Thanksgiving Eve 2007 (Series C)
Texts: 1 Timothy 2:1-4
Psalm 107:1-3
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever” [ESV Psalm 107:1]./
Today we look forward to tables weighted down with an abundance of food. Perhaps there will be stuffed turkey with cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes with golden pools of butter and gravy, fresh vegetables, celery sticks stuffed with cheese, green-bean casserole, and after several helpings of these and as the button on your pants can no longer take the strain, the table will be cleared for the savory encore of pumpkin, apple and, yes, sweat-potato pies, which I am told is better than the pumpkin. I suppose here in Wisconsin, as least for some, such a spread is simply a type of tail-gate party for the much more serious event of the day, that is, the Packer-Lion football game. Whatever your families Thanksgiving Day rituals are, I am sure they are time honored, as secret recipes are passed down from generation to generation, as young and old gather together to reminisce, to forgive, to love, to give thanks, to be what God has called you to be in the midst of a darkened and lost world, His holy people reflecting His love and mercy which He so richly and daily gives to us in His Son’s sacrificial death upon the cross poured out for us in the humble elements of bread and wine.
St. Paul in his letter to Timothy underscores the importance of the Christian’s life being one of continual thanksgiving, of praying for all people including our civil leaders, of worshiping the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who gives us all that we need to support this body and life. “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” [ESV 1st Timothy 2:1-4]. Thankfulness for all God’s benefits is the posture of Christian worship. Therefore it is good, right, and salutary, that we sit here this day as we honor this time set aside by our civil leaders for giving thanks and praise to God for all the good things He gives to us without any merit or worthiness in us.
Let us be clear here, however, Thanksgiving Day, is not a church festival, rather it is a civil holiday. We observe this holiday certainly because as the church is that bride of Christ who has received everything from her faithful husband, Jesus Christ, she gives thanks to Him for the manifold blessings He gives to her. But so also does the church abide by the rulers of this governing land who have set aside this day as a day to remember God’s bountiful goodness to His creation. As many of you may already well know, the history of this day is more civil than religious in character.
A little history is in order. Seeking religious freedom, the Pilgrims [members of the English Separatist Church] sailed to the Americas. They reached Plymouth in 1620 and immediately life in this new land was unforgiving as 46 of the original 102 had died the following fall. Yet the Lord preserved this faithful band as the next year would bring an abundance of food. In response to such blessings the colonists—along with 91 Indians who had helped them survive their first year—celebrated with a grand feast. Thus in 1621, Governor Bradford of the Plymouth Colony appointed a special day of thanksgiving and prayer after this first bountiful harvest. Some 150 years later George Washington would proclaim a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789 though some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardship of a few Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. Even President Thomas Jefferson scoffed at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving. Oddly enough it was the unrelenting voice of Sarah Hale, author of the popular nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb, and America writer of the Boston Ladies Magazine that called upon the founding fathers to institute a national day of thanksgiving. Her efforts were to bear fruit after a 40 year campaign when President Lincoln in 1863 proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
The recalling of such history is certainly not endeavored with the intent to romanticize our nation’s civil religion, which is often anything but true religion, but it is done so as to remind us that what we as Americans celebrate as Thanksgiving has both civil and religions implications. These implications can be seen as we remember the words of our text. This being a national holiday, what a wonderful time to make requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings on behalf of everyone—our fellow citizens, all those in authority over us, and people of every nation throughout the world—so that as St. Paul writes, “we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” [v.2]. When you think about it, such language is simply commentary on the 4th commandment, that we honor our father and mother and all those who have authority over us. And why do we pray for those in authority over us? So that we may lead a life of peace, of quiet rest in a land where its rulers seek to prosper its citizens and give them opportunity to serve their neighbor in love. So it is true, “If momma aint happy, aint nobody happy.” And so we pray to God so that He might bless their leadership and give them wisdom to make decisions that will flourish our nation and make us as one who is a blessing to others.
Notice that St. Paul continues by saying that this thankfulness “is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” [v.3-4]. The Christian church has embraced this civil holiday not just because it is our Christian duty to give thanks to God for an abundance of blessings. We embrace it because this is yet another opportunity to hear, learn, and confess the God who became flesh, who “from the manger newborn light shines in glory through the night,” so that all may come to know this babe as the Savior of the nations. It is a day to remember and publicly confess that our Lord has been faithful to His promises, especially the promise He made to our forefathers that He would bring us from a land of bondage, sin, and slavery, to a land of freedom, grace, and eternal peace. It is a day to remember that “man does not live by bread alone, but lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” [Deuteronomy 8:3]. As Moses said to the Israelites in the Old Testament lesson, “And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you” [v.10].
May we, the body of Christ, on this Thanksgiving Day remember that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers” [Psalm 24:1-2]. This is why we are in church this Thanksgiving Day. This is why we are in church every Sunday, because here we receive in our ears and our mouths the saving Word of God. This Word of God pardons us, delivers us, cleanses us, and gives us rest in His kingdom that remains forever. This Word of God that gives us the forgiveness of sins brings our lips to confess with the Psalmist that “I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the Lord” [Psalm 118:17].
The Samaritan leper in the Gospel lesson today did just that, He recounted the deeds of the Lord. He recounted not only the physical healing, but the spiritual healing that Jesus brought as the Son of Man made flesh, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He knew that true thanksgiving takes place in the presence of the Lord who is the Source and Giver of all gifts. And so, we come to where Jesus is, where He has given of Himself so freely and so abundantly for our salvation. We receive His preached Word that brings healing to our leprous hearts that takes away the defilement of our sin. We receive Jesus here in His sacrament, as both host and meal, to give us His body and blood, feeding us with the bread of life which alone satisfies our deepest hunger.
Let it be clear, Thanksgiving is not so much about our giving, our offerings, our praise, as it is our receiving from the Lord His gracious and faithful gifts that He so desires to give us. We give Him thanks that He has given us His Holy Spirit, the Counselor, who brings to remembrance the deeds that He has done for our salvation, and we continually pray and desire that all others who are lost in sin, who have seemingly abandoned the church and have put up their walls of defense, would have their hearts softened and their walls brought down by love of Christ Jesus and so be engrafted into His Heavenly Kingdom.
The founding fathers of this land with its “amber waves of grain and purple mountain majesties” may not have had the salvation of all mankind in view when they instituted this civil holiday, we call Thanksgiving Day. Nonetheless, God knows that our thanksgiving is certainly first and foremost about His sacrificial giving of His only Son for our eternal benefit. True thankfulness to God can only come from one who knows the extent to which God went to save His people from their sins. Similar to love, we are able to give thanks only because of what God has already done in Christ Jesus for us.
Thanksgiving Day may indeed be a civil holiday, but we Christians celebrate it as our own, for it is really ours to begin with. After all, a true thanksgiving day is a day that recognizes the Giver who gives such gifts. True faith recognizes that every good and perfect gift of our Heavenly Father—gifts of body and soul—come to us through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, it is we, the redeemed and holy people of God, who know that the Lord’s mercy and love endures forever. And we pray unceasingly that such knowledge of the truth of God’s mercy and love would fill the hearts and minds of all people and that they may join their voices with ours in singing:
“You, Christ, are King of Glory, the everlasting Son,
Yet You, with boundless love, sought to rescue everyone one:
You laid aside Your glory, were born of virgin’s womb,
Were crucified for us and were placed into a tomb
Then by Your resurrection You won for us reprieve
You opened heaven’s kingdom to all who would believe [v.3]
“We Praise You and Acknowledge You, O God” [LSB 941]
In the Name of the Father and of the Son+ and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.