“REMEMBERING AND GIVING THANKS”
Deuteronomy 8:6-20
Is there any word from the Lord? That’s the question King Zedekiah asked the prophet
Jeremiah . . . and I assume that’s the question people sitting in the pews on Sunday ask of their
preacher . . . “So, is there any word from the Lord?”
Friends, there is always a word. The English author and poet Rudyard Kipling was a
wordsmith. Kipling’s writings not only made him famous but also brought him a fortune. A
newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody
calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over one hundred dollars a
word.” The reporter reached into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and gave
it to Kipling and said, “Here’s a one hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of
your hundred dollar words.” Rudyard Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and
said, “Thanks.”
Since this week is Thanksgiving, let’s all agree that our “one hundred dollar word” this
morning is “thanks.”In our readings today we have two stories of thanksgiving.
In Deuteronomy, Moses is preaching to the Israelites, one last time, before they enter the
Promised Land—and Moses’ hundred dollar word is “thanks.” It’s a sermon filled with hope.
The Israelites are about to enter into a land where blessings will be evident, a good land with
streams and pools of water, a land with resources, a land where God’s people will lack for
nothing, and what Moses preaches is: give thanks to God for all you have, remember where you
came from, remember all the times when it seemed like you weren’t so blessed, those times
when you were slaves in Egypt, those times when you wandered lost in the wilderness for forty
years and God fed you—you’re entering the Promised Land, but remember and give thanks.
In our gospel reading about Jesus healing ten lepers, we read that Jesus healed ten, but only
one remembers to come back and give thanks. Sadly, there is something about human nature, for
some reason, when things are going well we have a tendency to forget God—or maybe that’s
not a fair statement. We know God is there, we know God will take care of us, so is it possible we
just take God’s blessings for granted?
There was a father and mother of a young man killed in the military in a little church. One
day they came to the pastor and told him they wanted to give a monetary gift as a memory to
their son who died in battle. The pastor said, “That’s a wonderful gesture on your part.” He
asked if it was OK to tell the congregation and they said it was. So the next Sunday he told the
congregation of the gift given in memory of the dead son. On the way home from church,
another couple was driving down the highway when the husband said to his wife, “Why don’t
we give a gift because of our son?” And his wife said, “But our son didn’t die in any conflict!
Our son is still alive!” Her husband replied, “That’s exactly my point! That’s all the more reason
we ought to give in thanks to God.”
I believe with all my heart that gratitude is or should be one of the defining traits of God’s
people. In our bulletin, our stationery, in most of our Palmetto correspondence, there is a tag
line that reads “God’s Grace, My Gratitude, Our Growth.” It’s easy to assume that growth is
numerical, but when we are grateful, truly grateful for God’s grace, we experience spiritual
growth. And if you go back to human nature, gratitude isn’t something we automatically
have—gratitude is taught.
It’s as simple as saying grace over our meals. It’s as easy as beginning each day with a
prayer of thanksgiving, but too often our relationship with God is like this little boy who was
given an orange by his uncle. His mother said, “Tommy, what do you say to Uncle John?” The
little boy thought for a minute, then handed the orange back to Uncle John and said, “Peel it.”
God gives and God gives and our response, instead of being grateful, is to want more. Instead
of saying “Thank you for the orange,” we say, “Peel it.”
There are so many lessons in these two readings. Moses reminds God’s people that it’s easy
to forget God when you’re God’s chosen. In the story of the lepers, notice only the “unchosen,”
the Samaritan, leper is the one who remembers to go back to Jesus and say thanks.
There is a lesson in the Deuteronomy text for those of us who live in this affluent Mt.
Pleasant community. We look at all our stuff, and like the Israelites once they “settle in” at the
Promised Land, we are all tempted to say what Moses warns in verse 17: “You may say to
yourself, my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But,
Moses says remember the Lord your God for he gives you the ability to produce wealth.
You know, if today’s word was confession, I would have to confess to being competitive. I
always want to win, and I compare myself to others. Maybe you do too. It’s easy to fall into that
trap: “I’m heavy, but hey, I’m not as fat as my brother and he goes to the gym every day.”
“Well, I know I don’t tithe, but compared to a lot of people in this church, I give more than my
share.” “I work harder than everyone else in my office, yet Tom makes more than I do, and I’ve
been here longer.” The examples go on and on. But thanksgiving is so much more than
comparing ourselves to others. The leper who went back to Jesus to say thanks—he didn’t wait
to see what the other lepers would do. Whenever I get too holier than thou, whenever I start
comparing myself to pastors who don’t work as hard or whose churches aren’t as “active” as
Palmetto, I’m reminded of the Pharisee who prayed, “Lord, I’m thankful I’m not like that guy
other there who isn’t a Pharisee.”
A few years ago, the Peanuts cartoon pictured Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy’s dinner
on Thanksgiving Day. But it was just his usual dog food in a bowl. Snoopy took one look at the
dog food and said, “This isn’t fair. The rest of the world is eating turkey with all the trimmings,
and all I get is dog food. Because I’m a dog, all I get is dog food.” He stood there and stared at
his dog food for a moment and said, “I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey.”
There was very little joy in Snoopy’s thankfulness, for his thankfulness was based on a
comparison. His thankfulness was based on the fact that he was better off than the turkey.
Therein lies a small lesson in that when we’re down in the dumps and full of complaints
because life isn’t fair, we should recognize that there are so many others far worse off than we
are. We should stop complaining, but when it comes to our thankfulness, the basis should never
be, “Whew, am I thankful that I’m not her,” or “I am so thankful I don’t have to live like that.”
Remember when I said if today’s word was confession. Well, I’m not good at Hebrew, but
the Hebrew word for gratitude is the same word for confession. To offer thanks is to confess
dependence, to acknowledge that others have the power to benefit you, to admit your life is
better because of their efforts. Even though we sometimes get on each other’s nerves, we need
each other. You can’t be a Christian by yourself; other people make us happy in the long run.
The experts tell us gratitude leads to happiness and that ungrateful people cannot be happy.
I believe God wants us to be happy, so therefore God wants us to be grateful.
Friends, abundance without gratitude becomes consumerism, becomes greed, becomes
jealousy, becomes an unquenchable hunger. But you know that. So give thanks, live a life of
gratitude, remembering the Lord your God. Live the life that God has desired for you—a life of
blessings and joy. And be thankful always.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Michael Lee Fitze
Palmetto Presbyterian Church
November 18, 2012