Bishop Webb of the Upper New York Annual Conference opened his Thanksgiving message with the question “What if you woke up tomorrow morning and all you had were the things you had given thanks for?” I challenge you with the same question and use it for the basis of my thoughts for my message today.
The words of the Eucharist, the service of Communion, or the Great Thanksgiving begin with a call and response that invites the Lord to be with us and acknowledges that it is right to give God our thanks and praise. Theologian Karl Barth says that mans basic response it that of gratitude to God. C.S. Lewis adds this observation about people: The humblest most balanced people I know praise God; the cranks, misfits and malcontents praise the least.
In the story of the ten lepers being healed, only one returns to say thank you. I am not convinced that Barth is right about his observation of people’s basic response to God being thankful. I don’t know about you but I shake my head at most of the celebrities that come to stage to accept awards and first thank God for their talent and ability. Especially when they were in the paper a week or so ago for drug use or abusing their spouse or ex spouse during a custody battle, or for beating a paparazzi or other behavior that plays directly against behavior that reflects the words they said.
I also acknowledge that sometime it is difficult to give praise to God. When you’re sick from chemo or throwing up from a virus or in pain after surgery; it is difficult at that moment to be thankful. We all have days, weeks, months and sometimes even years where we feel forgotten or abandoned by God; seasons in our lives where thankfulness is at the least difficult to find.
What I know from my life experience is that it is in those seasons that we need to intentionally practice gratitude. In our culture of instant everything, including instant gratification, we have lost appreciation for what we have. We have so much, all we can do is want more. We have made it difficult to find gratitude for what we have. This is one reason I support our mission work through the church. When you step away from what is ordinary in your life, you get a glimpse of how extraordinary your life is.
I agree with many others, including C.S. Lewis; much of life is determined by your attitude. We were designed to give thanks and praise to God. Without praise and thanksgiving, life can seem miserable. Indeed, I believe that some of us are so concerned with a life after this one, we have forgotten to live and enjoy each moment of this life we have been entrusted with. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone lived a life thankful for what they had rather than coveting what someone else has. Thankfulness and gratitude can change the world.
For those of you who walk the line between science and religion; there is proof that grateful people life longer and are happier than those how have the perpetual grumpies.
We baptized Ava this morning. With her, another generation and another person, comes into the Body of Christ to be nurtured by this community of faith. This is a privilege and a responsibility for us. It is something we thank God for. The garden and the produce we harvested from it is something to be thankful for. The relationships that are developing because of the work of those involved in and through the garden is something to be thankful for. The shower trailer and the relationships that are nurtured and developed through that are something to be thankful for. The relationships developed through our service in the Karing Kitchen is something to be thankful for. The money that was earned through the Harvest Supper and the Bale Sale on Election Day are things to be celebrated and thankful for.
Take it up to the conference and denomination level. We need to celebrate the work done on the Gulf Coast, the work done in Joplin, Middleburgh, and Binghamton. We need to be thankful for the ability to help in Vermont, Owego, Red Bird Mission, Georgia and Tennessee where the people of the United Methodist Church have come together in Mission Teams to help friends and strangers in need.
We need to look at the lives impacted by Africa University and see how that United Methodist sponsored school in Africa is helping to bring peace and knowledge to the continent of Africa. We need to be grateful for the people affected by wells drilled in Sudan and the people whose life has been changed by the United Methodist partnership in the Nothing But Nets program. Did you know that in five years we have helped to cut in half the number of people dying from Malaria? We need to celebrate the lives being changed by the people known as United Methodists and the people known as Christians around the world. We are making a difference. At this celebratory time of year, let us remember what Christ has done through us.
Faith is complete when we show gratitude. Consider this as you go through your week and as we begin our preparation for Christmas: if faith is not something that we have, rather something we do or a lifestyle choice. Isn’t that our ultimate way of trusting God? Isn’t a lifestyle of faith and gratitude the ultimate way of showing thanksgiving and gratitude to the creator? Let us be thankful for our ordinary lives which are nothing but ordinary. Let us live lives of gratitude for each breath we take.
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