GIVE
THANKS, BUT HOW?
PSALM
118
NOVEMBER
18, 2007
WESLEY
UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Douglas
Norris
On
the north side of Chicago is Evanston, Northwestern University, and
Garrett Theological Seminary from which I graduated, all of which are
located on the western shore of beautiful Lake Michigan. Lake
Michigan is usually a calm, blue, restful lake; but when storms
strike, the lake can become fierce and destructive. Many years ago
during a violent storm, a student at Northwestern University, Edward
Spencer, personally rescued seventeen people from a shipwreck. When
they carried him to his room the exhausted young man kept asking over
and over, “Did I do my best? Do you think I did my best?” Years
later at a convocation in Los Angeles, a speaker was describing the
shipwreck and Edward Spencer’s heroic lifesaving, when someone
called out that Spencer was in the audience. Now elderly and
white-haired, he was invited to the platform and asked what he
remembered of the incident. He said,” I remember that of the
seventeen people I saved, no one of them ever thanked me.”
This
Thanksgiving, be generous with your thank yous. Give the gift of
appreciation. Gifts do not need to be monetary, nor things. Write
some thank you notes this Thanksgiving to people who have blessed
your life.
One
Thanksgiving Day years ago, I wrote a thank you letter to my fifth,
sixth and seventh grade teacher. My school was so small; we had two
grades in one room. I had Mrs. Stewart in fifth and sixth grades,
and when I went to seventh grade, they had reorganized the classes.
Sixth and seventh grades were now together, and there she was again.
We all groaned! She was one of those tough teachers who put up with
no nonsense. She made us behave, and she made us learn, whether we
wanted to or not! Being that kind of teacher, she did not receive
many thanks at the time.
I
realized years later what an excellent teacher she was, and how she
had influenced my life. So one Thanksgiving morning I sat down and
wrote her a letter. Years later, when I saw her, she remembered the
letter, and how she was deeply moved by it. She had delighted in
telling how she received a letter with the return address of some
Methodist Church. As she was a faithful Roman Catholic, she thought,
“Now, what are these Methodists trying to do?” But what a
surprise when she opened it and read my thank you.
After
I encouraged my Merced congregation to write thank you letters, Ralph
went home and wrote a letter of gratitude to his parents. Three
weeks later, without any warning, his mother died. He went to
Michigan for her funeral, and neighbors told him how much the letter
meant to his parents. Give the gift of gratitude this Thanksgiving.
How
about Jesus? Is Jesus waiting for you to say thank you? Can you
think of anything you have which isn’t a gift from God, and
deserving of your heartfelt thanks? Everything you have is a gift
from God. Your birth is a gift from God. Your second birth—your
salvation—is a gift from God. Your relationship with God is a
gift. You didn’t earn or deserve it. Grace is a gift.
What
God expects in return is your thanks. You thank God by offering your
praise. The choir and the Jazz Band lead us today, and make it easy
to praise, to hold nothing back, sing with all your body, give thanks
and praise. In 1 Thessalonians 5.18, Paul wrote, “Give thanks in
all circumstances.” Note it doesn’t say “for all
circumstances,” but “in”. Likewise, in Romans 5.3, Paul wrote,
“Rejoice in our sufferings.” Again, “in” not “for”. We
don’t praise God for evil or destruction or pain. We give thanks
and praise God for transforming and healing. We give thanks because
nothing can separate us from the love of God. We praise God because
God works in
all things for good. Our hope is grounded in the actions of God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the presence of God through the
Holy Spirit. Therefore, we praise, rejoice, and give thanks.
But
praise is not only verbal, it is physical. We not only lift up our
voices in songs of praise, but we also bring financial offerings,
giving out of the abundance that we have received. Paul laid it out
in 2 Corinthians 9.10-11, reading from The Message, “This most
generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your
meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you
can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in
God, wealthy in everyway, so that you can be generous in everyway,
producing...abundant and bountiful thanksgivings to God.”
We
are in the midst of our Pony Express Financial Campaign. So far,
pledges for 2008 exceed the total of those received for 2007, and
cards are still coming in. Praise God! Thank you for your
faithfulness. We thank God by sharing our abundance.
Last
week Flo Oishi was buying groceries to make brown bag lunches for the
homeless. She noticed the man behind her had only one item, so she
invited him to go ahead of her in line. Then they began to visit.
He asked why she had so much bread and bologna in her basket. When
he found out it was for the homeless, the hungry, he insisted on
paying for the groceries! He said there was a time in his life when
he had to choose between paying the rent and purchasing food. Now he
wanted to help those who are hungry.
And,
we thank God by serving, by offering not only our gifts, but our time
and talents to do God’s work. In Walnut Creek, we live in Rossmoor,
a retirement community. Every Thursday afternoon, a group of
volunteers travel for an hour-long bus ride to Boys’ Ranch, a youth
rehabilitation facility (a jail!), where they spend two hours on a
one-on-one basis tutoring a boy. 92-year-old Barbara had volunteered
for 14 years, when she recently fell, and is now in a care facility.
Let me read excerpts from a letter her boy at the Ranch sent her when
he learned she could no longer come, “Hello, how are you doing.
Just fine I am hoping. As for me a little mad and upset about the
news...I think we have become the best of friends. You have always
been there when I wanted to talk to someone and no matter what you
always listened…I will write you more letters and I wont forget you
ever…Take care of yourself lady and don’t hurt yourself no more.
World’s Love Always Best Tutor! Your Friend CHARLIE.”
Give
thanks. Give thanks in all circumstances. Give thanks to God in
praise. Give thanks to those who bless you.
Please
take a pencil, a corner of the bulletin, or some piece of paper.
Please look back to a time when someone did something significant for
you, and you have not yet thanked him/her. Parents, a teacher, a
neighbor, a Sunday School teacher, a friend? While the band is
setting up, write the name down, and make a plan as to how you will
express gratitude. Write a letter? Call on the phone? If he/she is
in this room now, plan to talk during the fellowship time after the
service.
Then,
when you have finished, we will joyfully, robustly, thankfully sing!
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