"In Everything, Thanksgiving" Day of Thanksgiving November 25, 2015 Philippians 4:6–20
It’s a bit ironic that in our nation we have a day devoted to thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, I love a holiday as much as anyone. And it’s good to know that our nation values giving thanks enough to make a national holiday for it. But the irony is that it is simply impossible to give true thanks apart from giving thanks to the Triune God. People can thank others for what they do for them. People can have a general sense of gratitude. People even do the thing of giving thanks to “God”, a nebulous supreme being, or a deity that covers any religion. But none of this is actual thanksgiving. What it is is idolatry. It is the worship of some god other than the true God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We learn this from Romans chapter 1 where Paul says that they did not glorify the Creator or give thanks to Him. If our thanksgiving does not flow out of the grace of God in His Son Jesus Christ it is not true thanksgiving. It is assigning credit to some other god, which is a false god. Here’s how you can test the truth of this. Think about the things you’re thankful for. When people gather around the turkey on Thanksgiving Day, what do they express as the reasons they are thankful? When you pray and you give thanks to God, what do you give thanks for? You don’t have to think long. You can quickly come up with a list of the many blessings you have. It’s not hard to see all the many good things God has given you. But does your list include those things you’d rather not be in your life? Are you grateful for the difficulties, the tragedies, the temptations that keep cropping up, the sorrows, the continual struggle against sin in your life? When your plans fall apart, are you thankful to God? When you’re counting on getting that job, or your medical treatment to get you better and things don’t go your way, are you ready to give thanks to God? The fact is, when people go around the table on Thanksgiving Day they list all the good things. They mention all the things they’re glad they have. When we think of what we’re thankful for we think of all the things we normally say are blessings. But this is not complete. This does not give God the gratitude we ought to give Him. If He is truly gracious; if He actually loves us; if He truly is almighty and the God of salvation, then how can we not be grateful for everything He does for us and also everything He allows to happen to us? If we are grateful for only those things we think are good, then we are denying that everything He does for us and allows to happen to us is good. We are saying that some of what He does and allows is not for our good. Ultimately, it is idolatry. That is why Paul says in the second reading, “do not be anxious about anything.” Of course, those good things that happen to us we’re not going to be anxious about. But the Scripture tells us that no matter what we should not be anxious. We should not view those things we don’t like as bad things. We should commend them to God. We should pray about them according to His will. And in everything, everything that is good, bad, or otherwise, we ought to give thanks to our gracious Lord. How can we refuse to give thanks to the God who has given us His own Son? How can we not but be grateful to our Lord who submitted Himself to the evil temptations of Satan? Who chose to live in the world where evil men sought His life and discredited Him and where His own disciples denied and betrayed Him? Who willingly placed Himself under the will of His Father in forsaking His only-begotten Son and placed on Him the sin and guilt of the whole world? Who counted it as joy to be put to death and laid in a tomb? If our Lord Himself gave thanks in all things, how can we refuse to see the grace of God in all things? How can we not see that it is in all things that God works for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose? If our Lord has come to save us, then that places everything else in perspective. That is the perspective of our thanksgiving. We no longer have simply a general sense of gratitude. We no longer have only a gratefulness for the good things we have received. Our Lord blessing us with all the blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation show us that His entire will and action is for us and for our good. That includes all things. All things! True thanksgiving is not simply gratitude. It’s not even giving thanks for the blessings God has given us. True thanksgiving is gratitude toward the God who has given us all things in His Son. If God has not spared His own Son, how will He not with Him give us all things? The key is to begin to recognize that in all things, good or bad, God is blessing us in His Son. That is why we can give thanks in all things. When the world is being grateful only for what they perceive as good things, we are grateful for whatever God allows to happen to us. We consider that thanksgiving does not flow from receiving simply what we perceive as good things but from the humility of our Lord Jesus Christ who lived in perpetual thanksgiving to His Father. So pray. And ask. And submit your requests to God. Tell Him what you need, what you want, what you’re struggling with. Tell Him and do not be anxious about anything. And with thanksgiving in all these things, and everything else, pray to the God who you know loves you and has given you everything you need in His Son. Give thanks in all things, knowing that He works all things for your good. Amen. SDG -- Pastor Paul L. Willweber Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS] 6801 Easton Ct., San Diego, California 92120 619.583.1436 princeofpeacesd.net three-taverns.net It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything except where the marks of the Church are concerned. [Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian] _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list Sermons@cat41.org http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
