Sermon, Thanksgiving (A)

 This weekend, we are being invited to remember all that we have to be thankful for. And my goodness, do we have much to be thankful for!

And yet, this year is... different. Our normal high festival is... smaller, more subdued, less exuberant. 

For some of us, that may feel okay... for others, it may feel very strange. And that's okay: so long as we keep it as a time to thank God. 

 

Because however we intend to celebrate the Harvest this year, we are invited to do so with a spirit of grace and gratitude. It's a time to focus not on what we are missing, but on what we have. 

 

We have land and sea - abundantly - thanks be to God.

We have food - abundantly - thanks be to God.

We have each other - also abundantly - thanks be to God.

We have love - with abundance we can't even imagine - thanks be to God.

We have health, and 

We have much to be thankful for. 

And God is with us: at the table, in the phone calls, in the Zoom and Skype; God is with us in the masks and the non-hugs and the distance that keeps us safer. God is with us in the family bubbles and the neighbourly waves and the difference. God is here. 

 

We have much to be thankful for!

And I think it is important for us to remember that to be thankful is a choice. A dear friend expresses it best: standing at the water's edge, she'll look out, breathe deeply, and say "Thank you". It absolutely baffles her how anyone could NOT be thankful. "Look at that. Look at THAT!" she'll say. "How can you NOT thank God?"

It's a powerful and beautiful to watch her engage with that level of faith and emotion.

 

And it reminds us that thankfulness starts with an emotion: and emotions can't be forced. They can't be imposed. They can't be controlled by anyone but ourselves. 

We can't make anyone fall in love with us: ask any teenager with a crush!

We can't make someone else happy - even with the corniest of dad jokes.

We can't create another person's anger - or fear - or disgust - or any other emotion! 

And no one else can do that to us, either. It's part of the free will that we bear: the control over how we respond to the world. 

So let's think about that for a moment: we are responsible for our own emotions. So that means that we have the opportunity - the privilege, even - to choose to be thankful. To bear an attitude of gratitude. To be intentional about giving thanks.

To be sure, this doesn't mean that everything will be rainbows and butterflies: but it also means we don't have to wait for those idyllic moments in order to seek out a thankful perspective. 

 

It's a great practice: to want to give thanks. To desire to share gratitude. 

 

And as with most practices: the more we do it, the easier it gets; and the more we can want to do it. It's what Paul is talking about on today's epistle reading. In his inimical bluntness: The Point Is This! he says. The point is that what we have, we have been given... and that includes the chance to be giving. To celebrate what we have received by then sharing it with the world around us. And this is not about the standard earthly things - this is about those realities that transcend: it's about sharing love - and compassion - and grace - and faith. And: when we give that out to the world, we will continue to recognise just how much we are already - always - receiving. 

 

And when we do - regardless of whether it's a Turkey and Pumpkin long weekend or not - let's be the one in ten to break convention, break the mould, move beyond what social norms say is okay: let's seek out the presence of God in our midst and be thankful. 

Let's let our thankfulness and our faith make us - and keep us - spiritually well. 

 

Let's embrace the gifts of God in our lives. Maybe they are things that we overlooked in other years. Things that are entirely new to us this year. Things that we never EVER imagined we'd be grateful for:

Like the apple tree in the yard, that's feeding the deer - who are stunning to watch (even when the dogs bark).

Like the crinkles at our eyes - so people can tell we're smiling beneath our masks. 

Like the stars twinkling at night - that we may not have looked at for a while.

Like the extra steps that we're taking when we forget our masks and have to turn around to get them - because surely all those burned calories means another slice of pie, right?

Let's look for ways to be thankful - to practice what it's like to live with grateful and faith-filled hearts. For truly, we will realise that when we are coming to God with thanksgiving, we are already in the land that God has provided. 

 

Thanks be to God, indeed. Thanks be to God.