The story is told of two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it.
Terrified, the one shouted to the other, "Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for it!"
John answered, "I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life."
"But your daddy was a preacher – surely he taught you some sort of prayer! So pray John, pray! The bull is catching up to us."
"All right," panted John, "I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to repeat at the table: ’O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.’"
We are here today to give thanks. And hopefully, not only to give thanks, but to feel thankful.
Some of us don’t feel thankful. We feel worried. We feel like the bulls are catching up with us.
We feel anxious, concerned, lonely, distressed, or just plain bored.
On Sunday evening, I sat down to email Thanksgiving greetings to a lot of friends and family.
Now, you know how that goes. You write a generic letter, and you copy it over and over, adding something personal at the beginning or end of the letter. But most letters say the same thing –
For me that meant saying to everyone things like, “Have a good thanksgiving,
“Be grateful to God…
“Hope you have a pleasant time with your family…”
You know, things like that.
But as I wrote Jane, I thought about her son. He was driving a car last week and was in a tragic accident. His girl friend was killed instantly, and he has still not awakened from the coma.
It is sometimes hard to give thanks.
I sent thanksgiving greetings to Bob. And as I told him to remember to give thanks, I thought about how this would be his last Thanksgiving. His cancer has spread.
It is sometimes hard to give thanks.
I sent an email to my cousin, Joe. He is struggling with his mother, who can no longer remember her son Joe.
It is sometimes hard to give thanks.
I’m told the economy is getting better, but I still know of so many who are unemployed or underemployed.
It has been two years since the attacks of September 11th, and yet we still have not captured Osama Bin Ladin and the threats of new attacks are still hanging over us.
We fought a war in Iraq, and Saddam Hussein is still on the loose. And our young soldiers are still dieing.
It is sometimes hard to give thanks.
And here is Jesus saying, “Don’t worry about your life.”
So what is your thanksgiving like?
Is it joy and gratitude, or anxiety and worry?
Sometimes it is hard to follow the instruction of Jesus and not worry about our lives.
St. Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, said something very similar when wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Paul was always giving thanks to God. In another letter, he wrote, (1Thes 5:18) "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
In our epistle lesson for this evening, St. Paul urged us to constantly lift up all sorts of prayers – including prayers of thanksgiving for everyone (1 Tim 2:1).
And before you say that it was easy for Jesus or for St. Paul or for others to give thanks because they were spiritual giants and had it simple, think again.
St. Paul talked about how difficult his life was (in II Corinthians 11:23-28. It wasn’t easy.
He said, “I have worked hard. I have been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
Yet this is the man who wrote, “Give thanks always!”
He meant we should be thankful when things are going great, but he also meant we should be thankful when things are not going our way.
It’s hard to be thankful when someone in our family dies.
When our health is threathened.
When we lose our job or go through a divorce or face a failure in our life.
And yet Paul wrote "give thanks in all circumstances."
Paul knew hard times, and he knew he should give thanks to God, even in the most difficult of situations.
It is difficult to be thankful in all situations.
Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won’t think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this."
Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this." (Daily Bread, August 26, 1989)
There is a story from Budapest, about a man who goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you."
The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week."
A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy."
The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week."
A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat--only the nine of us." (George Mikes, How to be Decadent, Andre’ Deutsch, London)
But being thankful in all situations is sometimes simply a matter of having a positive attitude. It is more than simply looking on the bright side.
It is difficult to be thankful when the doctor tells you that you have cancer, or when the teacher gives you a failing grade or the boss cuts your salary, or when a beloved friend dies.
One of our traditional hymns for Thanksgiving was written by a German Pastor, Martin Rinkart. It was long ago, in the 1600’s, amid the darkness of the Thirty Years’ War. Hundreds of people were dying. Martin Rinkart, is said to have buried five thousand of his parishioners in one year, and average of fifteen a day. His parish was ravaged by war, death, and economic disaster. In the heart of that darkness, with the cries of fear outside his window, he sat down and wrote this table grace for his children:
Now thank we all our God
With heart and hands and voices;
Who wondrous things had done,
In whom His world rejoices.
Who, from our mother’s arms,
Hath led us on our way
With countless gifts of love
And still is ours today.
Thankfulness to God is not simply a self-centered appreciation for the things God does for us, for the things God gives to us.
Thankfulness to God is a God-centered appreciation for the faithfulness of God in our lives.
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Written by Maynard Pittendreigh
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