Thanksgiving Day
Lamentations 3:22-33, 40-41; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
Who would you consider the luckiest guy in the world? I did a little checking on the internet and found Australian born Trent Morgan. In 1998 he survived disastrous flooding in Katherine, Australia when the area was hit by cyclone Les. That was followed by having the good fortune in October 2002, to walk out of the Sari Club in Bali just moments before a terrorist bomb killed over 200 people in the club. Then, two years later he was in Sri Lanka on December 26 when the great tsunami hit killing 35,000 people but he walked away. Finally six months later, on July 7, 2005, Mr. Morgan walked up the stairs and away from the King's Cross Station in London, England just moments before a terrorist bomb killed 27 people in the subway station. To survive two terrorist bombings and two natural disasters in less than ten years would seem to imply that someone is living under a very special lucky star.
Or then there is the video clip I saw on YouTube where a lucky guy named Bill won a sports car in a state run scratch off lottery. A television crew asked him to re-enact the lucky moment so he returned to the same store while the cameras were rolling, bought another scratch off lottery ticket and proceeded to announce to the camera crew that he had just won $250,000 on the new card he had just purchased.
Some people are amazingly lucky. But the name that historically comes to mind first when we speak of the luckiest man on the planet earth is a major league baseball player who set a record for most consecutive games played, hit over 300 home runs and played in 32 world series games with team mates named Ruth and Dimaggio. Few people have such good fortune in life although what his name is most associated with is a terrible disease that ultimately claimed his life. Yet at his farewell on July 4, 1939, while struggling with the disease that would kill him, Lou Gehrig looked around at the 65,000 fans and baseball greats who had gathered in Yankee Stadium and called himself "the luckiest man on the face of this earth."
Lucky to win, lucky to survive, lucky to be alive. The truth is that luck is but a word we use to describe the feeling of good fortune that a more religious person would call blessing. Blessing has to do with recognizing the holy in some moment or thing. The holy is that which has been set apart in some way. The holy. For example, when we take a space that would otherwise be called an auditorium and declare it to be a special place to meet God and thus the church sanctuary becomes holy. We take a book filled with words like any other book but discern in those words God's presence and the book becomes the "Holy" Bible. When we bless some one or some thing we are placing them in a special relationship to God. Some would say that they are lucky to win or live or survive while I would say they have been blessed by God in some special way. Our secular world calls it luck. The eyes of faith see God's favor and blessing.
Which brings us to Thanksgiving. Luck seems to be something we either have or do not have. Some even would say they make their own luck by the decisions they make and the things they do. If life is a matter of lucky breaks there is little to be thankful for than to thank your lucky stars. Thanksgiving sees life as more than lucky breaks. Thanksgiving has to do with blessings which means seeing our lives in relationship to God. Thanks for blessings means seeing God involved in our lives not only in good times but also in times of trial. This is a journey of faith that dates back through holy history.
Consider our first lesson for today. In 587 BC the Babylonians stormed into the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the great temple that King Solomon had built some 350 years earlier. The leading inhabitants of the city, religious, political and cultural leaders, had all been carried off into captivity into Babylon. Held captive in a foreign land far from their home the people lamented their losses and at first blamed God for their misfortune. But as we read the poetry of the Old Testament book of Lamentations it becomes apparent that the people gradually come to see God's presence not only in the judgment of misfortune but also in the possibility of future hope and dreams. The lament turns to hopeful praise as we read: Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands to God in heaven. To lift up hearts and hands means to turn to God with our whole being. The people of faith see God present in all times and all things. Thanksgiving is the response to a God who does not leave us to our own efforts or fortunes. Jesus knew that blessing is something God does without regard to works or judgment. Blessings are not a reward for good deeds and tragedy is not a judgment for sins. If that were the case the lilies of the field would have a definite advantage over each of us since most lilies commit few sins against God. Likewise, the birds of the ear may offend some human sensitivities but they do not turn against God by singing and flying. Blessings come without regard for works and judgment. Thanksgiving should follow but it is not always easy to see the blessed in the ordinariness of our daily routines. Sometimes it helps to be reminded that the familiar to each of our days may be a blessing beyond words to others and we need to pause and give thanks.
I must admit, I see this Thanksgiving different than any I have had before. The reason is the contrast. Four months ago today I awoke in Togo, West Africa. This morning I awoke in Lincolnshire, Illinois. When I awoke this morning I was not sleeping under mosquito netting to reduce the risk of malaria. I got out of bed knowing that the toilet would flush and there would be running water, both hot and cold in which to shower. The refrigerator (run by electricity) contained orange juice and cold milk for my breakfast cereal, or if I wanted I could have an English muffin in the toaster oven or maybe a frozen bagel thawed first in the microwave before toasting. (In Togo there was no flush or running water or electricity or O.J. or toaster oven or microwave.) The coffee pot turned itself on at 6 a.m. this morning so all I had to do was pour a cup (which had been washed the night before in the electric dish washer). Then with my cup of coffee I sat down in the living room, turned on a light and read the newspaper that had been waiting at the end of the drive way. It had been easy to retrieve the morning papers because the automatic garage door opener had made it an easy walk past the two cars and out the open garage door. When I reentered the house I heard the radio broadcasting a traffic report followed by the weather forecast and news which I also could have watched on the television or down loaded on the computer if I preferred. And since it was a little cool I heard the furnace click on which would have been the air conditioner if it were hotter. And then I glanced at one of the many clocks in the house and noticed I had been up only one hour. The day's blessings were only beginning.
There are some who would say that I am lucky enough to live in the United States. There are some who would say that all that I have is a result of my hard work, effort and skills. But I did not meet one person in Togo who I would say works less hard than I do each day just to survive. I know that this truth is repeated again and again this day around the world. The honest fact is that I am blessed. We are blessed.
Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts as well as our hands to God in heaven. Thanksgiving is the contrast between luck and blessing. The difference between lifting up of our hearts or the self congratulatory pat on the back for working so hard. The universe is filled with blessings, moments for meeting God. We simply need to have the eyes of faith to see. A heart of faith to meet the holy when it touches us. The response to such blessing is always thanks. That is why the first Pilgrims took time after nearly starving to death not to thank their lucky stars but to thank their God. That is why George Washington upon being elected the first President of this country declared a day of national thanksgiving to God. That is why Abraham Lincoln in the midst of a terrible civil war did not celebrate his good fortune at winning a battle at Gettysburg but instead declared a day of Thanksgiving for God's blessings. With hearts and hands uplifted we meet our God in the mystery of grace that comes to us not as a moment of lucky chance but as God's gift. A gift that sets us apart, that makes us holy, blessed for all eternity. This day we again lift up our hearts in thanksgiving for God's blessings.
Amen