Talk about being thankful! These guys had been good companions in many ways over the past two days. Before that I’d never met them! Couple of good old boys from down south. Foreigners to someone who’d rarely been further south than the South Side of Chicago. Two great guys; two gifts from God.
The Bible reminds us that when many blessings have come our way, do not forget the One from whom those blessings have come. In Deuteronomy we read, “Do not forget the Lord your God.” When you have plenty to eat and plenty to drink and you’ve gotten through all sorts of rough situations where you didn’t know how you were going to make it, don’t think that you’ve done it all on your own. “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he that gives you power to get wealth.” It is God who gives you power and courage to get through the tough times in life. It is God who gives you the power (see Deuteronomy 8:11-18). As the old hymn says,
Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come;
‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.
You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. Nine of those ten lepers whom Jesus cured; they forgot this. Jesus heals them of their leprosy, and they go running off to the priest (as if the priest had healed them), and only one of them – and a foreigner at that – only one of them turns and says, “Thank you” (see Luke 17:11-19).
But you’ve heard that before. Some of you probably remember hearing this story in Sunday School. So before I say more about this familiar theme – before I say more about the importance of saying “thank you” – let me tell you something about this story that perhaps you haven’t heard: This is an anti-establishment story. This is an anti-status quo story. In Jesus’ day, if you needed to be healed, you went to the Temple. That’s where the priest was. That’s were much of the power within Jewish society was concentrated. Jesus sent those lepers to the priest; he sent them to the Temple. But, they were healed on their way to the Temple. They didn’t need the Temple to be healed. They didn’t need the Temple to be forgiven. They didn’t need the Temple to have contact with God. According to the Establishment view of things, the Temple was the only place where you could find the healing and forgiving power of God. Conventional wisdom said, “Only the Temple can save you.” And Jesus said, “No. It is God who saves you. The God who is the Source of healing, the God who is the Source of forgiveness, the God who is the Source of all blessings, this God is much bigger than the Temple. This God can be found in a lot more places than the Temple.” To the Temple establishment Jesus said, “Don’t think that you all have a monopoly on God’s power. What’s even worse, you priests, don’t get arrogant and think that it’s all about your power. Remember the Lord your God. It is by God’s power that you are made well.”
God is much bigger than the Temple. Indeed, 40 years later, the Temple had come tumbling down. But God’s power remained.
“Do not forget the Lord your God.” Do not forget to give credit where credit is due. It is not the Temple who saves; it is God who saves.
It’s a timely message. Because for the better part of the last 30 years we’ve been getting a message not unlike the conventional wisdom of Jesus’ day. For the last 30 years the world has been told, “Only the free market can save you.” And today, like the Temple, there are signs that the unregulated free market is tumbling down. I’m struck by the words of Deuteronomy 8:17: “Do not say…‘My power, and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth’.” But isn’t that exactly what a lot of people have been saying over the last few decades? “I’ve earned my wealth through my own entrepreneurial skills; I’ve built this company up from nothing; I have done this, I have done that. And therefore I should keep the wealth I’ve generated. It shouldn’t go to the government; it’s mine!” That’s precisely the mindset that the Bible is warning against. It kind of overlooks the fact that entrepreneurial ability is a gift from God. It kind of overlooks the fact that the natural resources which help us to generate wealth are a gift from God. It kind of overlooks the fact that the public infrastructure and the educational system that contribute significantly to the creation of wealth are provided by the government, acting (if we follow Romans 13) as an agent for God. “Remember the Lord your God…it is he who gives you power to get wealth.” Instead, we imagine that it is ourselves, and it is the unregulated market, that has created this wealth. Like the Hebrews in the wilderness who made that golden calf and worshipped it (see Psalm 106:19-20), we have created an idol out of the market. And we have stripped away the regulatory foundation which, since the end of the Great Depression, has created significantly to the creation of that wealth and to the sharing of that wealth. We haven’t done as much of that in Canada as some other nations have done. But if we haven’t been worshiping daily at the alter of the free market, we’ve been at least genuflecting in that direction. We have forgotten that it is God who save us. We have forgotten to say thank you for the blessings received. “You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you,” the Bible says (Deuteronomy 8:10). Not the market, and not we ourselves, but ultimately God is the Source of all these blessings!
We have forgotten this. And, as often happens when people forget God and turn to idols, we are now paying the price. If you push hard enough against the basic structure of Realty, eventually Reality pushes back. And biblical faith tells us that the heart of Reality is not greed and selfishness and indifference; no, the heart of Reality is generosity and hospitality and concern for the other. Some people would call what’s happening now “payback time.” The Bible simply calls it “judgment.”
Jesus countered conventional wisdom. Jesus praised the one leper who stopped to say, “Thank you.” The other nine went running off to the priest. But this one defied conventional wisdom and recognized the real Source of his blessing.
Brothers and sisters, we have been blessed. And because God is so generous and so merciful, we have good reason to be confident that those blessings will continue. It’s going to be tough for a while. Some of us may have to defer retirement for a few years to recover the losses to our retirement savings. Some of us who are already retired may have to tighten our belts a bit. But no one here is going to starve. I’ve been telling myself that over the last few days each time that I’ve heard that the stock market has dropped another five hundred points. No one here is going to starve. As individuals and families, as a church and a nation, we are going to get through this. And like the strong nation that emerged from the worst depression in history and the worst war in history, we are going to come out of this with a renewed understanding that we are all in this together. We are not simply a collection of individuals; we are a nation and a world stitched together in a social fabric that’s something like a beautiful quilt. When one member suffers, all the members suffer together. When one member is honoured, all the members are honoured together. When one member is blessed, all the members are blessed together. These words from 1 Corinthians 12 are true not only of the Church, but of the nation and the entire human family. The Lord God has brought us all into a world overflowing with abundance. And when we live as if that is true, and we share with others as if that is true, and we give thanks to God as if that is true, then we as individuals, and the nation, and the whole world prosper. “Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God…and follow other gods” (Deuteronomy 8:11, 19). Instead, give thanks always. Praise God always.
All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above.
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord, for all God’s love.
Amen.
Text: Deuteronomy 8:11a
Preached by Bruce D. Ervin
Thanksgiving Sunday
12 October 2008
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