The Pastor's Sermon - Pentecost+18 - 7 October 2012

The Pastor’s Sermon

for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost,

October 7, 2012 -- Thanksgiving Weekend

Disclaimer: At the request of a few of the congregation, I’m ‘publishing’ the text of my sermon ‘as written. I cannot guarantee that I will deliver the sermon ‘as written.’

• There are days when the readings do not fit the celebration. On such days, I as pastor may change the readings or I may put them aside. Considering the readings that are assigned for this Sunday, you can see why I might put them aside, especially considering the time of the year we are in.
• We are caught today because this weekend is also the celebration of Thanksgiving and the readings from the Lectionary do not lend themselves to a thanksgiving celebration. So I have decided not preach on them.
• There is a saying that goes like this: “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.” This quote is attributed to Eckert von Hochheim, a 14^th Century Christian teacher and theologian who is better known by his title, Meister Eckert. There is some evidence that this man was an influence on Luther, but it is not conclusive.
• Still the idea that a prayer of thanksgiving would be the best holds true. That our society puts aside a day to give thanks, to “count our blessings”, and rejoice in them is a wonderful thing. To give thanks is at the centre of the Christian life, for our relationship with God -Father, Son, and Spirit- is based on gratitude.
• There really is no other way to put it. We live our lives in thanksgiving. Even the central act of Christian worship, the Lord's Supper, is an act of thanksgiving. Another term for it can be found in your bulletin; it is called “the Great Thanksgiving” and rightly so. There may have been time when you heard it called “Eucharist.” This comes from the Greek word that means “giving thanks.” It can't get much more plain than that.
• One of the things I find attractive about our shared experience as Lutheran Christians is the fact that we are saved by grace. What had to be done for justification and salvation is done already and freely given to us. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Remember the confession: “We are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves.”
• One of the problems we have with gratitude is this: we sometimes don't know where to start. There is often so much to be grateful for that we don't know where to begin. On the other hand, our troubles are sometimes so many and so pervasive that we can't begin. There is so little to be thankful for that we can't make a start. I could be that our blessings or our pains are so many that we can't even begin to begin!
• This is where our little exercise comes in for today. Each of us will get a little slip of paper. At the top, it says “I am grateful for...”. A few little words followed by an ellipsis (the three dots) and then the rest of the paper.
• I'd like each of us to write something on that paper; I'd like each of us to name something we are grateful for. It doesn't have to be huge or profound, like a recovery from an illness or a life- changing event... although it could be. It could be as simple as a good night's sleep or real butter at breakfast or a comforting memory or song. You know yourselves best; just right it down – simply and truthfully.
• I'll have a basket here for you to put your notes of gratitude in when you come up for Holy Communion after the prayers of the Great Thanksgiving. At the end of the service, we'll all offer a prayer of thanksgiving for these things and whatever else we might be grateful for. The slips of paper will be gotten rid of; I promise I will not read them. What you have to say is between you and God. Prayers can be written, you know.
• I'd ask you to take a moment to write something down now.
• {At this point, the president of the congregation and I distributed the slips of paper and pens. Once this was done, I went back to the pulpit}
• A prayer like “thank you” is as simple as can be and yet it is quite profound. Jesus says in today's Gospel reading “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it." Gratitude and thanksgiving are so simple a child can do it, yet so profound that there might be no end to it. To be truly thankful is to be child-like before God and “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it."
• It's good to put aside a time for giving thanks. We do it every Sunday as a church and we might do it every day as individual Christians. Still we need reminders that “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice.”