Sermons for the Month
Deep-In-The-Gut Thankfulness
DATE: November 20th, 2005
SERVICE: Service of Thanksgiving and Praise
TEXT: Luke 11:9-13, Ephesians 1:15-19“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
Our focus today is on giving thanks and praise, and I selected a Gospel lesson that is not so much about being thankful as it is about pointing out a reason we should be thankful. That word - thankful - is one that will be used a great deal this week as most of us eat more than we need to eat, see family and friends, enjoy a day or two off of work and give some attention to the topic of thankfulness. If we were honest about it, we would admit that this often is a surface exercise as we list all the things we know should stir up thankfulness, like having a place to live and food to eat and people who love us. But, I asked myself, when have I felt truly thankful not just because I'm supposed to be thankful? How often do we have an "in the gut" sense of gratitude?
Like nearly everyone here I have personally faced the illness and death of loved ones, unhappy relationships, unmet expectations and other disappointments. Those experiences have left their mark, but I recovered over time and was able to look back with a mixture of vague gratitude and sadness.
I have to say, though, that I myself have never endured the devastation of a natural disaster, or a challenging illness or the horrors of war or violence. In that sense, I have not "survived" and felt a rush of thankfulness just to be alive.
That's one extreme when it comes to being thankful that most of us probably have not experienced. But, there must be something more than surface thankfulness. So, I thought, "When have I truly felt thankful?" I tried to clear my mind and then wrote down the memories that surfaced. My initial reaction was, "This is such a strange collection that I'm not sure I should share them." But as I reflected on it further I saw that there was a common theme that I'll talk about it a moment.
There were several times that I recalled having that "in the gut" feeling of thankfulness; none of them are stupendous events.
There was what I call the "peach pie day". It was several years ago, a nearly perfect October day when I went for a walk on the Tow Path with a friend and then stopped at an outdoor café for a piece of homemade peach pie alamode. The sun was warm on my face, there was comfortable companionship and the sweet tanginess of the pie tickled my tongue. I felt a "deep in the gut" thankfulness.
The second event was the "towels in the bathroom" celebration. I had been in Bolivia for two weeks, which was a great experience, but a bit lacking in the amenities to which I am accustomed. After an eight hour flight we landed in Miami and I headed for the restroom. As I stood at the sink, looking at my tired reflection in the mirror, it suddenly hit me that the water running in the sink was warm, and the soap was abundant, and there were paper towel in the holder. I was home. The feeling of thankfulness that welled up inside of brought tears to my eyes.
The next account is really odd; it's the "I can leave the house again" incident. Due to my families' medical history I am compelled to participate in a particular medical test on a regular basis. Many of you will know immediately what I'm talking about when I say that the preparation for this test is worse than the test itself, and that it requires you to remain very close to a particular room in the house. Believe me, you do not want details. Well, this year I had to have the test twice, in April and in July. When the second one was over - before I knew any results - I went for a walk with a friend around my neighborhood. The sense of being freed that overwhelmed me literally made the thankfulness flow from my gut to my feet, and I found myself wanted to skip. Perhaps I even did so; I'm sure the neighbors wondered what was going on.
Finally, on a more somber note, I felt that in-the-gut thankfulness at Cherli Gsellman's memorial service. How amazing it was that in the face of the loss of a woman who impacted many lives, and died too young, there was so much good news - not only about her and her family but more importantly about the promise of eternal life.
Those are the four incidents that came to mind as I asked myself, "When have I felt truly thankful?" Remember I said there is a common theme in them? In each incident I became aware of what I had taken for granted - the gifts of creation, of friendship and good food, the benefits of plenty, my own physical well-being and independence and the most important aspect of my faith.
If we were honest we would have to admit that we live life taking things for granted. We give lip-service to thankfulness without feeling truly thankful. When that happens, we miss out on so much. And, one of the biggest losses is taking God's love for granted.
Today's Gospel lesson actually is in a section about prayer, but in it Jesus points out that for which we should be thankful, that we take for granted.
Let me offer a bit of background. In the portion Luke 11 that we did not read today Jesus makes it clear that being persistent, even annoying, in prayer is acceptable. It's as if he's saying, "Keep it up!" But, he also implies that if a person wishes to be successful in prayer, the key is to know what to ask for. Luckily Jesus tells what that is by sharing the prayer we now call the Lord's Prayer. As long as our prayers are in line with that prayer, God's power and presence among us will be profound.
After all, Jesus says, if earthly parents give good gifts to their children, then certainly God will do the same - and more - for us. However, please notice what the ultimate "good gift" is, it's not something that can be quantified like abundant food or good health, it's the Holy Spirit. Jesus is telling us that if there is anything for which we should be deep-in-the-gut thankful, it is God's love expressed in the gift of the Holy Spirit.
That idea is affirmed in today's first reading. Paul is telling the Christians in Ephesus that he does not cease to give thanks for and pray for them. His reason for doing so is explained in a complex sentence, but the bottom line is that he wants them to grasp what is the immeasurable greatness of God's power within them.
Now think about that, in us, in _________ and _________ and _________ the immeasurable greatness of God's power, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit, is at work. That's why when we ask, seek and knock, God responds. When we ask for God's presence and seek for God's will and knock on the door behind which God's transforming love resides we will experience God's presence and find God's will and be blown over by God's transforming love as that door swings open. The immeasurable greatness of God's power within us - the Holy Spirit - makes it happen.
But, we are too prone to forget, or we take this good gift of God for granted until something happens to remind us. So, I'll finish today with three more memories that came to the surface when I ask myself, "When have I felt truly felt thankful?"
When I was Director of Pastoral Care at St. Luke Lutheran Community I liked going to the Alzheimer's Unit. For family and friends of the people who lived there it was a difficult place to be because they had memories of the person who was ill. But I only knew the residents as they were at that moment. On numerous occasions surprising things happened.
There was the day I walked into the Unit just as the staff was attempting to persuade Doris to do something. Doris chattered a lot, but she seldom put words together in a way that made sense (well, perhaps it made sense to her, but others could not interpret what she was saying), nor did she exhibit much comprehension of what others said to her. The situation was becoming a bit tense as she interacted with her care givers. Suddenly she looked up, saw me across the room and said, "That's our pastor; she'll pray with me." Can you imagine? She had not spoken an understandable sentence for several years. To say that people were astounded is an understatement.
Another time Jo was in worship. No word had crossed her lips for two years. Her sister was particularly sad about this, and continued to bring her to worship, because Jo had been known in the community for her beautiful soprano voice.
That day we had ended the service with the hymn "Abide with Me." As the music ended and I prepared to give the benediction, there emerged from the congregation a single, clear voice singing, "Oh thou who changest not, abide with me." It was Jo. To say that people were in awe is an understatement.
To create a visual example of prayer, a volunteer made prayer ribbons on which the name for each person on the unit was written. During an outdoor service the ribbons were tied in a tree in the enclosed courtyard with a reminder that their concerns were fluttering on the wind to God.
One day several months later when the leaves had fallen and the now tattered ribbons were especially visible one of the residents sat gazing out at the tree. When I asked what he saw the response was a nod at the tree and two words, "God hears." To say that I was speechless is an understatement.
In each of those instances of being astounded and in awe and speechless I believe it was the Holy Spirit bubbling up and out of that person. And for that brief moment I did not take the immeasurable greatness of God's power, or God's love for granted. I felt truly, deep-in-the-gut thankful. AMEN