Give Thanks
A sermon for Thanksgiving Day
by Fr. Daniel Thomas
Ephesians 2:4-10
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (NKJV)
Luke 8:41-56
41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house,42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any,44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”49 While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.”50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.”53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.54 But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.”55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat.56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. (NKJV)
Thanksgiving Day is just about here. Thanksgiving is a day we set aside to give thanks to God for all the wonderful things he has done for us. We humans are prone to very quickly forget the things God has done for us, and does for us on a daily basis. We set this day aside, out of all days, to be thankful to our Creator. God has some very good reasons for wanting us to be thankful and it is his due that we praise him for his continued goodness to us.
First, we each have good reasons to give thanks to God. In our Epistle reading we have reason to give thanks because God has given us Salvation as a free gift. Even if we feel God has done nothing else for us, just think of the magnitude of God’s graciousness by giving us eternal life and forgiving us of our sins. He sent his own Son to die for us on a cross so that we might live. This should cause amazed thanksgiving to God on our part.
We have much to be thankful for. In our Gospel lesson, Jesus healed a woman and raised a girl from the dead. I wonder how many of us God has carried through some illness, or miraculously healed of something? I wonder how many of us have forgotten about it. David wrote, “O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good” (Ps 118).
I wanted each of you to write down the things God did for you this week because we tend to forget what God does for us. This is typical of all humans and of you, as well. God warned the Israelites, that when they went into the Promised Land and had everything they ever longed for, not to forget God during this time. For, God knows all men’s hearts and he knows that people tend to forget his blessings when they prosper and ten to forget God. Also, during the Wandering in the Wilderness, God provided the Israelites everything they needed, including food. Yet these people complained that they were not being cared for! Such is the human heart that we forget quickly what God does for us. I want you to continue to write down what God does for you so next week as well, because of this. I want you to see what God does for you. I was praying to God for a stable table of a certain size that I could use as a preparation table here in Church. I went to garage sales and found nothing and had little money to spend, in any case. When I got home, someone just gave me a table of the right size that was stable. I was overcome with thanks to God for this little thing he did for me and the church.
Second, it is God’s will that we give him thanks. “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thes 5.18). This is God’s will for us to do this. We all go through bouts of depression and anxiety. I realize that some depression may be caused by a chemical problem in the brain. But it is not clear which comes first, the attitude or the chemical problem. But I do know that all of us can talk ourselves into depression or anxiety. This is why sports teams try to keep themselves pumped up with positive attitudes as a negative attitude is defeating. The same is true for the rest of us. When we forget to give thanks to God for even the little things, we can begin to think our lives are of poor quality, that we are not cared for as we should be, and begin to feel things are worse than they actually are. “Give thanks to God in all things.” Further, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 5:20).
There is an old hymn which says:
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings, name them one by one
And you will be surprised at what God has done.
Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly
And you will be singing as the days go by.
(Anonymous)
Third, when we give thanks to God, we participate in worship and adoration of God with all the heavenly beings, angels and human, who give thanks to God.
Revelation 7:11-12
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
We were created to worship God and to be thankful to him. We cannot be fulfilled unless we strive to be what we were created to be. A razor has only fulfilled itself as it is used to shave a person. In a like manner, a human being is only fulfilled when it does what it was created to do: worship and give thanks to God. Have you ever felt unfulfilled and empty? Perhaps, it is because you have not properly given thanks to God on a regular basis for what he has done for you? How often do you just stop and give God thanks for something that has just happened?
Remember the story about Jesus healing the ten lepers? Nine of them were Israelites, the people of God, and the very ones who should have known how to act toward God. Only one was a foreigner. When Jesus healed them all, only the foreigner turned back and thanked him. We can be like those Israelites who think it is our due to be given things by God. We can begin to take him for granted like a Soda machine in which we deposit a coin, push a button, and out pops our selection. God is a personal being who is more loving and gracious to us than we can imagine or even deserve. Let us remember to give thanks to him for all of his goodness to us, endeavoring to not forget a thing, but put his blessings in our remembrance.
