Thanksgiving Day Homily 2009

[Deuteronomy 8:1-10 / 1 Timothy 2:1-4 / Luke 17:11-19]

“The Church lives in thanksgiving” wrote Alexander Schmemann. “It is the air she breathes.” Which is to say the Church lives from the abundance of the gifts. God’s gifts, showering down around her, without ceasing. Unlike the world that is blind to the gifts, the Church sees them, celebrates them, joys in them. Such a God we have! Giving to stagger the imagination. And so the perpetual thanksgiving which is merely the confession of perpetual divine giving.

Moses leads the way in today’s first reading with the reminder to the Israelites of God’s provision for their journey. The Lord always leads His people from here to there. But along the way, He takes thought of how to train them that their life isn’t kept up by bread alone, by the earthly goodies He delights to give them; that they live instead from every Word that He speaks to them. His Word, after all, is the cause of all the goodies of the creation they delight in. And He has commanded the creation to provide sustenance for this earthly journey - and even when things got a bit more settled for the Israelites, as they are for us, a good land: brooks, fountains, valleys, wheat and barley, and other crops. A land where you can eat without scarcity, don’t forget - he warns - that you’re still a people on pilgrimage - this isn’t home - and remember to bless the Lord for the good land He has given you as you journey on with Him. So with them, and so with us.

And with Luther the reminder that the good gift of daily bread is so much more than the loaf. It’s all that goes into the loaf - the good weather, the government, family and friends, health, and on and on. All gifts. All showered down from the Lord. And the Church seeing such gifts raises to God her thanks - not one day a year, but continually “at all times and in all places.”

St. Paul swings in with the second reading reminding us to give thanks above all for this - that the good God we serve is our Savior, He wants everyone to be saved and everyone to come to the knowledge of the truth. What truth is that? The truth of the gifts confessed in the second article of the Creed. The truth about the greatest of all gifts: the eternal Son into our flesh as shall soon celebrate during Advent and Christmas: “To you is born this day a Savior, Christ the Lord. TO YOU.” The truth about the Son who shouldered our sin to Calvary’s tree, wiping it out with His own blood as we shall celebrate at Lent: “He made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” The truth about the Son ripping a hole right through death and transforming it forever into a peaceful sleep with a joyous and certain wakening as we celebrate at Easter: “Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” Gifts all - and He wants them for all. How can we ever thank Him enough? We get included in all that.

But the third reading - the forgetful lepers - challenges us with how easy it is to fall into the ways of unbelief. That is to measure the gifts and to say to God: “Fill it up right to that line. Yes, very good. That’s enough. That will do. Don’t need any more, thank you very much.” So the nine went off with the little healing, no doubt quite grateful to the end of their days to the Rabbi who had miraculously healed them. But the Rabbi stood there asking: “Where are the nine?” He had more gifts to give! But no one came back for the rest, to give glory to God except the foreigner. The foreigner, the Samaritan, he comes back for the more and gets it: “Your faith has saved you.” The Lord always has more. That’s His way. He has more for you than you can ever imagine. Gifts abounding. So never walk away from Him and say: “I’ve had enough.” I was baptized, what do I need the Word for? I’ve received Communion, why do I need absolution? I’ve been to Church this week. Why do I need to read my Bible at home? Oh, we’re guilty of telling way too often: “That’s enough.” Unbelief!

The way of faith, instead, is ever return, glorifying Him for what He has given, and you will find that He always has even more to give, and that leads to more thanksgiving from you. He wants it to be an endless cycle and the very joy of your life. He wants finally to give you nothing less than Himself, and He is, as Dr. Luther put it so unforgettably, an “eternal fountain that gushes forth abundantly nothing but what is good.” And so you gush forth constant thanksgiving for all the gifts of your Lord to you.

Today as you gather around the table, some of His gifts before, others of His gifts around you, the greatest of His gifts within you - lift your voice and glorify the God who gives - freely and without measure - and you will know the joy of the Church’s very life. She lives in thanksgiving. It is the air she breathes. “We praise You and acknowledge You, O God, to be the Lord.” Amen.