1 Rev. William J. Shields St. Mark Lutheran Church, Lindenhurst, Illinois Thanksgiving Eve November 26, 2014 Gospel Reading Matthew 6:25-33 God Will Provide 25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, it s almost Thanksgiving Day again, a time to pause and think about all of the things that we have to be thankful for. Of course, the celebration of Thanksgiving will not have the same meaning for everyone. I m reminded of one of my favorite stories about my good old Uncle Ole and his loyal wife Lena. It seems that, many years ago, when their son Hans was just a little boy, he was acting up in Sunday School, giving his teacher a really rough time. Finally, Pastor Inqvist called Ole and told him about the trouble they were having with Hans at Church. Ole said, I know what you re talking about. He s been giving us a lot of problems at home lately, too. Pastor Inqvist said, Well, I have an idea. If you could bring Hans to my office this Saturday morning, I d like to try to talk to him. Ole agreed. So, on Saturday morning, he took Hans and drove over to the Church. They were welcomed into the Pastor s office and, after a few minutes of chit-chat, they got down to business. Pastor Inqvist wanted to try to impress upon Hans that God was always watching him, no matter where he was. So he looked Hans squarely in the eyes and said, Hans, do you know where God is? Hans looked at his feet and said nothing. So Pastor Inqvist asked again, Hans, do you know where God is? Suddenly Ole said, Pastor, could I be excused for a moment. Pastor Inqvist said, Sure, Ole. That ll give Hans and I a chance to talk alone.
2 Ole stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him. Then he raced down the hall to the phone in the church kitchen. He called home and Lena answered. She said, Ole, have you and Hans talked to the Pastor yet? Ole said, Yah, Lena. Hans is still in dere. Lena said, Well, Ole, what did da Pastor say? Ole said, Lena, it s worse den we thought! Apparently, God is missing, and dey tink dat Hans had something to do with it! Unfortunately, that s just the way that many people will celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving this year. Most people will understand that it s a holiday which is based upon certain events in American history. Most people will realize that it s a day on which we are supposed to think about those things for which we are thankful. But for many across this great land of ours, God will be missing. Many will fail to understand that the historic origins of this day its institution as a holiday and its observance down through the ages are all religious in nature. And it s not just any religion which gave birth to Thanksgiving. It is specifically the Christian religion. When a ship called the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620, for the purpose of establishing a colony in the New World, it carried 102 passengers. 37 of those passengers were Puritan Christians, who had already been forced to flee to Leiden, Holland, because their type of Christian practice was not allowed in England. From Leiden, a group of them had conceived of the idea of traveling to the American continent, where they would be able to worship God freely, in their own way. And so, they set off as pilgrims. Pilgrim is a word which means, someone who is on a religious journey. They hired a ship and a crew and, in order to help pay for the trip, they recruited others to join them in establishing a new colony. Among the hired help were Myles Standish, who was a professional soldier, and John Alden, a cooper who had an adventurous streak in him. The journey took 65 days. Two people died on the journey, but two babies were born. The ship dropped anchor on November 21, 1620, and before anyone left the ship, they all signed the Mayflower Compact, which would be the governing document of the new colony. It wasn t until December 26 th that they settled on a particular spot to be the permanent site of the colony. They named the place Plymouth and Plymouth Colony was born. That first winter was a hard one. About half of the colonists died from cold weather and lack of food. It wasn t until the spring of 1621, when they were able to plant a crop, that things began to look up. About that time, they received help from an unlikely source. During the winter, the colonists had been closely watched by a nearby tribe of Wampanoag Indians. The Indians were distrustful of the colonists motives. But in the spring, the Wampanoags approached the colonists. First came a man named Samoset, who spoke a few words of English. Later, he brought with him a man named Squanto, who spoke English very well. Squanto had spent several years among the English, even living in England for a time. He offered his services as a translator and negotiator. Squanto also showed them what crops would grow best in that climate and soil and how best to plant and fertilize in order to maximize the yield. That Fall, when the colonists had their first harvest and began to believe that they were really going to survive, they planned a great feast to celebrate. It was a feast that we now know as The First Thanksgiving. They invited the Wampanoag Indians and their chief, Massasoit, to share in their bounty. About 90 Indians came to the feast.
3 On that day, the Indians and the colonists shared their harvest, and the colonists remembered why they had traveled to this harsh land in the first place. They remembered why they had been willing to endure the hardship of the voyage, the cold and hunger of the first winter, and the loss of precious loved ones. They had come to this place so that they could freely worship their God. And that was the number one thing that they were giving thanks for on that day. Those Pilgrims had their priorities in order. They wanted good things for their families. They wanted food and good health and prosperity. But first and foremost, they wanted the freedom to worship God as they chose to worship him. They lived by the words of Jesus in the sixth chapter of Matthew: Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Thanksgiving, in our time, is about Turkey Dinners, and Football Games, and Family Gatherings. It is about enjoying the blessings of living in the strongest and freest and most prosperous nation on the face of the earth. But first and foremost, Thanksgiving is about giving praise to the God who has given us our lives and who, by the blood of Jesus Christ, offers us eternal life. A missionary who worked for many years in the Congo tells of an experience he had one day in worship. A young girl was in the congregation that day. One of her legs was disabled and she had to use a crutch to get along. As she listened to the Gospel message, and heard about how Jesus had given his life for her, she was moved to tears. After the sermon, an offering was taken, to support the mission and its medical clinic. When the men collecting the offering came near the girl, she tried to hand them her crutch. When they said No, she was crestfallen. She said, It s all that I have and I want to give something back to Jesus. People, that is a thankful heart. A thankful heart is a heart that is willing to do anything for God, because God has done everything for us. And what does God ask us to do? Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. God simply asks us to put Him first. He asks us to seek out His will and then live according to that will. So how do we do this? How do we discover what God s will is for our lives? Jesus gives us the answer in two parts. I. If You Want To Discover The Will Of God For Your Life, You Have To Stop Worrying About Material Things Jesus says, Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Jesus was speaking to a culture where the basic needs of life food, drink, clothing, shelter were by no means a given. Most people had to work very hard just to have the necessities. It s understandable that the common people of that day might worry, because they had very real concerns about where their next meal was going to come from. And yet Jesus tells them, Don t worry about these things. Now, if Jesus told 1 st Century Jewish peasants not to worry about material things, imagine what he would say to us, in 21 st Century America, surrounded by all of this abundance. The average American has more material wealth than 90% of the world s population. And yet, we still worry. The more we get, the more we have to lose. And the more we have to lose, the more we worry.
4 George Westerfield was the pastor of a large Protestant Church in New York City for many years. He told the story of a young couple whose wedding he had performed early in his ministry. Shortly after the wedding, the new groom came into his office to see him. The man said that he and his wife had made a vow to God that they would always give 10% of their income to the Church. He wanted the Pastor to be a witness to that vow. At the time, the man was making $40 a week. And so, he and his wife gave $4 a week in offering. Over the next 10 years or so, the man became very successful in his business, until he was making about $5,000 a week. About that time, he came in to see Pastor Westerfield again. This time he came to ask if he could be released from his vow. Pastor Westerfield said, Why do you want to be released from your vow? The man said, Well, when I made the vow, 10% of my income was only $4 a week. But now, 10% is $500 a week, and I can t afford to give that much money to the Church. Pastor Westerfield said, I don t think that I can release you from your vow, since you made the vow to God. But I ll tell you what I can do. I can pray that God will reduce your income to $40 a week again. That way you ll only have to give $4. Pastor Westerfield got his point across. When the man had very little, he didn t worry about his material wealth all that much. But now, when he had a lot, he was somehow worried and fearful about what he was giving away. The words of Jesus in this text ring just as true for us in our abundance as they did for the people of his day, who had very little. He says to us, as he said to them, Don t worry about the stuff of this world. That s the first step toward discovering the will of God for your Life. You Have To Stop Worrying About Material Things. And then, the second step is: II. If You Want To Discover The Will Of God For Your Life, You Have To Trust That He Will Take Care Of You Jesus said, Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? You see, the reason that we don t have to worry about the material things of this world is because we have a God that we can trust. He loves us and he will take care of us. Now, of course, God expects us to work and to make the best use of the talents that he has given us. He s not going to bless laziness. But we know that if we do our work and trust in God, he is going to give us what we need to survive in this world. He doesn t promise that he s going to give us great wealth. But he promises us that He s going to give us the things that we need. Jesus says, Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Trust him He will take care of you. So, if you want to discover God s will for your life, then you have to do two things: First, you have to stop worrying about material things. And second, you need to start trusting in God. You need to have your priorities in order. You need to Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then the rest of the things in your life will fall into the proper order. And once you put God first, you ll discover that His will for your life is for you to give yourself in
5 service to others. Love God first make that your Number One Priority. And then, Love your neighbor as yourself. Mother Teresa once visited Australia, and her guide and assistant during her stay was a recently ordained priest of the Franciscan order. The young priest was thrilled at the prospect of being so close to this great woman. He looked forward to talking with her and learning great spiritual truths. But during her visit, she was so constantly busy meeting people that he never had a chance to have a deep conversation with her. Suddenly, her tour was over, and it was time for her to fly on to New Guinea. In desperation, the young man said, Mother Teresa, if I pay for my own ticket to New Guinea, could I sit next to you on the plane and talk to you and learn from you? Mother Teresa said, You have enough money for round trip airfare to New Guinea? He said, Oh yes! And she said, Then give that money to the poor. You ll learn more from that than from anything I can tell you. You see, there s no great secret to discovering the will of God for your life. The will of God for your life is that you love God with all your heart and that you love the people who are around you in the world. On this Thanksgiving Day, enjoy the turkey and the football and the family gatherings. But don t forget what it s really all about. God has done great things for you. He gave His Son to die for you, so that your sins may be forgiven and you might have the promise of eternal life. How do you respond to that? You respond by not worrying about material things, by trusting that God will take care of you, and by making God s will the top priority in your life. And what is God s will for you? That you will love your family, that you will love your neighbor, and that you will love the stranger that you meet. Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day tomorrow and make sure that God is not missing from your celebration. Amen and Amen.