“Think…Thank” Deuteronomy 8.1-10 Thanksgiving Day Sermon, Nov. ‘14

 

1.               Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The message from God’s for us today as we prepare to observe the National Day of Thanksgiving is taken from Deuteronomy 8:1-10.  It’s entitled, “Think, Thank,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.               In the cathedral in Cambridge, England, the cushion of a kneeler has embroidered on it two words: “Think…Thank.” The two words are said to originate from the same root word, which comes as no surprise. It’s just what we do. When something causes us stop to think, we also stop to thank, often in unlikely circumstances.  Last year of 2013, 85 tornados devastated parts of the Midwest.  And, this year of 2014 there have been record low temperatures across the United States or the amount of snow that fell in Buffalo, NY that reached about 8 feet in total depth. Even as residents of communities struck by the tornadoes last year dug themselves out of the rubble of their former blessings and began to think about their losses, how often their thoughts focused on their remaining blessings and turned to giving thanks. It’s what we do, especially as Christians.  Maybe the greatest example of that kind of thanksgiving was Noah from the Old Testament book of Genesis.  After surviving the most horrific storm imaginable, Noah built an altar and gave thanks to God that he and his family were spared. He couldn’t help but “Think…Thank.”  Tragedy isn’t the only time we do this. A family gathering with turkey and all the trimmings can also serve as an opportunity to think about the wisdom of Paul’s words to the Corinthians: “What hast thou that thou didst not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7). “Think…Thank.”

3.               Another example of Think…Thank, remembering and thanking God for the blessings God has given to us, is the story of Squanto and the First Thanksgiving observed here in America.  It’s a story of tragedy, but out of the tragedy something good took place.  It’s a reminder of Romans 8:28, “all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”  Historians believe that around 1608, more than 10 years before the Pilgrims arrived, a group of English traders sailed to what is today Plymouth, Massachusetts. When the trusting Wampanoag Indians came out to trade, the traders took them prisoner, transported them to Spain, and sold them into slavery. But God had an amazing plan for one of the Indians, a boy named Squanto.  Squanto was bought by a Spanish monk, who treated him well and taught him the Christian faith. Squanto eventually made his way to England and worked in the stables of a man named John Slaney. Slaney sympathized with Squanto's desire to return home, and he promised to put the Indian on the first ship bound for America.  It wasn't until 1619, 10 years after Squanto was first kidnapped, that a ship was found. Finally, after 10 years of exile, Squanto was on his way home.  But when he arrived in Massachusetts, more heartbreak awaited him. An epidemic had wiped out Squanto's entire village.

4.               We can only imagine what must have gone through Squanto's mind. Why had God allowed him to return home only to find his loved ones dead?  A year later, the answer came. A ship of English families arrived and settled on the land once occupied by Squanto's people. Squanto went to meet them, greeting the startled Pilgrims in English.  According to the diary of Pilgrim Governor William Bradford, Squanto "became a special instrument sent of God for [our] good . . . He showed [us] how to plant [our] corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities . . . and was also [our] pilot to bring [us] to unknown places for [our] profit, and never left [us] till he died."  When Squanto lay dying of fever, Bradford wrote that their Indian friend "desir[ed] the Governor to pray for him, that he might go to the Englishmen's God in heaven." Squanto gave his possessions to the Pilgrims "as remembrances of his love."  Who but God could convert a lonely Indian and then use him to save a struggling band of Englishmen? Squanto’s story is another example of, “Think…Thank,” seeing God’s providing care in our lives as his people.

5.               A final example of Think…Thank is in our Old Testament lesson today from Deuteronomy 8:1-10.  Here Moses says, “¹“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. ²And 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. ³And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. ⁴Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. ⁵Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. ⁶So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. ⁷For 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, ⁸a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, ⁹a 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. ¹⁰And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.

6.               Think…Thank.  Moses calls the Israelites to remember the Lord their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Remember that it was He who called His servant Abram out of the land of the Chaldeans to be the father of a great nation.  Remember that the Lord has been faithful in the covenant He swore to their fathers.  Remember that He has been faithful to them.  Remember that it was He who led them for 40 years, testing and trying, so that the Israelites might be prepared to live by the words that come from the mouth of the Lord.  Remember and don’t forget, for God is ready to lead them into their promised land.  Think…Thank.

7.               The danger of the land the Israelites were going to possess wasn’t that of hunger and want. Instead, it’s the danger of plenty and abundance. When bellies are full and dwellings are secure, when flocks are numerous and wealth is multiplied, then people forget.  They forget the One who delivered them and deposited them in this Promised Land.  They forget dire needs and gnawing hungers.  They forget the bread of heaven and the waters of life.  They forget the hand of the Lord and they claim responsibility for all the good that has been given to them.  They forget to Think…Thank.

8.               How soon then do we forget the nourishing and nurturing hand of the Lord?  When we’re crying out from the depths of our despair, when we have slipped into the pit of misery and want, then we seek the Lord.  But, when the night of mourning is past, when the day dawns with relief from pain—relief sent from the Lord—we soon forget the saving and sustaining hand of the Lord.  This is a great danger and a sad reality. 

9.               Return to the Lord, “and forget not all His benefits.” (Psalm 103:2).  Think…Thank.  Remember that it’s He who has redeemed your life from the pit with the blood of His lamb, Jesus.  It’s He who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy (vs. 4).  Even in our unfaithfulness, remember the God is always faithful.  Though He disciplines us, He won’t keep His anger against us.  Remember that He who made known His ways to Moses and His acts to the people of Israel is the Lord who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (vs. 8).  Remember and don’t forget.  Think…Thank.

10.           When the temptation that accompanies bounty and blessing knocks at your door, don’t forget that all good things come from the Lord.  When all is right with the world and worries and cares have fallen from memory, don’t fall prey to thoughts of self-reliance, and self-sufficiency.  When concerns and anxiety have fled, don’t forget: remember that it’s Jesus who has saved us from sin, death, and the power of the devil and not ourselves.  It’s the Lord who opens His hand to us and provides us with all our needs.  On this Thanksgiving, remember and don’t forget.  Think…Thank.  Amen.