This is my sermon from the Thanksgiving Eve service. I did something that I don’t often do for church services, I changed the appointed readings. I used St. Paul’s instruction on thankfulness in Romans 1 instead of the traditional reading from Timothy. St. Paul is telling the Romans why the society around them is so perverse and working against God. Unthankfulness to God leads to unbelief and rebellion against all that is decent in society.
Being thankful is not unique to Christians. Seeing thankfulness as a good attribute and attitude (I am beginning to loathe the saying, “ have an attitude of gratitude”) is not unique to Christianity. However, one cannot remain a Christian if they do not give thanks to God for all things… even our crosses.
I heard a saying recently that I thought was worth exploring in regard to celebrating Thanksgiving. It goes like this, “Thanksgiving is when the heart overcomes the memories of the mind.” This little saying recognizes that there is rarely ever a pure setting in which giving thanks is always good. You give thanks that your family is all together for Thanksgiving, but you also remember how much work it was. You are thankful that your sister-in-law is present for the holiday, but you also remember she had an abortion years earlier. You are thankful you have a home to celebrate in, but you also remember how much the taxes have gone up. You are thankful friends wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, but you remember they forgot your birthday. Thanksgiving is when the love in the heart overcomes the memories of the mind but what is true thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is not a fruit of the holy spirit. Everyone can give thanks. Even in our gospel reading the nine healed lepers were thankful they were healed. They were glad to not be cast out, not able to be around their family and friends because of their unclean disease. They were like all humans thankful for when things go well. An attitude of gratitude is not a characteristic only for Christians. The heart can overcome many memories of hurt. Previous hurts can be bought off many times. We can pay to repair someone’s car that we have hit. We can buy them an even nicer car to replace it and they be satisfied without actually forgiving us. I really miss my old truck, they might say. Parents try to buy off their children when there is a divorce, they feel guilty but end up spoiling the child for life and that doesn’t work either. Kids become bitter because in their youth they don’t give thanks and that leads to anger and resentment in their teenage and college years.
We can try and try to erase the memories of hurt and sin so that someone’s heart will overcome the memories of the mind but that’s not true thankfulness. Christians are not satisfied with someone just forgetting a sin. We want the sin forgiven. We want true thankfulness that confesses that sin has been dealt with. Sin and its effects have been reversed. Jesus doesn’t just forget sins he also repairs the damages done both to heart and mind and as we await the resurrection, the body.
A person can be thankful and not be a Christian, but you cannot remain a Christian if you are not thankful. Our second reading from Romans 1 points out something that is very important for us. “although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened”
St Paul teaches us that giving thanks is how we honor God. Paul also by the Holy Spirit says our thinking becomes useless, vain, pointless if we do not give thanks to God. In fact, this is how Christians lose their faith, they do not give thanks to God. Their hearts and minds are debased and pointless. Not giving thanks leads to unbelief.
Concretely this looks like not giving thanks to God for your job because you don’t like it. Certainly there are circumstances that call for finding a new job but we are also taught in 1 Thessalonians Rejoice always, 17pray without ceasing, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Giving thanks for a job that is hard or difficult helps you not become an unbeliever. How does that work?
Well say your job forces you to work with someone who doesn’t like you and you aren’t so much in love with them. You stew and think of all the bad stuff they do to you. They cut you down. They don’t respect you. They think everything you say is ridiculous. Pretty soon you begin to hate them and think wicked thoughts. Then as sin is crouching at the door you hate them in your heart and break the 5th commandment. You become hardened and begin to let this hate overcome you and your friends notice you’re not the same.
Giving thanks to God for your job and even your coworker stops that cycle of hate. It interrupts your “snowball” sin and says, “God gave you this job and this person is in the image of God. Forgive them. Talk to them. Work at confession and absolution.” Giving thanks reminds you by the Holy Spirit that God gives you all things for your good. You repent of the log in your own eye and then you can give thanks that your neighbor only has a splinter in their own.
Whether it’s a job or marriage or family relationships, true thanksgiving where the heart overcomes the memories of the mind can only happen by the Holy Spirit. Only by forgiveness can we still remember we’ve been sinned against yet not hold sin against others. We can truly be thankful, not because we don’t remember 30yrs ago our uncle didn’t pay back the 50$ bucks he promised you, but because we have forgiven all debts, all sins against us. We have new hearts. God says through Ezekiel, “ I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
A heart of stone is cold and dead. It is not alive. It does not forgive. But a heart of flesh is growing and living. A heart of flesh forgives. A heart of flesh needs sustenance and that is what Jesus gives us in his forgiveness of all our sin.
Jesus gave his life on the cross for our sins and not just ours but as John writes, for the sins of all people. HE is a source of new life when our minds don’t forget sin. Our new heart given, did you notice Ezekiel even in the Old Testament references baptism, our new hearts given in baptism can forgive even when it’s hard to forget.
The Holy Spirit takes your hard futile unbelieving heart and in baptism sprinkles you with refreshing life-giving water, a living heart.
But since the heart is now living it needs to be fed and exercised. God’s word and sacrament, his means of grace feed and grow your new heart. The one leper knew this, that’s why he returned to Christ. He was taught by the holy spirit that Christ Jesus always has more for you. Christ Jesus waters your heart and feeds your heart with forgiveness. God knows your sins; your history and he forgives you and remembers your sins no more. He leaves your sins in the grave and gives us a thanksgiving meal.
The Lord’s supper is a thanksgiving meal. Jesus after supper gave thanks and then instituted the Lord’s Supper. This is truly thanksgiving because God forgives you everything and he feeds your living heart. However, if you are not reconciled with someone, if you harbor hate in your heart or if you are not of one mind with fellow family members at this table, the meal is a meal of judgment. Like a thanksgiving meal where everyone knows you hate mom or dad, but no one wants to talk about it. An elephant in the room crushes a beautiful turkey every time. But the cross of Christ destroys the elephant and brings love and forgiveness.
If you want to have a good thanksgiving, give thanks. Let your heart, the nice holiday feelings, the music, the food, the traveling, forget the sins of the past. But if you want to be a Christian, do all those things but also give thanks to God even for your suffering. Give thanks to God and honor him. WE pray with David, “Create in me a clean heart of God and renew a right spirit within me.” Return to him as the one leper did because he always forgives you. He heals you and he helps you to forgive others. True thanksgiving is found in Christ where past sins are forgiven and remembered no more.
St. Paul ended and began many of his epistles with the reminder that he gives thanks to God for all the Christians he is writing to. So also, as your pastor, as 2023 comes to an end, I give thanks to God for you as a faithful gathering of saints.
See you on Sunday!
In Christ,
Pastor Ottmers