Thanksgiving Sermon
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
"The First Fruits"
The Lord God said, " When you come into the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and have taken possession of it, and live in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place which the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there."
As we gather this evening to celebrate the day of Thanksgiving which comes upon us tomorrow, our thoughts turn to the Pilgrims who came to America and celebrated what we have regraded as the first Thanksgiving. But as you heard the first lesson read this evening from Deuteronomy, the first Thanksgiving was really celebrated by the Israelites as they moved into the promised land. God told them as they came into this land flowing with milk and honey, they were to take the first fruits of the ground, place them in a basket and take it to the priest. There they were to relive through the words of that speech which begins, "A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty and populous," God’s deliverance in their lives.
Because God had delivered and blessed them, God asked them to return to Him the first fruits of the ground, to give thanksgiving to Him for this act of deliverance in their lives.
For the Israelites, their thanksgiving was seen in the action of God as He delivered them from Egypt and brought them into this land flowing with milk and honey. The Pilgrims gave thanks for the deliverance which came to them during their first year on the North American shore. They were delivered from hunger by a good summer crop, they were delivered from war by peacefully living with the Indians, they were delivered from cold by building strong sturdy homes, we could go on and on. Deliverance brought thanksgiving into their hearts.
Can we think of Thanksgiving as deliverance for us?? Think about that for a moment?? Usually, when we think of this time of Thanksgiving, we list all those things we are thankful that we have or been blessed with. But what about being thankful for all those things we have been delivered from, that we don’t have to experience???
Maybe the following will help clarify my point:
"There was a man who lived with his 6 children in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Just before school was to start all of his children were in need of new shoes. At the same time the washing machine wore out. To top it all off, because of bad weather, his work as a carpenter had dwindled to almost nothing.
He was able to scrap together enough money to buy the children shoes, but he ran an ad in the paper wanting to buy a used washing machine. One day the phone ran, and it was someone who had a used washing machine to sell. He went to the home and noticed they had all the things he wished for his family. After talking to the man of the house concerning the washing machine and how he would get it home, the conversation got around to children. Claude, the out of work carpenter, began complaining about how expensive it was to raise 6 children. Especially when they all needed shoes at the same time. The woman of the house ran out of the room crying. Her husband explained that they had only one child who had been paralyzed from birth and he had never needed a pair of shoes.
When Claude got home, he picked up the worn-out shoes, worn out from skipping rope, kicking rocks, and jumping puddles, and he went off to be by himself. Kneeling by his bed he gave thanks to God for the worn-out shoes in his house. "
Claude was thankful for the deliverance he had been granted, his children could walk, run and skip rope. They could wear out a pair of shoes. Claude had been delivered from the pain of the other family who could not watch their child run, kick rocks, jump and wear out shoes. Have you been thankful for the deliverance which has been granted in your life ??
Think about all the food each of us will consume tomorrow ?? Are you thankful you have been delivered from the pain of hunger, the sickness of malnutrition when countless men, women and children around the world are now dying a slow and painful death because of the lack of food ??
A housewife as she worked around her house, began to think about all those things she had been delivered, even as she tackled all the household chores many get tired of doing.
Listen to her thoughts: "Lord, thank You for this sink of dirty dishes, we have good food to eat. Thank you for this pile of dirty laundry, we have nice clothes to wear. I’d like to thank You for these unmade beds, they were all comfortable last night."
She was thankful in the midst of her work, because she knew in her heart she had been delivered from hunger. She was delivered from the extremes of the elements with the clothes waiting to be washed. She was delivered from a fitful night sleep as she slept in a warm house and a comfortable bed.
Thankful hearts come as we recall all those acts of deliverance which God brought into our lives. We can and should be thankful for these acts. But, I venture to say, most people take their good fortune, their health, their wealth, their warm clothes, and hardy food for granted or see them as their due. They are not thankful, but expect this as something owed to them by life or by God. It is not owed, but given freely from God. When we realize that everything in life, those things we have been delivered from, and those things we do possess, all come from God, we have a very difficult time being thankful, because we realize we depend on God for everything. And most of us, even if we don’t want to admit it, are self-centered enough not to want to be depend on anyone, let alone God.
Paul Tillich, a famous theologian of our times says this about thanks and thanksgiving. "The reason most of us do not respond to ’thank you’ or do not say ’thank you’ is because we instinctively realize that it makes us somehow dependent on that person. If I thank you, I am saying that I am dependent on you, and I am publicly affirming it before God and people. Gratitude is an action that has its roots in grace, the free undeserved love-action of God. When we are truly grateful, we become starkly aware that we are wholly dependent for everything upon God and upon our fellow human beings who are made in His image. When we are truly grateful, we recognize that God has favored us, whether we deserve favoring no not."
Thanksgiving is our acknowledgement that we are dependent on God for all His acts of deliverance and all His blessings in our lives. Thanksgiving is a two fold time for us. We are "thankful" for being delivered, and we are thankful for the blessings we have.
Our thanksgiving to God is an action commanded by God. Notice in our text, He commands the people to put the first fruits in a basket and take it to the priest. God wants our physical act of response, a physical movement on our part. Thankfulness toward is not a self-conscious attitude dutifully displayed in response to the demands of religious custom. Neither is true thanksgiving just something we say or a gift we bring. True "thanksgiving" is simply the quality of life that we live. Thanksgiving is a daily attitude of gratefulness toward God who delivers us from painful situations and who grants to us many blessings. Thanksgiving is an attitude which acknowledges God is indeed in control of life. Without God nothing would be possible.
We are a people who have been delivered and blessed. As we look around this world, let us see our deliverance and blessings and not be jealous, or selfish, or self-centered. Let us truly be a grateful people, dependent on God for all of life.
I close with the following poem:
Today upon a bus, I saw....A lovely girl with golden hair....I envied her---she seemed so young--....I wished I were one-half so young--...I wished I were one-half as fair....When suddenly she rose to leave...I saw her hobble down the aisle;....She had one leg; she used a crutch...As she passed, she flashed a smile....O GOD, FORGIVE ME WHEN I WHINE!!...I HAVE TWO LEGS, THE WORLD IS MINE!!
And when I stopped to buy some sweets,....the lad who sold them had such charm....I talked with him--he seemed so glad---....If I were late, ’would do no harm....And as I left he said to me;......"I thank you, You have been so kind,...."You see," he added, "I am blind.".....O GOD, FORGIVE ME WHEN I WHINE !!! I’M BLESSED INDEED !! THE WORLD IS MINE !!!
Amen
