Sermon: Thanksgiving Eve - 2019

27 November 2019

Text: Luke 17:11-19 (Deut 8:1-10, Phil 4:6-20)

In the name of + Jesus.  Amen.

Some of my colleagues in the ministry don’t think that we should acknowledge Thanksgiving in our church calendar.  After all, it is a secular holiday declared by various presidents of the United States that has nothing to do with Jesus.  

But I disagree.  Thanksgiving has everything to do with Jesus.  

When our Lord gave Himself to us on the night when He was betrayed, He left us His Testament of a Thanksgiving Supper of His own body and blood.  The Words of Institution even say “and when He had given thanks.”  The Greek word for “thanksgiving” is “Eucharist.”  The entire life of the Christian is one of thanksgiving.  The fact that our secular calendar includes the holiday of Thanksgiving reflects God’s design that His gifts to us are harvested in the Fall.  And so this time of year is a time of thanksgiving, as we are grateful for the Lord’s providence.

The centrality of giving thanks is seen in our Gospel reading, as the ten lepers cried out to Jesus for mercy.  We still do this today in our liturgy, as we sing together again and again: “Lord, have mercy.”

Upon hearing their prayers and seeing their condition, Jesus has mercy on them.  He commands them to “go to the priests” for their certificate of good health – for Jesus had cleansed them.  Nine of the men continued on in joy.  But one of them, who was likewise overjoyed, was something else as well: grateful.  And as a result of his gratitude, he “turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving Him thanks.”

This is the pattern of Christian worship.  We enter the assembly of Christians gathered together in Divine Service burdened by our sins – and then the Lord Jesus absolves us.  We approach the altar to begin our Service of the Word begging for the Lord’s mercy, mindful that we are unworthy of ourselves to be in His presence.  And the Lord hears our prayer – and we respond by a hymn of praise.  And after we have heard the Word of God read and preached, we return to the altar for the Eucharist, the thanksgiving meal established by our Lord.  

Throughout the service, we sing Psalms and hymns of thankfulness and praise.  

When the Tenth Leper, who was a “foreigner,” a “Samaritan,” returns to give thanks while the others did not, Jesus is amazed.  He says, “Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”  Jesus then blesses him: “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” 

We likewise rise from the communion rail with the Lord’s blessing, and we are likewise given a blessing at the end of the service.  We go our way healed – like the tenth leper – not because of anything that we have done, but by faith, that is, by belief in Jesus, in His Word, in His promise to us.

Like the ten lepers, we know where we need to go for help.  And when we have received it, what else can we do but give thanks.

Yes, indeed, thanksgiving is the Christian life, for it is how the Christian receives the gifts of God, knowing that they are by grace and through faith.  We know that we do not deserve the Lord’s mercy, but we rejoice that it is given us.  And so the Christian life is one of falling on our faces before Jesus, and hearing Him tell us to “rise and go your way.” 

Interestingly, St. Paul writes to the Philippians about “anxiety.”  This should get our attention, as anxiety is rampant in our country, like an epidemic.  People suffer anxiety attacks.  Doctors write prescriptions for it.  Counselors never lack people suffering anxiety and depression.  St. Paul says: “Do not be anxious about anything” – not in a way that he is beating people up for their natural response to stress, but rather in a way that St. Paul has the answer and invites us to partake in it: “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  And as a result, the Apostle says: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So if you want peace, dear friends, listen to St. Paul.  Prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving lead us to peace.  Interestingly, secular professionals are now teaching what St. Paul was teaching almost two thousand years ago.  Sometimes counselors will advise a depressed person to reflect on everything that he has to be thankful for – even writing them out, even making a point for such reflection every day.  For gratitude is a cure for depression and anxiety.  And furthermore, by actually giving to those less fortunate – as St. Paul speaks of to the Philippians who gave offerings for the sake of the Gospel, a “sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” – St. Paul promises, “God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ.”  Once again, mental health professionals often prescribe generosity as a treatment for depression and anxiety.  For cultivating gratitude and a charitable heart are both ways to take our focus off of ourselves.  Depression and anxiety are the result of self-directed attention, a preoccupation with ourselves.  Luther said that all sin is, at its root, a person paying too much attention to himself, a being “curved in” on ourselves.  And like the ungrateful nine lepers, we run the danger of being self-centered and unable to see the grace of God and enjoy the peace that this gratitude brings.  But like the Tenth Leper, we find peace in thanksgiving, we find calmness of heart in giving charity to others.  

And especially in our secularized, busy lives, we need the Word of God.  We need to come to Jesus, to return to Him to praise Him and give Him thanks, and to hear Him bless us.  For as we heard anew in our Old Testament reading: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Bread alone is just bread, but bread that is blessed by the Word of God is the body of Christ.  The ongoing life-sustaining Word from the mouth of God is how we live, dear friends.  For this bread and this wine are more than a mere feast for the body; this Eucharist, this Thanksgiving is truly a feast for the body and the mind and the soul.  God’s holy Word in Scripture is also a lifeline for us.  And in coming here, we hear the Word and join in the Sacrament.

Falling on our faces to praise Jesus, hearing Him, and receiving Him in gratitude is not just the cure for anxiety and depression, it is the cure for death itself.  

And so it is fitting that as the our country pauses its busy life to gather with family for a meal of thanksgiving, so too do we Christians gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ, returning to give thanks to Him who was crucified and rose again to give us forgiveness, life, and salvation.  And we gather around a table to eat bread and drink wine in thanksgiving for what the Lord gives us according to His Word: His true body and blood.  And when He blesses us, we rise: refreshed and restored, assured and forgiven, blessed with faith, and by faith, in Him who has overcome the world, and who is now flesh of our flesh, and blood of our blood.  

Indeed, it is fitting that the Church, the Bride of Christ, we lepers contaminated by sin who have been cured by the blood of the Lamb, pray, praise, and give thanks with the Tenth leper and with all Christians everywhere:

With voices united our praises we offer

And gladly our songs of thanksgiving we raise.

With You, Lord beside us,

Your strong arm will guide us.

To You, our great Redeemer, forever be praise!

Amen.

In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.