Giving Thanks: Lessons from the Old Testament

When I was a young girl growing up in Indiana, fall was a time of harvest.  I grew up in the flat land of central Indiana, where the black earth yielded prolific crops.  We would drive down the rural roads, laid out straight as if a giant hand had lined them with a ruler, and spread as far as the eye could see were fields of golden grain.  My dad had a small plane, and from the air, the fields made perfect squares, like my grandmother’s patchwork quilts.  Late into the evening, the combines would be out in the fields, reaping, threshing, and winnowing the crops.

Corn and soy beans, the two largest cash crops, were harvested from late September through the end of November.  Gardens produced wonderful bounty—sweet corn, squash, onions and grapes were gathered in September.  In October the lima beans, potatoes, and tomatoes came in, and at the end of the month, we had apples and pumpkins.  November brought broccoli, cabbage, and peppers.  Helping my grandmother gather vegetables, I was surrounded by their sun-warmed scent, sweet and pungent. 

Walking home from school in the fall was magical.  The Maples and Walnuts stretched their bows above, creating a golden, glowing archway.  Leaves drifted from the trees and danced in the breeze, deep red and scarlet, fiery orange and darker rust, yellow tinged with rose.  Even as a child, my heart sang with beauty.  Too young to name my feelings or to speak theologically of gratitude, I simply skipped, laughed, danced and sang my praise to the One who created such a world. 

Fall is a time for giving thanks.  Every year on the fourth Thursday in November, we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving.  Families gather, food is prepared, and we give thanks for our blessings.

As school children we learned about the origin of Thanksgiving, how the pilgrims who traversed the ocean on the Mayflower were befriended by Indians, Native Americans who taught them how to hunt wild turkeys and grow corn and other crops in the harsh climate. 

In the autumn of 1621, the pilgrims had a great harvest feast.  They invited the Native Americans who had befriended them to join them, and so about 90 Native Americans joined in the first Thanksgiving, sharing a feast of venison and turkey, goose and duck, fish and cornbread (ushistory.org).

In 1779, George Washington issued a proclamation recommending to the “people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.”  And on October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday, so that, as he said, we might not forget the source of our extraordinary bounties, the “ever watchful providence of Almighty God” (www.archives.gov).

We have a long tradition of giving thanks for the bounty and the blessings of God.  In a society where Thanksgiving is often seen as a secular holiday, it is good to remember that the season is about more than just football and food.  Erma Bombeck once said, “Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.  They are consumed in twelve minutes.  Half-time takes twelve minutes.  This is not a coincidence.”

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, we should take time to remember what the holiday is all about.

There is arguably no better place to learn about giving thanks than the Psalms. In beautiful poetry, the Psalms sing their thanks to God. Thanksgiving Psalms are one of the 5 types of Psalms in the Bible, and in every one there is a pattern.  After an opening statement of praise, the Psalmist describes a time of trouble, then recounts crying to God for help, and then tells how God delivered him.  Then he gives thanks to God for answering his prayers, helping in his time of need.  No act of God goes unnoticed or unthanked.  The lesson the Psalms has for us is first to turn to God in times of trouble, and then to remember to thank God for God’s aid. 

You remember from Luke’s gospel how Jesus healed ten lepers.  How many came back to say thank you?  One.  One! 

Too often we are like those nine lepers, going blithely through life assuming that what we have is simply what we are entitled to.  On the TV show The Simpson’s, son Bart was asked to say the blessing before dinner.  He prayed, “Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves.  So thanks for nothing.”

We might not be as crass as Bart Simpson, but how often do we have that attitude?  The lesson we learn from the Psalms is to take nothing for granted, but to have open eyes to see everything as gifts of God’s grace.  As one person said, “Thanksgiving Day comes, by statue, once a year; to the honest man, it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow” (Edward Sandford Martin).

Psalm 107 is a wonderful example of a Thanksgiving Psalm. 

You can see in the way the Psalm is laid out on the page that after the opening statement, the Psalm is divided into four sections:   Verses 4 – 9 are one section, vv. 10-16 are the next, vv. 17 -22, and then vv. 23 – 32.  This Psalm follows the pattern of Thanksgiving Psalms.  First there’s a description of the problem.

Verses 4 and 5 say that some people were lost in the wilderness.  They wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.

Verses 10 and11 talk about some people who were imprisoned.  They  “sat in darkness and gloom, prisoners in misery and in irons.”

Verses 17 and 18 describes those who were afflicted with an illness or disease.  They “loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death.”

Verses 23 and 24 say, “Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the mighty waters.  Story wind lifted the waves of the sea.”  And you can feel the motion of the boat on the waves in the psalmist’s description:  “They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths, their courage melted away in their calamity; they reeled and staggered like drunkards, and were at their wits end.”

 Notice what happens in every one of these situations.  After every description of the problem, we see the people crying out to God. After each one of the troubles listed in Psalm 107, we see the same response.  “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress.”  This is true for every Thanksgiving Psalm.  They all recount how those in distress turned to God. 

And then, the Thanksgiving Psalms always describe how God helped them.  In Psalm 107 we see that for the people who were lost, the Lord “led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.”  For those who were hungry and thirsty, he satisfied their thirst and filled them with good things.

For those in prison, when they cried to the Lord, v. 14 “he brought them out of darkness and gloom, and broke their bonds asunder . . .he shattered the doors of bronze and cut in two the bars of iron.”

For those who were sick, God “sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from destruction.”

For those out on the stormy seas, God “made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed.  Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven.”

Then after each situation is resolved, there is statement of gratitude.  Verse 8:  “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.”  Verse 15 “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.”  Verses 21 and 31 “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to humankind.” 

Unlike the nine lepers who went on their way, the Thanksgiving Psalms show us that the proper response to all of God’s acts is gratitude.  Meister Eckhart put it beautifully:  “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.”  We should live each day in the awareness of God’s blessings. 

Thanksgiving Day is a ritual of what we ought to do every day.  Or as Robert Lintner said, “Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.”

The masterful preacher Fred Craddock told of how he incorporated Thanksgiving into his life. He spoke of it as if it were a presence, and he named it, Doxology, which means, literally, praise.  He talked about inviting Doxology in to the dinner table, and deciding that Doxology belonged there.  Then, he said, “The next day Doxology went with me downtown for some routine errands.  But somehow they did not seem so routine.  We laughed at a child losing a race with an ice cream cone . . . We studied the face of a tramp staring in a jewelry store window . . . We spoke to a banker, standing with thumbs in vest before a large plateglass window, grinning as one in possession of the keys of the kingdom.  We were delighted by women shoppers clutching bundles and their skirts at blustery corners.  It was good to have Doxology along” (“Doxology,” As One Without Authority, p. 132).

How would our lives be different if we took Doxology with us everywhere?  How would our lives be different if we made every day a day of Thanksgiving? 

May we not take the gifts of God for granted, but have eyes and hearts and minds open to see and receive God’s wonderful gifts.  Let us make each and every day a day of Thanksgiving.  

Our Spiritual Diet: “Top Chef Challenge"

Jesus said to the crowd, “You are looking for me, not because you saw signs,

but because you ate your fill of the loaves.”  --John 6: 26

Have you noticed the number of food-related shows on television these days?  We as a society seem to be fixated on food.  We are fascinated by how it is cooked, how it’s eaten, how it’s made. We even are entertained by seeing how much food someone can eat, how fast he can eat it, and how hot he can stand for it to be!  We seem to be obsessed with food!

We are so fixated on these things we put into our body, but what about what we put into our minds?  What about what we put into our hearts? 

During the month of August, I’m preaching a sermon series on our spiritual diets.  I’ve paired the gospel lectionary texts with some popular cooking shows to see what we might include in our spiritual diets that might satisfy our souls.

First, let’s consider adding the ingredient of gratitude to our lives, as we look at the “Top Chef Challenge” the crowds presented to Jesus.

In the reality television show, Top Chef, contestants are judged by a panel of professional chefs who set up spectacular challenges for them.  And if they are able to accomplish the task, the judges set another one that is even more difficult than the first! One challenge was to create a two-egg breakfast dish in ten minutes—using only one hand.  On a Christmas episode, each contestant had to choose a wrapped gift from under the tree, and use whatever ingredients were inside to whip up a dish.  Another time the chefs had to prepare a four-course meal consisting of scallops, lobster, duck and Kobe beef.  They were given 30 minutes to shop with a limited budget, and only two hours to prepare the entire four-course dinner. 

No accomplishment is ever enough, no achievement exciting enough, stupendous enough, fantastic enough.  The judges always want more.

When the crowd followed Jesus to the other side of the sea, they were challenging him as if he were a contestant in Top Chef Challenge.  Jesus had just performed an incredible miracle.  In a crowd of five thousand men alone, plus women and children, Jesus took five loaves of bread and two fish and multiplied them into enough food to feed everyone—with some leftover!  But instead of being grateful for this miracle, instead of recognizing this as a sign that Jesus was indeed the Messiah, the one who would bring them salvation, they ran after Jesus clamoring for more. 

Oh, you gave us bread and fish?  We liked that!  You get a good score and go on to the final challenge!  Let’s see what you can do next! 

Instead of being grateful for what Jesus had given them, they had a “what have you done for me lately” attitude.

It’s no wonder Jesus went off to be by himself to pray.  When they realized he wasn’t there, they followed him, hounding him like obnoxious paparazzi going after the latest celebrity.  Jesus knew that they had followed him “not because you saw the signs,” he said, “but because you ate your fill of the loaves” (v. 26). 

How often is this our attitude?  We challenge God with more and more requests, instead of recognizing what God has done for us and being grateful.

Think about your prayers. Are you in the habit of praying those “I’m-late-again-please-let-me-find-a-parking-place” prayers, seeing God as a magic genie who will give you what you wish for?  How much of your prayer time is spent thanking God, and how much is spent asking for things?

Spiritual maturity includes recognizing the love and sacrifice of God and expressing our gratitude.  Just as it pleases a parent to receive thanks from a child, so it pleases God when we thank him.  But gratitude is not only something we do for God; it is something we do for ourselves.  Adding the ingredient of gratitude to our spiritual diets helps us to be happier and healthier people.

You’ve heard the saying, “Have an attitude of gratitude.”  Gratitude really is a choice we make about what kind of perspective we are going to have about the world. When we have an attitude of gratitude, we may be amazed at the blessings we have received that we might otherwise have overlooked.  This helps us appreciate the simple things in life that mean so much--the stranger who stopped in the grocery store parking lot to help you pick up a dropped grocery bag, the compliment from a co-worker, the joy of reading to a child, the opportunity to help someone in need.  And studies have shown that people who practice gratitude actually have healthier and happier lives! 

One way to add the ingredient of gratitude to our lives is to keep a gratitude journal.  There are a number of packaged gratitude journals on the market that people can buy to record their blessings, but all you really is need is a blank book or notebook.  And while it is a good idea simply to list things for which you are thankful, I would encourage you to keep a spiritual gratitude journal.  Before you go to bed at night, think back over the day.  Write about where you saw God at work in your life or in people or events around you.  Write down at least five blessings you have received during the day, and give thanks to God for those blessings.  You may even want to write a prayer of gratitude to God.  

You might also meditate on a verse of scripture, like Psalm 136: 1:  “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!  His steadfast love endures forever.”  Or use the text of a favorite hymn to help you express your gratitude, such as, “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies.  For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child; friends on earth and friends above, for all gentle thoughts and mild, Lord of all, to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.”  What beautiful words to help us count our blessings and express our thanks to God.

When we are grateful, we feel a connection with God and with other people that is strong and deep and true.  Practicing gratitude, adding the ingredient of gratitude to our lives, nourishes us so that we may be whole and healthy and happy people. 

Jesus said, “Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life . . . I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  Let’s give thanks for this gift!