THANKSGIVING or THANKSLIVING

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Praise is due to you, O God in Zion” – Psalm 65:1

On behalf of the Elk River Ministerial Association you are invited to the Community Wide Thanksgiving Eve Worship at 7:00PM at St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Parish.  This is a great opportunity to join with other members of the community to give thanks to God.  I hope to see many of you tonight!  Why will we gather this evening?  The Psalmist declares, “Praise is due to you, O God in Zion.”

God is worthy of our praise! God is deserving of our gratitude!  It is right, it is good, indeed it is as it should be to gather for thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a unique national holiday.  On this day we are mandated to solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledge God.  Does it seem strange that we need to be instructed to give thanks and praise to God?

Think back to 1621! Hunger and famine were unbidden guests. Sickness lingered like the morning mist. Death had visited half of their number. A time for thanksgiving? It was in the midst of these gloomy circumstances that Governor Bradford set aside that day in November of 1621 to give thanks to God.

Think back to 1863, our country was in the midst of the Civil war. More Americans died in the Civil war than all other wars combined. After the battle of Gettysburg, in the fall of 1863, President Lincoln declared that we have forgotten God and so proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to God.

Tomorrow millions of Americans will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving. Once a year our national conscience is stirred. I do not want to underestimate our sincerity but it is easy to pay lip service to God. God does not want our lip service – God desires our life service. No matter how much turkey is consumed the disease of ingratitude is not easily cured.  Only one thing cures our ingratitude; the Grace and Mercy of God.

MERCY – it is a strange word for those who live in abundance.

MERCY – it is a peculiar word for those of us who work so hard at making a living.

MERCY – it is a foreign word for so much of our way of life.

The word we understand is MERIT. It is the belief that if you are good, moral and honest – God will take care of you. It is an investment mindset – somehow we can think, speak and act in such a way that we merit God’s favor and generosity. And when God doesn’t live up to his end of the bargain we become disillusioned – we lose faith – or in the words of President Lincoln – we forget God.  BUT GOD NEVER FORGETS US!

God offers us the gift of gifts! The gift is called Grace, Mercy, Love, Kindness, Forgiveness, Salvation, Deliverance – it is all gift!  The gift is Jesus!  The word ‘gratitude’ and ‘grace’ have a common root. Grateful people are people who know that they have been visited or graced by the mercy of God.  This thanksgiving savor the turkey – but remember you eat because of God’s Grace. Enjoy your family and friends – but remember they are God’s gifts of Grace.

On behalf of the staff at Central, THANK YOU for the privilege of serving amongst you.  We hope and pray that you will have a blessed THANKSGIVING and we look forward to our Advent journey which begins on Sunday, November 27!

Thanks Be To God!

Paul Johansson