Thanks and Giving

The Eve of the National Day of Thanksgiving

November 22, 2023

Luke 17:11-19

 “Thanks and Giving”

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and no matter how you may celebrate it, the holiday centers on food. Sometimes, despite our best laid plans, problems crop up with getting all that food ready for everyone. Last year, the Washington Post ran an article on Thanksgiving cooking disasters. One story concerned a man named Kevin Rochlin, “a now-retired engineer from Seattle... As he had done in previous years, he had placed his turkey in a large stock pot to brine, and since the temperature [outside] was cold enough and his refrigerator not big enough, he secured the lid with twine and left it outside overnight to work its magic. One year, though, some marauding raccoons gnawed through the rope and helped themselves to the turkey that had bobbed to the surface. ‘It was surgically precise,’ Rochlin said, confined to one drumstick. He quickly thought through his options, and decided on the easiest path. ‘I lopped off the leg, and no one was the wiser,’ he said. He kept the secret by carving the turkey first rather than presenting it whole, and his younger daughter only discovered it later in the evening when she overheard him discussing it with his wife. ‘She was horrified — she was like, ‘Dad, you could have killed us!’ he said. ‘The tale has been told for years after, as the two [of us] try to get family members to take our side on what should have been done,’ he said. An epilogue? Both his daughters, he said, are now vegetarians” (Funny Thanksgiving cooking disasters: fires, cats and other critters - The Washington Post). You might want to keep a close eye on how everything is going with Thanksgiving dinner in the kitchen tomorrow – just saying… Tonight, on this Thanksgiving Eve, we will consider the story of Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers from the appointed Gospel lesson under the theme, “Thanks and Giving.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

Each year, the Gospel lesson for Thanksgiving is the same. It is always this story of Jesus’ healing of those ten lepers, an account that is found only in Luke’s Gospel. It’s important for us to hear this because only one of those ten lepers returned to give thanks to Jesus, and he was a Samaritan. He was considered an outsider, a foreigner, to the people of Israel. There was a long history of animosity and hostility between Jews and Samaritans, and yet, in spite of this, he came back to offer thanksgiving to Jesus for the blessing of new life and health. We read that he praised God with a loud voice and fell on his face at Jesus’ feet (Luke 17:15-16). This is what the Scriptures identify as the posture of worship. He returned to do the same thing that we are about this evening. We have come together, both in person and virtually, to praise God and worship him for blessings that we have received from his hand. For the child of God, this is what Thanksgiving is. It’s more than the food or football; it’s more than the gathering of family and friends. It is rendering thanks and praise to God for all the blessings that he daily and richly bestows on us; blessings of body, mind and spirit; blessings that we have neither earned nor deserved, but are freely given to us by a loving and gracious God. Chief among these many blessings is the gift of salvation in Christ Jesus – the forgiveness of our sins and the certainty of eternal life that Jesus has won for us through his atoning death upon the cross and his glorious resurrection from the dead. Even when it seems like the material blessings in life may be few and far between, even when we are experiencing lean times, this chief blessing of all that God in Christ has done for us is always worthy of our thanks.

Sometimes our thanks can be overtaken by the cares and burdens of life. With so much uncertainty and unrest in the world today, we may be even more anxious about life and the future. We see so many problems and challenges that returning to give thanks – like the cleansed leper – gets left behind. Paul reminds us in the Epistle lesson: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). For the child of God, returning to give thanks is not limited to just one day in late November. Far from it! Each and every day becomes a day of thanksgiving as, more and more, we become attuned to look for and recognize God’s many gifts and blessings in daily life. They are there if we have the eyes to see them.

Thanksgiving, if it is truly to be what its name says, must be both thanks and giving. Our thanks cannot be coerced or forced from hearts that are not thankful, or do not recognize God’s blessings. This spirit of thankfulness can only be encouraged. It is both caught as well as taught. Seeing this spirit of thankfulness in the lives of others serves as an example, helping us to realize how important it is to return and give thanks to the Lord. As the psalmist reminds us: “Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you” (Psalm 67:3, 5). From that spirit of thankfulness springs forth the desire for giving. As the Lord God has given so much to us, we are moved by the love of Jesus to give to others. That is what we have been doing as a congregation in this month of November with Thanksgiving baskets for Koinonia (Food Pantry And Clothing Closet, Emergency Financial Aid With Counseling - The Koinonia Foundation, inc. - Alexandria, Va (koinoniacares.org). And now we’re moving on to Christmas baskets for Koinonia, to help our neighbors in need. The Christmas wishes tree out in the Narthex is another example of giving, to help children receive a special toy or gift for Christmas. And the bags that we have filled and that will be brought forward here to the Lord’s altar this evening are another example of giving that will help address hunger needs. And so our thanks overflows in giving, all in the Name of Jesus who gave himself for us.

This evening, as you entered the Sanctuary for this worship service, in addition to handing out the worship bulletin, the ushers also gave you a thank you card. The purpose of this is for you to take this home, and sometime over this Thanksgiving weekend, write a handwritten note of thanks to someone who has blessed your life. It could be a person from long ago and far away who influenced you for good. It could be a family member who has really impacted you over the years. It could be a friend or neighbor who has been there for you in lots of different ways. The point is for each one of us to take the time and express our thanks to these people for how the Lord has worked through them to bless our lives. To receive a handwritten note in this age of communication by text and emojis speaks volumes. As you write your note, lift this person in prayer before the Lord, giving thanks for them and how they have helped you see the light and love of God. And in so doing, there will be both thanks and giving.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 107:1). Amen.