by Pastor Mike Pennell
Joel 2:23-27; 1Timothy 2:1-7; Matthew 6:25-33
Nov. 22, 2009 - Thanksgiving Sunday
Mondays have been my personal day away from the church since the beginning of my ministry. And so it was a Monday morning a few years ago that began with loading up our recyclables (milk jugs, tin, glass, plastic bottles, newspapers, etc.) and took them to the local recycling center. On the way back I stopped to have the oil changed in the car. When I returned home the grass needed mowing it was still too wet. So I worked the garden awhile with my tiller and when the grass was dry I went to mowing, The clippings were very thick and so I had to use the grass catcher attachment which slowed me down. But that was okay. I wasn't in a hurry. By mid-morning I was roughly half done. It had been a good day so far. I was getting a lot done. So I sat down on the bench by the side of the house to rest and sip on a cup of coffee.
A moment or two passed before I began to notice that I was not hearing the usual noise of cars and trucks passing by not even from the interstate nearby. There was not the slightest breeze either. The leaves on the maple tree close by were hanging perfectly still. It was a blue sky day and bright. All around it was as calm and quiet as it could be... except for one thing, the chirping of a large assembly of birds jumping in and around that maple tree.
I don't know what they were talking about, but their spirited chatter really captured my attention. It was utterly gleeful and carefree like a church choir during practice. They seemed to be laughing, praising even gossiping back and forth. They may have been laughing at me. "See that poor man on his bench sweating and breaking his back just to keep the grass from growing too high. What a waste of energy." But I'm sure others said: "I'm glad he tilled the garden to give us a fresh supply of worms. Praise God!"
At any second, I was ready for some old jalopy with a broken muffler, or a diesel truck to come roaring by and spoil my enchantment. But the singing and calmness all around persisted for several minutes with no one passing. It was as if God had built a barrier around the house and yard which would not allow anything "accursed or disruptive" to penetrate. It was a holy moment, full, complete, beautiful and peaceful - both inside the soul and all the world around a glimpse of heaven on earth.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life," Jesus said... Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. And consider the lilies of the field how they neither toil or spin and yet are more beautiful than the glory of King Solomon. Of how much more value are you than these! Can you add a single hour to your span of life by worrying?" If God cares for these how much more will he care for you of little faith? And so 'Don't worry about what you will eat, drink and wear.' "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." (Mt 6)
I wish every day could be like this. But sadly we know they are not. For Jesus the birds and the lilies were a reminder that in a world of hurt and pain there is a deeper force at work sustaining and caring for everything. It is easy to lose sight of this. The weight of responsibility caring for family, jobs and survival are heavy enough. But then when a recession comes along or sickness, an accident, another terrorist attack or something else it can feel as if the whole world is crashing down upon us and everything out of control.
Perhaps you saw the picture of little Tabitha Gee in the paper this week, the only survivor from those horrific murders in Beason this past summer. It was a miracle she survived, but how can such terrible things happen? Where was God when this was going on? Why didn't God intervene?
Today is the anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination. Where was God then?
This is only the tip of the iceberg. We all have probably wondered about this in our lives as well. Jesus knew that life can be a terrible riddle at times. He knew there would be pain and even death for him. For a moment he felt abandoned on the cross when he said: "My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?"
Despite this however Jesus didn't give up on the mission of his life from God. And he didn't give up because of a deep abiding trust that even in those moments in which we might feel abandoned too God is still there with us. For reasons we will never fully understand God doesn't prevent bad things from happening. But in the wake of sorrow God is always there to lift us up and make a new beginning. This is what the resurrection says to us. Good Friday was not the end of Jesus. The diabolical forces that struck him down did not have the final word. Death is not the end.
When Jesus shared his moment about the birds and the lilies with his followers he was not recommending a 'pollyanna faith' that everything would always be bright, peaceful and harmonious. Instead he was encouraging them not to forget their mission from God. Don't let all the worries and bad things of this world become an obstacle, a stumbling block or a reason to give less of yourself to God. For God is still there. God cares for you and I just as he cares for the birds and the flowers of the field.
This week will be Thanksgiving. Many, if not most of us, will gather with our families around well laden tables to enjoy fellowship and laughter together. For some of us though this will be a sad time too because of loved ones who were always part of Thanksgiving in the past will be absent this year perhaps for the first time. Sadness is not unusual during holidays. This is just the way it is. Death is part of life and holidays are an especially tough time of coping with the loss of those closest to us.
Most festivals of thanksgiving that have come down to us today have always recognized this. They were inspired not by gifts of abundance and plenty, but rather were in remembrance of how God brought deliverance to his people through tough times. The Passover is like this in the Jewish faith a reminder of how God delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt long ago. Our sacrament of communion which is based on the Passover is a reminder of how God delivered us from our slavery to sin and gave us the promise of eternal life. The pilgrims organized a day of Thanksgiving in remembrance of how God delivered them through the harshness of the first winter in a new land. Lincoln's "thanksgiving" declaration demonstrated an abiding faith in God's providential care even in the midst of a terrible and bloody Civil War.
Each week we gather for worship on this day as a day of thanksgiving and remembrance of the resurrection of Christ and the victory of life over death. We are sustained by the gift of this faith which believes God keeps working through all the trials and disappointments to lead us to a better world and life in the end. We cannot understand fully why the bitter pill of pain and struggle is ongoing with no apparent end in sight. But because others before us have believed in God and sacrificed so much to witness to their faith we have benefited greatly as a result and are able to stand where we are now.
God's faithful ones in the past didn't become trapped in the struggles of living. Instead they rose above them and used all they had to help future generations know the power of this faith as disciples of Jesus Christ. Today that same challenge exists for us . Every year we are called on to take up the mantle of God's mission by planning our stewardship in support of the church and our mission in Christ in a new year just as generations have done before us. The pain and sorrows are ongoing and are still often horrific to contemplate. But the mission of God is ongoing too and nothing has ever been able to stop it. The song of praise goes on.
The day after my special moment with the birds I had to go to the hospital, a place of pain and brokenness, and death, but also of healing. The day was warm and fairly bright with shadows running across the ground marking the clouds passing overhead. As I walked across the parking lot I heard the disruptive noise of brakes squealing, horns honking, engines roaring all around. But suddenly I heard something else. Another choir nest was gleefully chattering and singing nearby. I paused a moment to listen, to let my spirit be filled and remember. Even in a broken world there is a lot for which to be thankful. 'Just as God cares for these, God cares for you and I and everyone.' And so don't worry. Everything will be okay in the end. Keep on walking in God's mission and trust God for everything else.