Happy Thanksgiving! Here are some easy one liners to tell at the dinner table today:
What did the bald man say when he got a comb for a present? Thanks, I’ll never part with it!
What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta!
Why did the yogurt go to the art exhibition? Because it was cultured!
Why did the Oreo go to the dentist? Because he lost his filling.
Why aren’t koalas actual bears? Because they don’t meet the coalafications!
What does Charles Dickens keep in his spice rack? The best of thymes, The worst of thymes.
What do you call a rooster staring at a pile of lettuce? A chicken sees a salad.
Why couldn’t the Thanksgiving entertainment band perform?
A: Somebody had eaten the drumsticks.
How can you tell the difference between a female and male turkey? The male is the one with the TV remote.
“It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, holy Father, almighty, everlasting God.” The Rite II version says it this way: “It is right, and a good and joyful thing, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth.”
So begins the most important prayer in the liturgy, the prayer that confects the Sacrament by which we are nourished with the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We start that prayer with thanksgiving. In fact, thanksgiving is such an important element of the Sacrament that the entire service is named for it. Eucharist comes from the Greek word eucharistia, which means thanksgiving.
So, as we gather today to celebrate the national holiday of Thanksgiving, remember that for the Christian thanksgiving is not just an annual occasion, but a characteristic of the Christian life. We are a people who always and everywhere are called to be thankful. “It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, holy Father, almighty, everlasting God.”
There’s much scriptural evidence that undergirds this understanding. In what was the most difficult night of his earthly life, the night in which he actually sweated blood, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks. There are so many other things he could have prayed at that time. He could have expressed his love for his disciples; he could have spoken of his anxiety; he could even have expressed disappointment in people who either had let him down or who were going to let him down. Instead, he gave thanks. Jesus is the perfect example of giving thanks, especially when circumstances might suggest another kind of response.
St. Paul is another great example of the Christian who gives thanks always and everywhere. News of the new church that had been established in Corinth had traveled to him. It was so disturbing that he felt the need to write a very long letter to them, dealing with problems of morality, as well as problems of belief, and if you can imagine it, there were even political problems. He must have been tremendously disappointed in them, at least a little angry with them, and hurt by some of the things that had been relayed to him. So, how does he address them at the beginning of his letter? “I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus.” Then he elaborates on that theme.
How he must have labored over what he could give thanks for in that situation! He knew he must give thanks in all circumstances. That was his theology. In the letter to the Ephesians he tells them always and for everything to give thanks. Likewise, in his First Letter to the Thessalonians, he says, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
So in his letter to the Corinthians he had to practice what he preached. For what does he give thanks? He always gives thanks for the grace of God that had been given to them. So that’s what he said. He told them he always gives thanks for God’s goodness and grace that had been given to them. If they thought about what Paul had said, they might not have been too flattered by what Paul was thankful about in them, for it was completely something beyond them—the grace of God. He couldn’t be thankful for how they had behaved, so he thanked God for God himself. Isn’t that a good example for us all? At some times in our lives there may not be a whole lot that we can be thankful for, but we can always be thankful for God’s grace and presence in our lives. Not only can we be thankful, it’s our bounden duty to be thankful, at all times and in all places. Shakespeare said, “God’s goodness hath been great to thee.—Let never day nor night unhallowed pass but still remember what the Lord hath done.”
What Christians have found as they practice this giving of thanks in all circumstances is that the giving of thanks brings with it God’s healing power, especially when thanking God in the midst of difficult circumstances. Izaac Walton said, “God has two dwellings: one in heaven and the other in a meek and thankful heart.” Thus, when things are especially difficult we should practice thanksgiving, not only because it’s our bounden duty, but also because there is grace that comes from the very act of thanksgiving itself.
During the recent wildfires in California, the devastation being shown to us day after day, what strikes me most are those people who are able to be thankful even when they have lost every possession they had, including their homes. They’re able to thank God that they’re still alive. They thank God for the help they are receiving. And they thank God for his presence in this difficult time. Their thankfulness brings an additional blessing from God to them that enables them to hold up in the wake of this tragedy.
And so, we gather on this national day of Thanksgiving, remembering that one day a year of giving thanks is woefully short of the Christian’s response to God’s goodness. But on this day there are some very specific things for which we can and should give thanks. First of all, we give thanks for this great country, for our leaders and all in authority, for our heritage as a free people, and for those who have given their lives defending that freedom. We give thanks for this good land, through whose resources we have more than enough to sustain our lives. We give thanks for the spirit of the American people. We give thanks especially for the freedom to worship God in the manner our consciences dictate. But on this day as on every day, we give thanks most of all for the love of God shown to us most fully in our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why this day, as every day, is marked by celebrating the Holy Eucharist, through which we participate in his sacrifice and receive anew his presence.
“It is truly meet, right, and our bounden duty that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee, O Lord, holy Father, almighty, everlasting God.”
Sermon preached by the Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
Church of the Redeemer
Sarasota Florida
Thanksgiving Day
22 November 2018