Gratitude Always

Philippians 4:6 “Gratitude Always”

Friends in Christ, I hope for you – for your family, your friends – that these next several days are happy ones. I hope that you have time to enjoy good people, good food, good times as our nation reminds us to be grateful for the blessings we have individually and collectively as a country.

To help set the context for our time together tonight, may I share these Thanksgiving facts with you – keeping in mind that they may be facts or fiction? (1) The first Thanksgiving took place in 1621. (2) Every Thanksgiving since 1945, the current U.S. president pardons a turkey. (3) Macy's has hosted a parade every Thanksgiving since 1924. (4) Thanksgiving is the largest travel day of the year. (5) Americans eat over 280 million turkeys every Thanksgiving. (6) Watching football – and ignoring Mom’s call to dinner - is an integral part of most Thanksgiving celebrations. (7) There were no turkeys or spoons at the first Thanksgiving.

(1) Now that we have reviewed the facts about Thanksgiving, let’s review the purpose of the holiday. It is good to be reminded about gratitude because it is not always in our hearts or on our minds. No, instead of gratitude, anxiety is.

St. Paul wrote something very similar in his letter to the Christians in Philippi, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Anxiety, by definition, is overwhelming sense of apprehension about the events in our lives and our ability to cope with them. A survey conducted by the National Institute of Health last year reported that nearly 50% of us deal with anxiety almost every day. Worries, doubts, fears, insecurities and like enter our hearts and minds and stay there, causing us to live uncertain, unhappy lives.

Anxiety, if you will, should concern us because it is a First Commandment issue. When we worry, doubt, fret, and become apprehensive about the people and circumstances in our lives, we stop trusting that our Heavenly Father will care for us. We assume that role for ourselves. And, when God is gone, so is gratitude.

When you read Paul’s letter, you will note that there was discord, division, self-centeredness and arrogance among the disciples. Many looked to their own interests and not that of others. And, when they looked chiefly at themselves, they stopped looking at God. It is difficult to be grateful to God when He holds little to no place in your life.

Our situation has some similarities but is not the same. Yes, there are self-centered people around us. Yes, some are vainly arrogant and rude. But, even more, we worry about the economy and our ability to pay our bills. We worry about our country, unending wars, and political gamesmanship. We fret about Covid, RSV, the flu and health issues. We are concerned about our children. Like the Philippians, God is present in our thoughts but not usually in His rightful place. And, gratitude is gone.

(2) Instead, St. Paul urges us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Allow me to give you an example that helps us understand. A man invited a friend to go hear a preacher, saying, “I want you to hear the most thankful preacher I’ve ever heard.” The two men weathered a ferocious storm to hear the man deliver a sermon. On the way to the church, they thought no one would be there; they doubted if even the preacher would be present. Happily, for them, when they arrived, they found the preacher sitting in a chair near the pulpit. The stranger said to his friend, “He has no one to listen. There’s a storm outside. It looks like we will have a flood. He certainly will not have anything to be thankful for tonight!” “Let’s listen and see,” said the friend. When the preacher finally stood up, he asked to begin with a prayer and said, “Dear Lord, it is stormy outside. It looks as if the roads will wash away before we can get out of the church tonight. It’s an awful storm. But we who are here, are thankful that it’s not always this way.” A prayer of thanksgiving even in the middle of turbulence!

It is a reminder of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ eventual arrest and crucifixion. He asked with fervency, “Father, let this cup of suffering pass from Me if it be Your will … but, let Your will be done.” Then, strengthened by His Father amid horrible circumstances and a waiting cross, Jesus embraced the circumstances and sacrificed Himself so that we might have forgiveness, life, and hope – no matter what. Through faith in Him, we have every reason to be grateful. Every day. In every circumstance. And, to express it with prayers of thanksgiving like the one you know well: “Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good and His mercy endures forever.”