Thanksgiving Eve Service 11/23/11
Thanksgiving Eve Service
11/24/11
Text: Deuteronomy 8:1-2
Title: In All Things Give Thanksgiving
Listen to the words of God, as Moses declared to the people, "The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not."
Thanksgiving day is about remembering the past and of course being thankful for the blessings you have received. When you gather around the Thanksgiving table to enjoy the feast tomorrow you will hear stories, and see people that you might not have seen for a while. Listen to the stories, some of which will be old, some new, all of them will be about events in the past, usually about your family.
Everywhere you look tomorrow you will probably be reminded of your family’s history. Where one of the relatives once sat, there might be an empty chair; or perhaps there are now two or three extra chairs where new members of the family are setting. Look at the faces gathered around the table; young faces, wrinkled faces, sad faces, happy faces, new faces and old faces. All of them tell the story of your family's history in in their own way. Remember and give thanks.
Memories are important, for they tell you who you are and where you come from, and in a sense you belong to. Without memories you really can’t give thanks, for you won’t know what to be thankful for or whom to thank. That is why Moses in our reading is saying what he saying. He wants the people that he is talking to know who they are, where they came from, and who they should be thanking for all their blessings in the past.
Moses's sermon is a short sermon, but during his lifetime he repeated it many times: “Remember the Lord!”; “Remember and do not forget!” he would say over and over again, for Moses knew how important it was for the people of Israel not to forget God's graciousness toward them.
This evening Moses is speaking to us. We, like the people of Israel have gathered together in God’s presence to hear his Word and partake of Jesus’ Supper, a foreshadowing of the heavenly feast to come to remember all that God has done for us.
My brothers and sisters in Christ you belong to the Lord. This is what the Lord has done for you: He sent you a prophet greater than Moses; Jesus Christ, his Son to deliver you by his death and resurrection. He brought you out of slavery to sin. He rescued you from the reign of death and the devil. He drowned your sinful self in baptismal water and called you to be his people. He has led you year after year through the wilderness of this life, a land in which you are a pilgrim and a stranger. All praise to God!
Beware of just knowing what God has done, for a proper remembrance of what God has done for you involves the whole person, not only the mind. So when Moses says, “Remember,” he isn’t reciting a set of historical facts for you to memorize. He wants your entire life to be one of remembrance, for you to remember the Lord with your head, your heart, and your hand. Through Holy Baptism, God made you a member of the heavenly Father’s family, and so you remember the Lord your God by living as his child.
Remember what it was like to be a child. You received what your parents gave. You lived in their house, you ate at their table, you called them when you were in need, and you enjoyed their goods and belongings. That is the same way it should be when you are a child of the heavenly Father through adoption into Christ Jesus.
It is here in God's holy house that you can best remember who you are, for this is your Father’s house. This altar is his table. It is spread for the feast. You call him “Father,” and his ears hear your cries for mercy. This isn’t a onetime thing; it’s your life as a child. You remember the Lord by receiving more from him: more forgiveness and more salvation. His delight is to give to you, to provide for you, to answer you. He does this not only here but in your own home as well. Everything you have is his and he gave it to you.
Listen to God's words, as Moses spoke them, "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you."
He gives; you receive. And in receiving, you remember who you are: his beloved child. At present, however, you are living in a wilderness, much like the Israelites as they wandered through the desert, which means that there may be hunger and sickness and tears along the way. Some tables may have less this year than they did last year; some belts might be pulled a little tighter. That’s not a sign that the Lord has forsaken you, but it does test you.
The best remembrance that a child gives to his father is to do what his father does, to walk in his ways. “So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.” To be a child of the heavenly Father means to imitate him: to forgive as he forgives and to love as he loves. You demonstrate that you remember the Lord by loving and serving your neighbor.
We are always in danger of forgetting who we are. In spiritual matters, as in the rest of life, we are prone to be forgetful and have a selective memory. But Thanksgiving, even though it is not a religious holy day, makes us remember, and God jogs our memory though the words of Moses, so that we are reminded who we are; the Lord’s people, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. Remember this by receiving his gifts.
Each time you start to worship God make the sign of the cross to help remember your Baptism. Listen to his Word faithfully taught. Come soon to his banquet table to eat and drink the very body and blood of your Lord Jesus Christ, for forgiveness, salvation, and life eternal, as he has promised.
Remember who you are by living as one who has been redeemed by Christ the crucified. Remember it with your heads, hands, hearts, ears, and mouths. With such remembrance and thanksgiving, go forth tomorrow, enjoy the feast. Remember the stories of your family, pass the gravy, and enjoy all that the Lord has given you, for he is good. Amen.
11/24/11
Text: Deuteronomy 8:1-2
Title: In All Things Give Thanksgiving
Listen to the words of God, as Moses declared to the people, "The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not."
Thanksgiving day is about remembering the past and of course being thankful for the blessings you have received. When you gather around the Thanksgiving table to enjoy the feast tomorrow you will hear stories, and see people that you might not have seen for a while. Listen to the stories, some of which will be old, some new, all of them will be about events in the past, usually about your family.
Everywhere you look tomorrow you will probably be reminded of your family’s history. Where one of the relatives once sat, there might be an empty chair; or perhaps there are now two or three extra chairs where new members of the family are setting. Look at the faces gathered around the table; young faces, wrinkled faces, sad faces, happy faces, new faces and old faces. All of them tell the story of your family's history in in their own way. Remember and give thanks.
Memories are important, for they tell you who you are and where you come from, and in a sense you belong to. Without memories you really can’t give thanks, for you won’t know what to be thankful for or whom to thank. That is why Moses in our reading is saying what he saying. He wants the people that he is talking to know who they are, where they came from, and who they should be thanking for all their blessings in the past.
Moses's sermon is a short sermon, but during his lifetime he repeated it many times: “Remember the Lord!”; “Remember and do not forget!” he would say over and over again, for Moses knew how important it was for the people of Israel not to forget God's graciousness toward them.
This evening Moses is speaking to us. We, like the people of Israel have gathered together in God’s presence to hear his Word and partake of Jesus’ Supper, a foreshadowing of the heavenly feast to come to remember all that God has done for us.
My brothers and sisters in Christ you belong to the Lord. This is what the Lord has done for you: He sent you a prophet greater than Moses; Jesus Christ, his Son to deliver you by his death and resurrection. He brought you out of slavery to sin. He rescued you from the reign of death and the devil. He drowned your sinful self in baptismal water and called you to be his people. He has led you year after year through the wilderness of this life, a land in which you are a pilgrim and a stranger. All praise to God!
Beware of just knowing what God has done, for a proper remembrance of what God has done for you involves the whole person, not only the mind. So when Moses says, “Remember,” he isn’t reciting a set of historical facts for you to memorize. He wants your entire life to be one of remembrance, for you to remember the Lord with your head, your heart, and your hand. Through Holy Baptism, God made you a member of the heavenly Father’s family, and so you remember the Lord your God by living as his child.
Remember what it was like to be a child. You received what your parents gave. You lived in their house, you ate at their table, you called them when you were in need, and you enjoyed their goods and belongings. That is the same way it should be when you are a child of the heavenly Father through adoption into Christ Jesus.
It is here in God's holy house that you can best remember who you are, for this is your Father’s house. This altar is his table. It is spread for the feast. You call him “Father,” and his ears hear your cries for mercy. This isn’t a onetime thing; it’s your life as a child. You remember the Lord by receiving more from him: more forgiveness and more salvation. His delight is to give to you, to provide for you, to answer you. He does this not only here but in your own home as well. Everything you have is his and he gave it to you.
Listen to God's words, as Moses spoke them, "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land he has given you."
He gives; you receive. And in receiving, you remember who you are: his beloved child. At present, however, you are living in a wilderness, much like the Israelites as they wandered through the desert, which means that there may be hunger and sickness and tears along the way. Some tables may have less this year than they did last year; some belts might be pulled a little tighter. That’s not a sign that the Lord has forsaken you, but it does test you.
The best remembrance that a child gives to his father is to do what his father does, to walk in his ways. “So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.” To be a child of the heavenly Father means to imitate him: to forgive as he forgives and to love as he loves. You demonstrate that you remember the Lord by loving and serving your neighbor.
We are always in danger of forgetting who we are. In spiritual matters, as in the rest of life, we are prone to be forgetful and have a selective memory. But Thanksgiving, even though it is not a religious holy day, makes us remember, and God jogs our memory though the words of Moses, so that we are reminded who we are; the Lord’s people, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. Remember this by receiving his gifts.
Each time you start to worship God make the sign of the cross to help remember your Baptism. Listen to his Word faithfully taught. Come soon to his banquet table to eat and drink the very body and blood of your Lord Jesus Christ, for forgiveness, salvation, and life eternal, as he has promised.
Remember who you are by living as one who has been redeemed by Christ the crucified. Remember it with your heads, hands, hearts, ears, and mouths. With such remembrance and thanksgiving, go forth tomorrow, enjoy the feast. Remember the stories of your family, pass the gravy, and enjoy all that the Lord has given you, for he is good. Amen.
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 7:50 PM
|
0 comments
