breathing.
Good. Most of you. Raise your hand if you have a heart. Now, how often
have you thanked God for breathing, or a beating heart?
You have a liver. You may have never thanked God for your liver; or the
tens of thousands of chemical processes going on this instant there. In
fact, no person can keep track of everything in our "fearfully and
wonderfully made" body (Psalm 139). We aren't really grateful. The only
time we pray to God seems to be when one of those thousands of things goes
haywire or gets injured.
We may give thanks for a roof over our heads. Do we thank God for the
people who designed our home, cut and kiln-dried the lumber, dug the copper
ore for pipes & wires, loaded those on trucks filled with diesel fuel to
drive on highways, mixed the cement, constructed the home from these &
countless other parts, plus the painting, appliances to make life easier,
and all the other people involved? No. Maybe a quick thanks to God for the
home-in-general; but not for all God's servants who made it possible.
I have midweek students think about all the people who serve God thru a
sandwich. The farmer who buys seed, the hours on the tractor he bought, the
sun & soil & rain & air, herbicides, and more. The harvested wheat goes to
a mill, is ground and processed and loaves are baked, sliced, and bagged.
You see I've left out hundreds of steps, too.
Stop for a moment some time today. Consider all of the people,
technology, skill, and laws in place for you to eat a slice of pumpkin pie,
drive to the gathering, enjoy the football game, look at the Black Friday
ads, or any one of the other usual activities of Thanksgiving. Yes. We
give thanks to God. But not nearly as much as we think.
Yes, we rightly pray, "give us this day our daily bread." And God
*does* provide. He does so thru means. He gives sun, air, seasons, soils,
and other raw materials. He gives muscles, light for eyes, and sounds to
fill our ears. He provides mothers and fathers, pastors, farmers, truckers,
bankers, insurers, factory workers, and communities to provide this daily
bread. When we pray 'four' daily bread, we are not just praying to be fed.
We pray for all the people and processes involved in getting it to us.
What does Luther remind us? 'God gives daily bread without our prayer,
even to all evil people.' Yes, "God makes the sun rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rains on the just and unjust" as Jesus says. Why? Because
we are good? Because we give thanks to God? No, not at all. God
demonstrates His heart of compassion by His merciful gifts to ALL people.
To love your enemies is to share in God's activity. So: God gives daily
bread to His enemies, to those who know Him dimly, and to us believers, too.
He gives according to His wise providence, not our whims. I find when
illness or injury strikes, people demand of God: why ME? But these same
people have had many millions of blessings in the past for which they have
never thanked God. And God is still blessing them, even if they refuse to
believe it, during all their lives.
Nor does God STOP His blessings to us if we fail to fall at Jesus' feet.
Without thanks, 9 went to their priests, were pronounced cleansed, and
returned to daily life. All 9 remained cleansed of leprosy. One returned
to give thanks for the physical bread of healing; and the Bread of Life gave
him eternal healing (see v.19).
The LORD does not owe us for things we do, or how well we obey Him (the
text before this). This text was not written just to say we should be
thankful - as nice as that is - and we should be thankful, nor just to point
to a nameless Samaritan, nor how we should be grateful for miracles or even
daily bread. That's Law. Even unbelievers know they should be grateful.
This text points us to the Gospel, the only Son of God, and His heart of
compassion. In His mercy He is the Giver of every good & perfect gift:
temporal and eternal.
God's mercies are new constantly. We don't deserve any of His
goodness. Even so He richly and daily provides all we need for body and
soul. He sends His Holy Spirit so we may learn to recognize His
compassionate gifts to us, praise and thank Him for all we see & more. We
respond by serving our neighbors with love in the Name of Jesus.
This text is not about a Samaritan, it's Gospel to point us to Jesus!
We easily get caught up in the miracle, or the thank-you, and forget our
Giving God! Luke 17 shows His constant continued compassion if we don't
give thanks. God's blessings don't depend on our thanks, but on His love
toward us in Christ.
Gratitude to God is an attribute/habit every Christian needs to
cultivate & confess. Showing gratitude is good for us to practice often at
home and in church. But this event points us to Christ Jesus.
We were dead in the leprosy of sin, but God has cleansed us in Holy
Baptism & claimed us as His children. God serves us in the Divine Service.
We return prayer, praise, and giving thanks thru-out the service as Gospel
gifts are given to us in the liturgy, hymns, and sermon. In the most
important family meal Holy Communion we receive His healing pardon. We
close singing with thanks to God like Simeon, having seen God's salvation
for us. God's gift to us of faith receives these. We rise and go our way;
our faith has made us well.
This text points us to Jesus. It's good we give thanks to God on
Thanksgiving. He healed all 10 lepers: thankful or not. God gives daily
bread to all: thankful or not. God gave His Son to die on the cross for
all people: thankful or not. May God fill each of us with an eagerness to
return thanks to God, especially for eternal life bought on the cross, in
Jesus' Name. Amen. And the peace of God, bought on the cross and beyond
understanding, will guard, and guide, and keep you to life everlasting.
Amen.
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