"Learning to Say 'Thank You!'"

A sermon preached on Thanksgiving Day, November 22 at Edgemont Chrsitian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. The sermon is based on Deuteronomy 26:1-11.

There are some hymns that I think we need to sing more often in the church. Among these, are the ones that reflect thanksgiving! You know, sadly, hymns such as "We Gather Together" and "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come," and "Now Thank We All Our God" are reserved solely for Thanksgiving Day, or the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving. Seldom are these hymns sung at any other time of the year. And perhaps, even sadder, is the fact that this neglecting to express thanksgiving is done so not only when it comes to the hymns we sing, but also in our attitudes.
If there is one thing we Christians need help in expressing more thoroughly and earnestly, it is the attitude of thanksgiving. It seems that God has blessed us to such a great extent and for so long that we accept God’s blessings, not as an act of divine grace, but rather as some sort of entitlement. Do we somehow feel that we are entitled to the blessings we receive that we fail to return with thanks as those nine lepers in that familiar story told in the Gospel of Luke? Do we somehow think that we are entitled to the blessings we receive that we feel we have no obligation to offer thanks to the Blesser?
Sure, Sunday after Sunday we sing; "Praise God, from whom all blessings flow…" but how often are those words an expression of a deep sense of thanksgiving for what God has given? Sadly, they have become mere words that we utter in response to our offering. Do we fail to realize that we come Sunday after Sunday to the table of eucharistia – the table of Eucharist – the table of Thanksgiving to be fed with the life-giving bread and the saving cup, or has this too become another routine of ours? Do we fail to realize that we gather weekly for worship – which is our greatest expression of thanksgiving, to lift our voices in song, to offer prayers, to be strengthened through our fellowship and hear the promises of God through Scripture, or has this become a weekly obligation for us? Indeed, for many, our neglecting to express thanksgiving is done so not only when it comes to the hymns we sing, but in our attitudes.
Joseph Swaim once wrote; "Although we are called to keep Thanksgiving in November, let us not forget that every day brings cause for giving thanks." The Bible has a lot to say about "thanksgiving." And perhaps, there’s good reason for that.
Thanksgiving is really the day when we pause to reflect and remember the abundant blessings that God has bestowed upon us as individuals and as a nation. However, sadly, many Americans - including Christians will use this special day, which has been designated as Thanksgiving Day as a day of indulgence, intemperance and ingratitude. What’s more, many will be totally oblivious of God’s goodness and blessings.
One of the Bible’s greatest history lessons is that God made certain that particular rituals were woven into the fabric of the Hebrew people. One such example is in the ritual preparation for Passover, which is told in Exodus chapter 12. There we find detailed instructions on how, when and where to eat the Passover meal. Moreover, these instructions yield theological meaning. Likewise, in our Scripture Lesson for this morning, the people of Israel are instructed concerning rituals that will continue to remind them that they are not like other people. They are a people, formed by God, to be a just society that bears in mind the less fortunate and a community that offers its thanksgiving to God. Moses reminds the people of what they are to do when they have entered the land of promise. Not only are they to possess it and settle it; they are also to offer "the first of all the fruit of the ground." Why? Because, by offering their firstfruits to God, they remind themselves that they have not possessed and settled the land by their own doing. It is a gift from God. It is a divine expression of the grace in which they dwell. Nothing they do or can do, will alter the unearned nature of God’s gift to them. The proper response of the people is clearly not self-congratulation – the appropriate response is nothing other than a human expression of thanksgiving to God – the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of all of life.
The Reverend David Mosser once said; "Now that I am a grandfather, I recognize that children are not born grateful – not even the best children. However, I constantly watch my daughter and son-in-law remind their three-year-old daughter to say "Thank you." "My granddaughter," Mosser says, "is to say this to anyone who has shown her some form or gesture of kindness." He went on to say, "It is through this that I learned that none of us are born grateful." And our Scripture Lesson this morning from Deuteronomy is another way that God reminds all of us, no matter our age, that gratitude is a characteristic we need to learn and cultivate. We are not born grateful or thankful – we, like children need to be reminded every now and then to say "Thank you." It’s like the story of the little boy whose grandparents gave him a toy. As he was handed the toy, received it and started back toward his room to play with the new toy. Just then, his mother interrupted and said; "Johnny, what do you say?" Johnny turned to his mother with a puzzled look on his face, thought about it for a moment or two, and then turned to his grandparents and said; "Oh yea, I’ll take it!"
We have to be reminded sometimes to say "Thank you." The Hebrews viewed worship as a means of thanksgiving. In fact, worship is our greatest expression of thanksgiving. And this is clearly expressed in the Hebrew words for "thanksgiving" – toda and yada. Both of these words denote the idea of thanksgiving being expressed through worship.
There is a powerful lesson to be learned in the lyrics of that hymn, which reads; "Now thank we all our God with hearts, and hands and voices." As this hymn reminds us there is a three-fold expression to our thanksgiving. Thanksgiving should involve our hearts, our hands and our voices. Indeed, Thanksgiving must be heartfelt. The Greek word for "heart" is kardia, which is to say the very center of all passion and trust – the source of our thoughts, feelings and emotions – that must be where our thanksgiving is derived. If it is truly heartfelt then it will be expressed in our hands and our voices, as well. If it is heartfelt it is expressed in our actions, in our works, in our songs, in our speech. And so, may we truly live out this three-fold expression of thanksgiving – "Now thank we all our God with hearts, and hands and voices."