They spent some time in Jericho. As Jesus was leaving town, trailed by his disciples and a parade of people, a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting alongside the road. When he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, he began to cry out, “Son of David, Jesus! Mercy, have mercy on me!” Many tried to hush him up, but he yelled all the louder, “Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped in his tracks. “Call him over.”
They called him. “It’s your lucky day! Get up! He’s calling you to come!” Throwing off his coat, he was on his feet at once and came to Jesus. Jesus said, “What can I do for you?”
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“On your way,” said Jesus. “Your faith has saved and healed you.” In that very instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.
************************************************************************
Try to imagine the scene in which this parable takes place. It’s less than a week before the Passover begins in Jerusalem; people from everywhere travel to Jerusalem every year for this holy day. For some, it’s a yearly pilgrimage, and for others it may be the only time they ever go. There is lots of excitement in the air, and the vendors in the markets are busy getting everything ready. It’s also a time when the Romans are most concerned about outbreaks of “freedom” groups.
Imagine you are an innkeeper in Jericho. This is the time of year when you make enough money to pays the bills for the rest of the year. People are filling the streets, rooms command premium price for those passing through on their way to the festival You never make it to Jerusalem yourself, - too busy working - but the brisk business is welcome.
Times haven’t changed much, have they? People still go to Jerusalem for Passover, and there is still the ever-present threat of violence. Every year many Muslims travel to Mecca in the Hajj, the holy pilgrimage. - and there are those who take advantage of pilgrims, in order to make a fast shekel. Some will be selling T-shirts and key rings; in Jesus’ time I wonder what they would have been selling - maybe cheap sandals, or money bags, or some kind of holy relic left over from the trip with Moses.
And there would be those who sit by the road and beg, knowing that the pilgrims will be in a good mood, and that the crowds will come back next week when the celebrations are over To these beggars, this is the best kind of crowd to work with – they are in good spirits, there is extra money to be spent, and it’s a religious holiday that encourages people to give. They couldn’t ask for anything better.
There is a particular intersection in downtown Toronto, where a couple of panhandlers appear usually around Thanksgiving and Christmas, knowing that people will be feeling a bit more generous. They sit out in the freezing cold, right at the stop light, and as cars pull up to stop, most people hand over some cash. I usually do. It *is* that time of year. They aren’t usually there, but they are clearly quite poor, which tells me that the panhandling is to get a little extra money to be able to celebrate the festivals.
Well, back to the road to Jerusalem. This year there is the hot-shot traveling preacher who brings his crowd along. He has a reputation for miracles, but there is even speculation that he may be the Messiah, the Son of David, who will ascend the throne of Israel and free the land from Roman rule. Expectations are high, among the followers. This man is surely the one, and he just needs to get to Jerusalem, and will demonstrate his incredible power.
Jesus could barely keep the disciples in check. As we read through Mark’s Gospel, we see that Jesus has been trying to hammer home the point that he will die in Jerusalem. But they would rather hear the rumors that are circulating; they want to believe a story of a King being acclaimed and anointed, who will rule from David’s throne, fulfill the hopes of the people, and be ruthless with the enemy, Rome.
In today’s reading, all of these groups and expectations meet in the city of Jericho at the bottom of the hill that leads up to Jerusalem.
What do we know about Bartimaeus? We know that he is Bar-Timaeus, the son of Timaeus. We know he was blind. We know he was looking for mercy, not money. We know that, because he asks for mercy and because he throws off his cloak, which he likely would have used to catch the money thrown to him by travellers. So it isn’t money he wants at all.
Unlike the “man born blind”, it’s more likely that Bartimaeus acquired blindness at some point in his life. A common experience among the people contracting a disease in which the eye duct would dry out, and in the arid and hot climate this often led to blindness. It was a dreaded disease spread by flies; when he cried out, the crowd, even the disciples, try to hush him up.
As a blind man, he was not welcome at religious festivals. People with disabilities could not take part in temple events, something straight from Levitical Law (Lev. 21:17-21). According to those laws anyone with any kind of blemish could not participate in sacrifices. So Bartimaeus had to live a life without worship. He was cut off from the religious centre of the community. At a guess, maybe his parents provided for him, so he didn’t need money, but more likely acceptance.
In some ways he could see things that people around him didn’t see, as if he had insight rather than eyesight.
When he called out to Jesus as the Son of David, for example, he may have been acclaiming Jesus as the Messiah (Mk. 10:47-48). It could also be that he remembered that King David made room at his table for Mephibosheth, the lame descendant of King Saul. Perhaps he was calling Jesus to make room for the blind and the crippled in his coming realm. Maybe he was pleading for mercy on behalf of all those who were cast out because of their disabilities and deformities.
For many years in the Buddhist system of belief, it was thought that women, and those who had any disability, could not become enlightened. It wasn’t until the time of Shinran, a Buddhist monk in Japan, that women and the disabled were allowed to take teaching. There is no question that Jesus also recognised that those who were outcast, pushed aside, or deemed not acceptable, were just as acceptable as anyone else.
Jesus asks almost the same question this week as last. Jesus asked James and John “What do you want me to do for you?” Today he asks Bartimaeus “what do you want?”
Last week the disciples asked to be seen and noticed by everyone.
This week Bartimaeus asks to see.
It would have made somewhat more sense, maybe, if the disciples should asked to be able to see clearly, and Bartimaeus asked to be seen. Mark’s Gospel keeps hammering home how thick the disciples were at not being able to see what Jesus was trying to get across to them. Maybe they really should have asked to see - but of course, they weren’t even aware they *needed* to be able to see.....they were too focused on the prestige of being on Jesus’ right and left, elevated above all their peers. - and because they could not *see*, they didn’t realise that Bartiemaus really need to be seen, to be recognised as a person, regardless of his blindness. Yet all Batimaeus can ask for is to be able to see, not to be *seen*.
What would you ask for? Your physical eyesight? Or insight? Like the disciples, maybe we really don’t want to see. Maybe it’s easier to look past the beggars on the streets, easier not to notice the lonely in our community, preferring someone else to do it. Seeing the needs might require us to act. If we actually know how we might help, we might also have to do something.
But if we cannot see, how can we follow Jesus on the road to Jerusalem? We would see neither the cross, nor the tomb.
What’s the very last thing Mark tells us in this story? That Jesus says to Bartimaeus “Your faith has made you well.” He has been given sight. - and Mark says he got up and followed Jesus.
So the question remains, what do you want Jesus to do for you?
Sources:
1. What Do You Want? A sermon by Rev. Randy Quinn based on Mark 10:46-52
2. Feasting on the Word, commentary by Victor McCracken. Westminster John Knox Press 2009.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Scarcity or Abundance? Matthew 5:1-6, Mark 10:17-31, Mark 10:35-45
Matthew 5:1-6
When Jesus saw that his teaching was drawing crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were followers, apprentices of a sort, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his companions. This is what he said:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are - no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God, who is food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. You’re blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
***************************************************************************
He went up a hillside to teach......
Maybe one like this - in La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. A friend of mine, who lives in Minca, Colombia travels to Nabusimake, in the Arhuaco Valley, to learn from the Arhuaco elders. John Lundin has a PhD in Pastoral Counselling, and has co-authored a book with the Dalai Lama. He is currently writing a book about the Arhuaco people and their life and spirituality. This is where the teachings are given.
Two weeks ago Sonya and the children told us the story of Stone Soup - a story of what happens when we cooperate and give thanks for what we DO have. Last week we heard a story called T
Give Thanks for Rocks - another story of giving thanks for what we DO have, even if at first glance it looks like not much. Today we are observing World Food Day; a time of recognition that other parts of the world do not have such fortune. In many places, this lack is due to circumstances beyond the control of the people who are most affected - war, drought, poor harvest, dirty water, flood.
Last week, Canadian Churches celebrated Thanksgiving, and World Communion Sunday. It is a time when we give thanks for gifts, and for life. Thanksgiving has been a time of celebrating the abundance of harvest. In the Jewish tradition, last Sunday was the last day of Sukkoth, the Feast of Tabernacles - a celebration of harvest in the first year of freedom after years of slavery and wandering in the wilderness - a celebration of those things which God provided: manna and quail, and water from a rock. Celebrations of the earth and our place in it.
And yet......
Today’s story from Mark is a typical story of human-ness and greed. James and John, who apparently have finally got the point that Jesus is going to die, and eventually both of them, ask Jesus to set it up so that they will be greater than the others. Even after they are gone, they want more - and never mind their friends and companions - they want Jesus to give them places of honour...they’re looking at what they don’t have, instead of celebrating what they do have. And Jesus tells them they might want to re-think that a little.
In a sense, these two remind me of the congregations I’ve served, including here at Humber. In the post-war era, here in North America, the churches went through a great period of growth - but only for about twenty or twenty-five years, and then they started to decline again. That’s the part we’ve tried not to notice - since the ‘70s, both the United Church in particular, and the church around the world in general, has been in decline.
I’ve heard that the church of my childhood, Wesley United in Prince Albert, had over 600 kids in the Sunday School. I’ve heard that the church of my youth ad teen years, Deer Lodge United in Winnipeg, had over 400 in Sunday School, and about 100 in the youth group. I am here to attest to the fact that those figures are greatly inflated by nostalgia for something that in reality never existed. Wesley United might have had 150 in the Sunday School, but there surely wasn’t room for more than that. Deer Lodge United had maybe 30 in the youth group.
So as time goes on, numbers appear to slip, costs rise to the point where we have deficit instead of plenty, we fall into what theologians are naming as a Theology of Scarcity. We spend all our time looking backward and trying to dream of a time when the pews will be full and we have lots of money. We have to get more people out to church, is the comment - we have to be able to pay our bills, we don’t have enough. Is that what we are supposed to be about? Is that what God wants for the church??? Or is it maybe that God wants us to look more closely at what we do have, compared to those who are destitute, and right the balance? Is it maybe that God wants us to function as a community of the whole, not worrying for the future, but cooperating and collaborating for the benefit of the whole.
In every congregation I’ve served, I struggle to find a way to get people to change their mental and spiritual attitude of focusing on what they *don’t* have, and instead focusing on what we *do* have. We need to move from a theology of scarcity to a theology of abundance...
...and Jesus, sitting on the terraced hillside, says
“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are - no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God, who is food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. You’re blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”
One of the alternate readings for today was an earlier story in Mark, about the very wealthy young man who came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to enter the realm - and Jesus responded “Sell all your stuff, give it to the poor, and then come back.” Mark reports that the young man left in tears. - and we, in our rather simplistic way of thinking, assume that the young man is unable to let go of all his things, and is in tears because giving up those things is beyond his capacity.
My friend, Rev. David Shearman, comments "You could also interpret the story as the man grieving because he *had* decided to get rid of his stuff and follow Jesus. His tears were not of sorrow but of acceptance because he knew he had taken the very first step into a new future. He realized that joining Jesus in kingdom values was excruciatingly painful.” The young man had just been confronted by Jesus in a very difficult way, with the difference between need and want.
We are confronted with that in the church. What we want, indeed what we think we need, may not be what we really need. One thing I do know - is that a theology of scarcity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more we focus on what we don’t have, the less we will have. We need a theology of abundance - a theology which says we have everything we need, right here. We don’t need any more.
I want to show you some photos of the Arhuaco people and their homes in Colombia - because I believe this is precisely what Jesus was talking about, and what God would wish for us.
John and I had a conversation this week about the Arhuaco people. It seemed to me, from the pictures and from his words, that they have everything they need. It seemed, in looking at the pictures, that this is a people completely at home in the world. They have no sense of poverty or of scarcity. When I asked John, here is what he replied:
“Not only do they have a different understanding of 'abundance' versus 'scarcity' or even 'poverty,' the truth is they don't have an understanding of that concept or tension at all. They have everything they need and don't ever think of 'want.' They have no interest in accumulating 'things,' and they go about their business of caring for the planet and each other 24 hours a day - including cultivating their crops and caring for their livestock. Everyone participates, and there is never a sense that they are "working." For them there is no difference between work and pleasure - when one is involved in the work one is called to do, the joy is in that harmony of purpose.”
May it be so.
When Jesus saw that his teaching was drawing crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were followers, apprentices of a sort, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his companions. This is what he said:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are - no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God, who is food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. You’re blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
***************************************************************************
He went up a hillside to teach......
Maybe one like this - in La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. A friend of mine, who lives in Minca, Colombia travels to Nabusimake, in the Arhuaco Valley, to learn from the Arhuaco elders. John Lundin has a PhD in Pastoral Counselling, and has co-authored a book with the Dalai Lama. He is currently writing a book about the Arhuaco people and their life and spirituality. This is where the teachings are given.
Two weeks ago Sonya and the children told us the story of Stone Soup - a story of what happens when we cooperate and give thanks for what we DO have. Last week we heard a story called T
Give Thanks for Rocks - another story of giving thanks for what we DO have, even if at first glance it looks like not much. Today we are observing World Food Day; a time of recognition that other parts of the world do not have such fortune. In many places, this lack is due to circumstances beyond the control of the people who are most affected - war, drought, poor harvest, dirty water, flood.
Last week, Canadian Churches celebrated Thanksgiving, and World Communion Sunday. It is a time when we give thanks for gifts, and for life. Thanksgiving has been a time of celebrating the abundance of harvest. In the Jewish tradition, last Sunday was the last day of Sukkoth, the Feast of Tabernacles - a celebration of harvest in the first year of freedom after years of slavery and wandering in the wilderness - a celebration of those things which God provided: manna and quail, and water from a rock. Celebrations of the earth and our place in it.
And yet......
Today’s story from Mark is a typical story of human-ness and greed. James and John, who apparently have finally got the point that Jesus is going to die, and eventually both of them, ask Jesus to set it up so that they will be greater than the others. Even after they are gone, they want more - and never mind their friends and companions - they want Jesus to give them places of honour...they’re looking at what they don’t have, instead of celebrating what they do have. And Jesus tells them they might want to re-think that a little.
In a sense, these two remind me of the congregations I’ve served, including here at Humber. In the post-war era, here in North America, the churches went through a great period of growth - but only for about twenty or twenty-five years, and then they started to decline again. That’s the part we’ve tried not to notice - since the ‘70s, both the United Church in particular, and the church around the world in general, has been in decline.
I’ve heard that the church of my childhood, Wesley United in Prince Albert, had over 600 kids in the Sunday School. I’ve heard that the church of my youth ad teen years, Deer Lodge United in Winnipeg, had over 400 in Sunday School, and about 100 in the youth group. I am here to attest to the fact that those figures are greatly inflated by nostalgia for something that in reality never existed. Wesley United might have had 150 in the Sunday School, but there surely wasn’t room for more than that. Deer Lodge United had maybe 30 in the youth group.
So as time goes on, numbers appear to slip, costs rise to the point where we have deficit instead of plenty, we fall into what theologians are naming as a Theology of Scarcity. We spend all our time looking backward and trying to dream of a time when the pews will be full and we have lots of money. We have to get more people out to church, is the comment - we have to be able to pay our bills, we don’t have enough. Is that what we are supposed to be about? Is that what God wants for the church??? Or is it maybe that God wants us to look more closely at what we do have, compared to those who are destitute, and right the balance? Is it maybe that God wants us to function as a community of the whole, not worrying for the future, but cooperating and collaborating for the benefit of the whole.
In every congregation I’ve served, I struggle to find a way to get people to change their mental and spiritual attitude of focusing on what they *don’t* have, and instead focusing on what we *do* have. We need to move from a theology of scarcity to a theology of abundance...
...and Jesus, sitting on the terraced hillside, says
“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are - no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God, who is food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. You’re blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.”
One of the alternate readings for today was an earlier story in Mark, about the very wealthy young man who came to Jesus and asked what he needed to do to enter the realm - and Jesus responded “Sell all your stuff, give it to the poor, and then come back.” Mark reports that the young man left in tears. - and we, in our rather simplistic way of thinking, assume that the young man is unable to let go of all his things, and is in tears because giving up those things is beyond his capacity.
My friend, Rev. David Shearman, comments "You could also interpret the story as the man grieving because he *had* decided to get rid of his stuff and follow Jesus. His tears were not of sorrow but of acceptance because he knew he had taken the very first step into a new future. He realized that joining Jesus in kingdom values was excruciatingly painful.” The young man had just been confronted by Jesus in a very difficult way, with the difference between need and want.
We are confronted with that in the church. What we want, indeed what we think we need, may not be what we really need. One thing I do know - is that a theology of scarcity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more we focus on what we don’t have, the less we will have. We need a theology of abundance - a theology which says we have everything we need, right here. We don’t need any more.
I want to show you some photos of the Arhuaco people and their homes in Colombia - because I believe this is precisely what Jesus was talking about, and what God would wish for us.
John and I had a conversation this week about the Arhuaco people. It seemed to me, from the pictures and from his words, that they have everything they need. It seemed, in looking at the pictures, that this is a people completely at home in the world. They have no sense of poverty or of scarcity. When I asked John, here is what he replied:
“Not only do they have a different understanding of 'abundance' versus 'scarcity' or even 'poverty,' the truth is they don't have an understanding of that concept or tension at all. They have everything they need and don't ever think of 'want.' They have no interest in accumulating 'things,' and they go about their business of caring for the planet and each other 24 hours a day - including cultivating their crops and caring for their livestock. Everyone participates, and there is never a sense that they are "working." For them there is no difference between work and pleasure - when one is involved in the work one is called to do, the joy is in that harmony of purpose.”
May it be so.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
“Giving Thanks” Thanksgiving Sunday October 7, 2012 Humber United Church Matthew 6:25-33
“This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes? Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet God in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?
And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. It is God who clothes the wild grass - grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't God be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have!
So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ These are the things the pagans are always concerned about. God in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Realm of God and with what is required of you, and you will be provided with all these other things.”
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Sukkoth in the Hebrew tradition is the Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Booths Sukkoth is the Jewish autumn festival of double thanksgiving, which began this year on September 30th- five days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Sukkoth ends today, October 7th. This is one of the three Pilgrim Festivals spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Exodus 23:16 refers to “h’ag ha-asif “, the“Feast of the Ingathering,” when grains and fruits were gathered at the harvest’s end, and to “h’ag ha-sukkot” in Leviticus 23:34, recalling the days when the Israelites lived in huts during their years of wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. The festival is characterized by the building of huts made of branches and by the gathering of four species of branches, with prayers of thanksgiving to God for the fruitfulness of the land. As part of the celebration, a sevenfold circuit of the synagogue is made with the four plants on the seventh day of the festival, called by the special name Hoshana Rabba (“Great Hosanna”). Jesus would have celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, and joined in the Great Hosanna!
Today, we express our thanks, our gratitude to God for the harvest, for providing for us, for caring for us, for getting us through another year. We can tell the story of God’s faithfulness, of God’s love, of God’s care, and we can tell it exactly because we are here--alive and well! We who are present are evidence of the goodness of God.
Over the last year, all of us, in one way or another - have had a personal crisis. Life involves worry, and we don’t get to escape it. Some of us have gone through tremendous struggles, and you are here; others may go through difficult times right now, but all of us agree that thanking God is important on this Thanksgiving Day. We are here today to give thanks to our loving and caring God!
My Facebook clergy friends started a list the other day of the subject of our thanks. Everyone said, of course, family and friends; home; health.....but it seems to me an attitude of gratitude means thanks for life - the good and the bad. The late George Burns, on the celebration of his 100th birthday and his appearance on a television talk show, was asked if he was glad to be able to be there. He responded “At my age, you’re glad to be anywhere.” Well, despite the fact that this was classic George Burns, it occurred to me that this is the very essence of a life of gratitude - we’re glad to be anywhere.
It almost seems when we say "thank you" to God - even in the midst of the most incredibly crushing events in our lives, which threaten to extinguish the light of our soul - we can deal with those events and still be able to sing a song of thanks. "God has done great things for us, and we rejoiced." Maybe thanking God allows us to focus away from ourselves, at least a little, and to open our eyes to what is going on around us. This is what Jesus is doing when he looks about and sees a couple of birds in a nearby tree. Jesus says: don’t worry. Nothing has ever been gained by worrying. Instead, "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet God in heaven feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
As we soak in Jesus’s words, we start to feel safer, the voice of fear is squelched, instead a feeling of gratitude is gradually swelling in our soul. And soon we are saying: "Yes, if God takes such good care of a bird and a flower, God will take care of me too. After all, I am one of God’s creatures too!" When we talk about God taking care of us, I don’t think it means God will prevent bad things from happening, I think it means God is there, always - even in the midst of the crises of our lives.
Paul speaks of the benefits of the attitude of gratitude in the following manner: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity."
Have you ever met someone who is a truly grateful person, someone who takes nothing for granted and is thankful for anything you do for them. Well, I do know a number of those grateful folks. They are people I like to hang around. They are peaceable people, people that have many friends. That’s the kind of attitude I want to have.
Margaret Visser's most recent book, "The Gift of Thanks", addresses a social ritual we take for granted. How many times did your mother tell you to say "Please" and "Thank you"? It is part of our ritual of politeness, and we get irritated at people who don’t say thank you. She notes our 21st century experience of dismissing thanksgiving when we say "Everything I want I can buy." She says that "We often forget that it is not gratitude and giving, but advantages taken for granted, and then unshared, that are much likelier to produce and encourage differences in status and injustice."
Rev. John Henry Jowett was born in Halifax, England, and lived from 1864 to 1923; for a time was minister at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. He said "Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road." He also said “The real measure of our wealth is how much we would be worth if we lost all our money.”
I wondered, as I read this scripture over the week, what Jesus really means. Does he mean throw caution to the winds? Or does he mean don’t take anything for granted in this life, but believe that every new day is a gift, every person, every possession, everything God sends our way is a blessing and a gift.
If we believe we are children of God, what should we fear? Problems? Hunger? Death? It almost seems that an attitude of gratitude is the antithesis to fear and worries. As we are released from the chains of stress and strain, as our gratitude to God grows, we will find ourselves able to reach out to others; to people that may be worry-stricken, to the poor, the needy, those of us who really don’t have enough to go around - and we can demonstrate that gratitude in how we relate to others all the time.
What does reaching out to the poor, the needy - just reaching out to others altogether, have to do with Thanksgiving? The prophet Joel notes that it is important because poverty and hunger is always a reality among people in many parts of the world, and because God is compassionate and caring, and calls us to the same. Let us not only be people who know how to celebrate Thanksgiving once a year, but let us be Thanksgiving people--people who have an attitude of gratitude.
A few quotes on gratitude, from a variety of people....
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” Albert Schweitzer
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” – Cicero
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” – Buddha
“One regret dear world, that I am determined not to have when I am lying on my deathbed is that I did not kiss you enough.” - Hafiz of Persia
“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.” - Kahlil Gibran
We come to this table today for the symbols of bread and wine - the symbols of God’s openness, generosity, love - and the opportunity to make all God’s generosity available through us - from our hands to the hands of others. That is why we practice an open table - because God is open to everyone, so we are open to everyone. We cannot put boundaries on God’s love. We are called to live in gratitude for all that is. May it be so.
Sources:
1. Don't Worry--Be Happy! by Frank Schaefer Mat. 6:25-34
2. A Life of Gratitude , by Fran Ota Thanksgiving 2009
3. The Gift of Thanks, by Margaret Visser. HarperCollins, NY. 2009.
4. http://sourcesofinsight.com/gratitude-quotes/
And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. It is God who clothes the wild grass - grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't God be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have!
So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’ These are the things the pagans are always concerned about. God in heaven knows that you need all these things. Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Realm of God and with what is required of you, and you will be provided with all these other things.”
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Sukkoth in the Hebrew tradition is the Feast of Tabernacles, or Feast of Booths Sukkoth is the Jewish autumn festival of double thanksgiving, which began this year on September 30th- five days after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Sukkoth ends today, October 7th. This is one of the three Pilgrim Festivals spoken of in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Exodus 23:16 refers to “h’ag ha-asif “, the“Feast of the Ingathering,” when grains and fruits were gathered at the harvest’s end, and to “h’ag ha-sukkot” in Leviticus 23:34, recalling the days when the Israelites lived in huts during their years of wandering in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt. The festival is characterized by the building of huts made of branches and by the gathering of four species of branches, with prayers of thanksgiving to God for the fruitfulness of the land. As part of the celebration, a sevenfold circuit of the synagogue is made with the four plants on the seventh day of the festival, called by the special name Hoshana Rabba (“Great Hosanna”). Jesus would have celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, and joined in the Great Hosanna!
Today, we express our thanks, our gratitude to God for the harvest, for providing for us, for caring for us, for getting us through another year. We can tell the story of God’s faithfulness, of God’s love, of God’s care, and we can tell it exactly because we are here--alive and well! We who are present are evidence of the goodness of God.
Over the last year, all of us, in one way or another - have had a personal crisis. Life involves worry, and we don’t get to escape it. Some of us have gone through tremendous struggles, and you are here; others may go through difficult times right now, but all of us agree that thanking God is important on this Thanksgiving Day. We are here today to give thanks to our loving and caring God!
My Facebook clergy friends started a list the other day of the subject of our thanks. Everyone said, of course, family and friends; home; health.....but it seems to me an attitude of gratitude means thanks for life - the good and the bad. The late George Burns, on the celebration of his 100th birthday and his appearance on a television talk show, was asked if he was glad to be able to be there. He responded “At my age, you’re glad to be anywhere.” Well, despite the fact that this was classic George Burns, it occurred to me that this is the very essence of a life of gratitude - we’re glad to be anywhere.
It almost seems when we say "thank you" to God - even in the midst of the most incredibly crushing events in our lives, which threaten to extinguish the light of our soul - we can deal with those events and still be able to sing a song of thanks. "God has done great things for us, and we rejoiced." Maybe thanking God allows us to focus away from ourselves, at least a little, and to open our eyes to what is going on around us. This is what Jesus is doing when he looks about and sees a couple of birds in a nearby tree. Jesus says: don’t worry. Nothing has ever been gained by worrying. Instead, "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet God in heaven feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"
As we soak in Jesus’s words, we start to feel safer, the voice of fear is squelched, instead a feeling of gratitude is gradually swelling in our soul. And soon we are saying: "Yes, if God takes such good care of a bird and a flower, God will take care of me too. After all, I am one of God’s creatures too!" When we talk about God taking care of us, I don’t think it means God will prevent bad things from happening, I think it means God is there, always - even in the midst of the crises of our lives.
Paul speaks of the benefits of the attitude of gratitude in the following manner: "First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity."
Have you ever met someone who is a truly grateful person, someone who takes nothing for granted and is thankful for anything you do for them. Well, I do know a number of those grateful folks. They are people I like to hang around. They are peaceable people, people that have many friends. That’s the kind of attitude I want to have.
Margaret Visser's most recent book, "The Gift of Thanks", addresses a social ritual we take for granted. How many times did your mother tell you to say "Please" and "Thank you"? It is part of our ritual of politeness, and we get irritated at people who don’t say thank you. She notes our 21st century experience of dismissing thanksgiving when we say "Everything I want I can buy." She says that "We often forget that it is not gratitude and giving, but advantages taken for granted, and then unshared, that are much likelier to produce and encourage differences in status and injustice."
Rev. John Henry Jowett was born in Halifax, England, and lived from 1864 to 1923; for a time was minister at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. He said "Life without thankfulness is devoid of love and passion. Hope without thankfulness is lacking in fine perception. Faith without thankfulness lacks strength and fortitude. Every virtue divorced from thankfulness is maimed and limps along the spiritual road." He also said “The real measure of our wealth is how much we would be worth if we lost all our money.”
I wondered, as I read this scripture over the week, what Jesus really means. Does he mean throw caution to the winds? Or does he mean don’t take anything for granted in this life, but believe that every new day is a gift, every person, every possession, everything God sends our way is a blessing and a gift.
If we believe we are children of God, what should we fear? Problems? Hunger? Death? It almost seems that an attitude of gratitude is the antithesis to fear and worries. As we are released from the chains of stress and strain, as our gratitude to God grows, we will find ourselves able to reach out to others; to people that may be worry-stricken, to the poor, the needy, those of us who really don’t have enough to go around - and we can demonstrate that gratitude in how we relate to others all the time.
What does reaching out to the poor, the needy - just reaching out to others altogether, have to do with Thanksgiving? The prophet Joel notes that it is important because poverty and hunger is always a reality among people in many parts of the world, and because God is compassionate and caring, and calls us to the same. Let us not only be people who know how to celebrate Thanksgiving once a year, but let us be Thanksgiving people--people who have an attitude of gratitude.
A few quotes on gratitude, from a variety of people....
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” Albert Schweitzer
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.” – Cicero
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” – Buddha
“One regret dear world, that I am determined not to have when I am lying on my deathbed is that I did not kiss you enough.” - Hafiz of Persia
“Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.” - Kahlil Gibran
We come to this table today for the symbols of bread and wine - the symbols of God’s openness, generosity, love - and the opportunity to make all God’s generosity available through us - from our hands to the hands of others. That is why we practice an open table - because God is open to everyone, so we are open to everyone. We cannot put boundaries on God’s love. We are called to live in gratitude for all that is. May it be so.
Sources:
1. Don't Worry--Be Happy! by Frank Schaefer Mat. 6:25-34
2. A Life of Gratitude , by Fran Ota Thanksgiving 2009
3. The Gift of Thanks, by Margaret Visser. HarperCollins, NY. 2009.
4. http://sourcesofinsight.com/gratitude-quotes/
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