THANKSGIVING WITHOUT THE STUFFING

In the middle of the Children's Message last Sunday I realized how much of my thanksgiving is driven by gladness for what I have. As we talked about Thanksgiving, I mentioned how glad we are to have homes that are warm and dry, clean sheets on the bed, food on the table, and people who love us.  

Now the truth is that there is nothing wrong with being thankful for blessings -large and small- in life. In fact, seeing the blessings is a sign that we are alive, I think. To see food on the table, notice clean sheets on the bed, give thanks for the ability to stand up and walk across the room, feel inspired by the beauty of a book or song or film artfully constructed, to be glad for the ache in your legs as you make your way down a snow covered mountain, to rejoice in the glory of the child you hold in your arms, is such a good thing!

If you have eyes to see these things, and if you have a heart that knows how to dance the thanksgiving jig, you are blessed!

And yet...what if we had few -or none- of these things? How much of our gratitude is driven by the good stuff we have received? Is the core of our thanksgiving about what we have or who it is who has us?

One of my favorite passages, especially at this time of the year, is from Habakkuk 3. The writer rejoices even in a very difficult season of life: "Though the fig tree doesn't bloom, and there's no produce on the vine; though the olive crop withers, and the fields don't provide food....I will rejoice in the LORD. I will rejoice in the God of my deliverance."

As I list all the "stuff" for which I am thankful, I think of my brothers and sisters in places like Guatemala, Haiti, Mali, and Zimbabwe who have very little in the way of soft beds, well-constructed homes, and pantries full of food. Their lives hum with thanksgiving! The act of bringing their offerings forward in worship becomes an exuberant, joyful time of singing and dancing. Their gratitude is fired by their love for God and their experience of God's love for them in Jesus.

The steadfast love of God for us and all creation, the presence of the Risen Christ in every day and every night of our lives, the promise that Love Wins: all these give us a reason to rejoice and give thanks even if we have -in terms of worldly stuff- next to nothing! Paul, in Philippians 4, talks about God's peace that is with the people. He then says, "I have learned how to be content in any circumstance. I know the experience of being in need and having more than enough; I have learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance, whether full or hungry or whether having plenty or being poor."

Being thankful because of the stuff(ing) in our lives is one thing.

Being thankful because of the grace and truth of God in our lives is something much better!

May your time of Thanksgiving be full of God!

   

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark Fenstermacher