Text: Luke 1:68-79 Revised Standard Version (RSV)
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people,
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74 to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 through the tender mercy of our God,
when the day shall dawn upon[a] us from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen
“Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it. Could you therefore work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit, for it turns all that it touches into happiness.”
So wrote William Law. And, you might be asking: “Just who is William Law?” Actually, the question should be, “Just who was William Law?”
Wikipedia tells us: “William Law (1686 – 9 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, King George I. Previously William Law had given his allegiance to the House of Stuart…Thereafter, Law first continued as a simple priest (curate) and when that too became impossible without the required oath, Law taught privately, as well as wrote extensively. His personal integrity, as well as mystic and theological writing greatly influenced the evangelical movement of his day as well as Enlightenment thinkers such as the writer Dr Samuel Johnson and the historian Edward Gibbon. In 1784 William Wilberforce (1759-1833), the politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to stop the slave trade, was deeply touched by reading William Law’s book A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1729).[1] Law’s spiritual writings remain in print today.”[1]
So, it would seem that Law knew whereof he spoke: “The greatest saint…is he (or she) who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.”
William Law has been gone a long time – but giving thanks and being thankful never goes out of style.
Here’s another somewhat more humorous example. “Rudyard Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a word.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred-dollar bill and gave it to Kipling, saying, “Here’s a one hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your hundred dollar words.” Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, ‘Thanks!’”[2]
The word “thanks” is most definitely a “one hundred dollar word.” You could even say that it’s a more like a million-dollar word, or even a billion-dollar word. It’s a small word but it has a powerful meaning far beyond its size. Those six letters get across a message that no other words can express. When your child looks at you and says, “Thanks, Mom!” or “Thanks, Dad!” you feel a little glow. The same goes for when your wife or husband, or friend, or boss, or even a total stranger, thanks you for something you’ve done or said. You feel great! On the other hand, when that little word is missing from our lives, we feel it deeply.
Let’s all just take a moment and think of all the things we’re thankful this morning. I won’t make you share! But – just sit back and remember what you’re thankful for….
I am thankful for many, many things today. I thank God not only for the things he has given me over the years. I have often said that I have lived a charmed life. I really believe that. I have known, and been mentored by, numerous wonderful people my parents, numerous outstanding teachers, ministers, friends – all of whom left their mark.
And some of those people are here today. One of the greatest things I am most definitely thankful for is this community of faith. I am so grateful for the support you give this church and your participation in all of our activities – I’m thinking specifically of our German Dinner, but there are plenty other examples, too, like the adoption of a family every year at Christmas, the collection of household goods for the refugees, hosting World Day of Prayer, participating in packing food at Feed My Starving Children, and so much more. I give thanks for the Council, for Jayne and those who help with Sunday School. I give thanks for all of you who give unstintingly of yourselves, day after day, week after week, to keep St. John’s going. You never ask for praise or adulation, although you richly deserve it, but you do all these things because you are the saints that William Law wrote about.
When we took that moment just now to think of all the things we’re thankful for, I’m sure that we all felt a wave of emotions flow over us – joy, perhaps some sadness, knowing that some of those wonderful people who have been so important in our lives no longer walk among us, but above all, thanks and deep, deep gratitude.
And that’s what it’s all about today. Thanksgiving – that is, the genuine expression of gratitude – can’t be commanded. Remember when you were young, and your mom or dad coached you to be sure to say “thank you” to those who did something nice for you? In some of those cases, you said “thanks” then, but it was maybe just skin deep. But, over the years, that teaching really did take hold, and grew until it is as much as part of you now as your eye color.
This is the time of the year when we just stop what we’re doing, look around, and say thanks to those who do so much for us, and especially to God, who loves us infinitely and totally, and who gives us all things.
The Thanksgiving time of year gives us the opportunity to polish our “attitude of gratitude.” Here are a few quotes on giving thanks that are really worth passing on:
- “Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.” -Brian Tracy
- Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” -William Arthur Ward
- “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” -Oprah Winfrey
- “No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” -Alfred North Whitehead
- “We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” -H.A. Ironside
- “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks”.–Unknown
- “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”–Marcel Proust
- My favorite: “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” -Meister Eckhart
- “Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” -Doris Day
- “I may not be where I want to be but I’m thankful for not being where I used to be.” -Habeeb Akande
- “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” -Melody Beattie
- “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” -John F. Kennedy
- “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” -Albert Schweitzer
- “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” -Eckhart Tolle
- “If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily.” -Gerald Good
- “Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.” -Alphonse Karr
- “Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.” -Ralph Marston
- “Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” -Voltaire
- “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.” -Gilbert K. Chesterton
- “‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, ” -Alice Walker
- “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”–Epictetus
In discussing the topic of gratitude and giving thanks, our old friend David Lose mentions Luke’s story of the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19). Ten lepers are healed, but only one returns, and that one is a Samaritan, no less. What’s interesting about this, Lose says, is not necessarily that the man who turns back is a Samaritan, but rather it’s the fact that all ten were healed, even the nine who didn’t return to say “thanks.” What made the Samaritan different? He noticed. That’s pretty much it. And, once he noticed, he returned to say thanks. Lose writes, “I mean, once you notice some thing spectacular, it’s hard not to say something. ‘I’ve got good news; the cancer is in remission.’ ‘He proposed; look at my ring.’ ‘I just saw the best movie.’ ‘I can’t believe you came! Thanks!’”
I think it was like that for the Samaritan: once he realized he’d been healed, he couldn’t help but turn back and share his joy and thanksgiving with Jesus.”[3]
One of the people who lives on in my heart, and for whom I will always be thankful to have known, was Janine Schulze. The song we sing during every Communion service is part of her legacy. We all know it now by heart:
Give thanks with a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One,
Give thanks, because he’s given Jesus Christ his son…
And now, let the weak say I am strong,
Let the poor say I am rich,
Because of what the Lord has done for us!
Give thanks!
And that pretty much sums it up!
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Law
[2] Quoted in Emerson, Curtis, “How Can I Say Thanks,” https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/how-can-i-say-thanks-curtis-emerson-sermon-on-holidays-142269?ref=SermonSerps
[3] Lose, David, “Preaching Thanksgiving,” Dear Working Preacher, http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=1514, Sunday, November 21, 2010 12:00 AM