Thanksgiving Sermon 2014
Randy Williamson
Thanksgiving is the most religious of all national holidays. It is a unique
American holiday with its images of pilgrims, a new land, the harvest, family
gatherings and a celebration of home life. And it has important Biblical roots.
You could say, in fact, that it is very Jewish in its origins. The Exodus is a story
about a people being led by God, becoming God’s people, given a land which is
richly blessed with food, animals, crops, wine (Jewish celebrations always seem
to involve wine); a “land of milk and honey”. And in the midst of this the people
are told: “Remember”. Remember that God has blessed you, that God provides
you with a wondrous land with plenteous food, with family, with all good gifts. So
give thanks; give thanks to God for all these blessings, for it is God who is the
Creator and who provides everything. This is all about a relationship with God,
and deepening that relationship; the first and foremost element of that
relationship is thanksgiving. It is also about relationship with life, and with other
people and with the earth. At the heart of such relationships is thanksgiving.
Many centuries after the Biblical Exodus in the American colonies, as Europeans
came to settle this land, their religious leaders took note of the gifted and blessed
state of ancient Israel and said “we are living a parallel phenomenon”. Like the
Biblical people of Israel, we have been given a rich land, a bounteous harvest,
and a haven for our families. And so the celebration of Thanksgiving was
established. It involves an attitude of trust, confidence, and delight: trust in God
to provide, confidence that God will continue to bless, and delight in all that is
provided.
Such trust is an important part of a peaceful life. There is a story of some tourists
visiting Poland and hearing about a venerated and holy rabbi, they asked to be
able to visit him. They found his home and in a simple room all he had was a
bed, a bookcase, and a chair. “But rabbi, where are your belongings?” they
asked. He said, “I could ask you, where are your belongings?”. “But we are only
visitors here”, they said. He replied, “And I also am only a visitor here”.
Jesus over and over tries to get us to realize we are pilgrims on a journey. And
on this journey all is provided for us. So, he says, we can live a life of trust, and
confidence, and delight. “Consider the lillies of the field” he directs us, and the
word means to look a long time, contemplatively at them. God clothes them with
such dignity and beauty; they don’t have to work hard or fret; God gives them
their beauty and dignity. And also you, Jesus says. Do not stress. God clothes
you with dignity and beauty, and gives you everything you need. The Gospel
over and over invites us to live in a deeper relationship with God, based on trust
and thanksgiving. God’s wish is that our life would be full. God provides
abundantly for that to happen. So enjoy, says the Gospel.
During WW2, there was a pilot shot down in the Pacific, and he was on a raft for
21 days on the ocean before being rescued. After he returned home he was
interviewed and was asked if he had learned anything from his ordeals. He said,
I learned that for the rest of my life, if I have enough to eat and drink each day, I
will be riotously happy”. Jesus’ prayer for his people is that we be “filled with joy”.
He wants for us riotous joy.
This national holiday of Thanksgiving puts us in touch with a basic Biblical
dynamic: a life of thankfulness and trust. God provides for us a wondrous land,
with a bountiful harvest. God provides a safe haven for our families. Christ’s
desire is that we be filled with all good things and with his joy.
May we live that deeper relationship with God.
May we be riotously happy with the blessings provided us.
May we live a full and happy life, a life of Thanks-giving.
Amen