Sermon "Giving Thanks to the God WhoGives"
Rev. Lonnie Richardson
Sunday November 27, 1997
Matthew 6:25-33
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Giving Thanks to the God Who Gives
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you willwear. Is not life more important than food, and the body moreimportant than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do notsow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly fatherfeeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of youby worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do youworry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. Theydo not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in allhis splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how Godclothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrowis thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O youof little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagansrun after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows thatyou need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,and all these things will be given to you as well."
Matthew 6:25-33
In the silence of the stars, in the quiet of the hills andin the heaving of the sea, you speak O Lord. In the words of theprophets and the message of the apostles, you speak O Lord. Nowwe pray, speak in this place, in the calming of our minds and thelonging of our hearts. Speak, O Lord, for your servants listen.Amen.
Not so long ago famous people all over the world were polledby a magazine which asked them the question - "If you couldbe granted one wish that will come true right now - what wouldthat be?" There were some very interesting responses - butone response impressed the magazine's editors so much that theycommented on. That response was this - "I wish that I couldbe given an even greater ability to appreciate all that I alreadyhave."
It is an interesting answer and interesting thing to wish for.What do you think would happen if each one of us suddenly becamea more thankful person? If all of us suddenly became a moreappreciative people?
Every year before Christmas some commercial on TV will ask thequestion, "What does one give the man who haseverything?" Then of course, the commercial will tell uswhat we should buy such a man. What can we give God that God doesnot have? Can we give God power or wisdom? I might mention a hostof things that we might think about. One thing God does not havenor can have unless we choose to give it, is our praise andthanksgiving. God cannot force us to praise and thankfulness, itcan only flow from an overflowing attitude of thankfulness.
No one likes to be taken for granted - or to see someone thatthey love taking things for granted. All of us like to beappreciated, all of us like to be thanked, and all of us, Ibelieve, like to see those we love live thankful lives,appreciative lives, so much so that we teach our children thisvirtue; at our supper tables; during birthday parties; in themiddle of visits from their grandparents; and just about anytimethat they are receiving something from someone or asking someonefor something - thank you.
It is a great thing to teach our children and grandchildren tosay please and thank you, it helps them out in this world, and itis a great thing to be appreciated, to be thanked; but as wethink with holy and prayerful minds today - as we thank God inour worship service for the harvest we are all enjoying I ask,where is our sense of thankfulness? How complete is it? How deepdoes it run in our lives? How is our giving thanks, to the Godwho gives?
Our ancestors in faith - from Sarah to Mary, and from Abrahamto Jesus, all were convinced that God is the source ofeverything, and that by graciously giving all things to us, Godprovides us with a responsibility, the ability to respond, thatGod hopes we will use for the good that God intends for us. Godhas given us the ability to thankful response whether we are welloff or experiencing times in which our physical resources arelean.
In the hard times we have so much. We have life, no matter howslenderly we may hold to it. We have family and friends, nomatter how scattered. We have community, no matter how it isorganized. And we have the presence of God, and the promise ofJesus Christ, - the promise that when we seek first God's kingdomand God's righteousness, that all that we need will be added untoit.
We give thanks to the God who gives every time we worshiptogether. As we study the Bible, we see the hundreds of timesthat giving thanks is intimately involved in what we bring toGod. As we read and study the Psalms, we see that many of themwere written precisely for use in public worship. When we readPsalm 100 where it says "Make a joyful noise," and thenexamine what form the worship of the community of Israel took, wefind that much of it was a "joyful noise." Of course,we provide thanks to God with our voices in other ways besidesthe songs of worship. Certainly we do it in prayer. And in manyways, our casual conversation is an opportunity to expressthankfulness for God's daily blessings.
But how about when we are anxious and worried? When Jesus toldus not to be so about tomorrow over what to eat or drink or wear,it was to remind us that we are at all times blessed by thespirit of god with many things, things both physical andspiritual. Be clear about one thing, the scriptures do not tellus to give thanks for everything but in everything, just as theBible does not say, "All things are good," but that"all things work together for good." We go through thevalleys of the shadow of death, we do not stay there. Thank God.
Thanksgiving is a time we can choose to look at these things,a time we can choose to find God speaking to us through what hehas given us, and a time when, having looked and found, we decideto truly thank God for what he has given us, and to trust God forwhat he will do. That is what seeking the kingdom of God is allabout, and that is what Thanksgiving is about: looking, finding,and thanking - thanking in word and in deed, out of the abilityto respond God has given us.
Let Us pray:
Oh kind and gracious god, on this day of national Thanksgivingwe offer you our thanks and praise for the endless blessings youhave bestowed upon us. You have given us the privilege of livingin a land of plenty. Move us to take the time to recount ourgifts again today. Lead us to recognize and to acknowledge thefact yours is a boundless love. We thank you for the gifts offood, clothing and shelter and everything else you have suppliedto satisfy all of our needs. We recognize that we do not deserveany of the mercies we have received. Especially do we thank youfor the Christ. Bless us and keep us for his names sake. For itis in his name we pray and are thankful. Amen.
