St. Paul’s United Church Sunday, November 25, 2007

Still Giving Thanks – Rev. David Mundy

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 John 6:25-35

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Happy Thanksgiving. Isn’t it wonderful to gather with family and friends at this time of year and celebrate the arrival of our Pilgrim forebearers in this land? No doubt there are turkeys roasting in your ovens even as we speak.

I know that you are thinking that this is how it begins. Poor David: he is obviously confused and disoriented, and how embarrassing for Ruth! Actually I’m okay . . . or as okay as I get. I do know that our Canadian Thanksgiving took place nearly two months ago now and that this is the American Thanksgiving weekend.

You are probably aware that this long weekend in the States is almost unrivalled in the year. Some Americans suggest that Thanksgiving is actually more important than Christmas as a family gathering and an estimated forty million people will travel by plane, train, and automobile to sit around the Thanksgiving table.

There is such a powerful mythology which goes with the American Thanksgiving. It was nearly 400 years ago in 1621 that a group of Christians which had fled religious oppression in England celebrated a harvest meal in their newly adopted land. Native people helped them plant crops and learn how to fish and hunt. They were saved from starvation and they gave thanks to God for the simple abundance of the harvest. Some historians argue that our Canadian Thanksgiving dates back even further, but how can we compete with those pilgrims!

I got thinking about this after I received emails from a couple of American friends in the last week which mentioned their Thanksgiving plans. One didn’t know that we don’t celebrate this weekend the way they do and wished my family a happy holiday.

I also looked at the lectionary passages, the suggested bible readings for this week, and saw that there was one set for Canadians churches and another for American congregations. The Canadian readings are for what is called Reign of Christ Sunday which acknowledges that Christ is the Shepherd King, the suffering servant whose reign is one marked by humility rather than hubris.

The American readings are, in fact, much the same as the ones we used for our Thanksgiving at the beginning of October. It got me wondering about why we have a thanksgiving and gratitude weekend that is only celebrated once a year. Sure we say that it is good to develop the “attitude of gratitude” all through the year but do we actually do it? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we punctuated the year with liturgical reminders of our thanks and gratitude to a generous God? How about half a dozen Thanksgivings a year?

Maybe we can settle on a couple, even just this once. This morning we heard the Thanksgiving readings many of our American brothers and sisters are also hearing, including the passage from Deuteronomy which offers specific instructions about expressing thanks to God. The people of Israel are literally and figuratively steps away from life in the land God has promised to them. They have lived as nomads in the wilderness for forty years and endured hardship and danger during their journey. They are given a list of laws they are to observe when they cross the Jordan but it isn’t just the legalities that will sustain them. They are also given specific instructions on how to worship in the Promised Land and the themes of giving thanks and expressing gratitude in practical ways will be part of their liturgical life.

Would you agree that this is a perfect passage for Thanksgiving Sunday or any Sunday when we are giving thanks? We live in a land flowing with milk and honey by just about any definition. Our economy is strong and unemployment is low. Year after year the United Nations tells us that Canada ranks among the best nations in the world in which to live using a host of indicators. Our infant mortality rate is low, women are treated as human beings, we have universal healthcare and a social safety network. No, it is not a perfect country, but where would you rather live?

There are a fair number of us here today who either emigrated to Canada from other countries of the world or are the children of immigrants. Despite the challenges represented in those journeys we have prospered, for the most part, and enjoyed the fruits of our labours.

Why do you think it is a challenge to live gratefully and thankfully from day to day? I’m sure that if we were all asked if we are living the good life we would probably say yes, after some consideration. That doesn’t mean that life is always the proverbial “bed of roses” but there is a great deal for which we can give thanks. As Christians we draw a direct line between that good life and the God who created and redeemed us.

Still, we are immersed in a culture which is often reluctant to recognize abundance. We are regularly reminded of what we don’t have and of what we absolutely need, even though it may actually be more of a need than a want. While we are made aware of the often desperate plight of our neighbours locally and globally we may actually be immunized against generosity by the bombardment of these images. So even though we are prosperous and even grateful it doesn’t always translate into generosity.

Just recently Statistics Canada shared information with us about charitable giving in this country. I was surprised to read that the median amount claimed by Canadians on their tax returns in 2006 was $250. This means that half of us have less than $250 in receipts to charitable causes each year and half have more.

I appreciate that not all charitable giving results in tax receipts but since none of us is fond of Revenue Canada this is probably a fairly good snapshot. It struck me that if our income is twenty five-thousand dollars then two hundred and fifty is one percent. And if it is fifty thousand then it represents one half of one percent. Every circumstance is different but the figures suggest that many Canadians are not stretching themselves to the limit.

What we are told is that people who go to church or synagogue or mosque or temple are more inclined to give financially and in other ways, not only their own organization but to other worthy causes. Why is that? Surely it is because it is in our faith communities, and in our worship that we are taught and reminded that our God is a generous God and we can respond in kind.

I recently began reading a book by a flawed but intriguing American, former president Bill Clinton. It’s called Giving: How Each of us Can Change The World. I haven’t got through enough to tell you whether it is a worthwhile read but I like some of his chapter titles:

Giving Money

Giving Time

Giving Things

Giving Skills

Gifts of Reconciliation and New Beginnings

Gifts That Keep on Giving

Giving to Good Ideas

These headings remind us that our gratitude and generosity are not restricted to what we do with our money but affect every aspect of life. Clinton points out that religions encourage gratitude which is expressed in practical generosity.

All religious faiths speak to our shared obligations to help one another...All Christians are taught to tithe ten percent of our income and to love our neighbours as ourselves. From an early age, we are reminded over and over again that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” All other faiths, in one form or another, teach the moral imperative of giving...They teach that practicing charity without expecting anything in return is essential to creating a mind free of jealousy or hatred, something we all need.

Giving: How Each of us Can Change The World

Bill Clinton

We should note the words, “practicing charity” because we know the old adage that “practice makes perfect.” Thankful and generous people are made not born. It takes a lifetime to develop the practice of generosity. The word charity comes from the Latin word “caritas” which is love. When people of faith practice charity we are practicing God’s love.

Our gospel lesson for this “thanksgiving” Sunday is one of those sign passages in John. Jesus describes himself as Living Water and the Good Shepherd and the True Vine. And in our reading today Jesus is the Bread of Life who give life to the world. Jesus has just fed a big crowd with a few loaves and fishes and so people searched him out asking for more. Here he promises to fulfill their spiritual hunger.

What an important reminder that we will not be filled in an outlet mall in Buffalo, no matter how great the bargains. We will not be filled by our team winning the Grey Cup. We will not be filled by the best investment portfolio. We will be filled and fulfilled by the bread of life who was broken for us and asks us to be bread which will change our world. This is our powerful story of life.

Since today is another Thanksgiving Sunday I want to thank you for being generous people. This is a generous congregation and you are a faith community with a heart. Thank you for all the ways you live your trust that Christ dwells in your hearts and minds. Christ satisfies the hungry heart and as we are fed we receive the courage and comfort to be different.

Please don’t forget this part. Be different. Accept the challenge to grow and expand and deepen your thanksgiving each and every day. We aren’t done yet! Christ has so much more for us if we are willing partners and we still choose to live with gratitude and thanksgiving.

I’ll finish up this morning with a prayer that came to me this week from an American friend.

God you satisfy the hungry heart...

And so we approach You with gratitude,

immense gratitude,

for all that we have, and all that we are,

for everything from the air we breathe to sustain our bodies,

to the love we breathe to sustain our souls.

And we thank You, God, for satisfying our hungry hearts.

Fill us again, from Your stores which are never depleted. Amen!

Rev. Karen Ebert in What I Tell My Heart