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November 26, 2006

Frannie Kieschnick - Nov 26, 2006

The Sunday after Thanksgiving Day - Rev Frannie Kieschnick

(Audio recording coming soon)

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The early Church believed that the end of time was imminent-that soon very soon the King of Glory would come- but they found themselves as we do living in the meantime- as people of faith-how do we live in the meantime- They tried to make him a king but Jesus said, "For this I was born, to testify to the truth- and what is that truth- God is love-Thanks be to God."

The story is told of two friends who bumped into one another on the street one day. One of them looked especially forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked him, “What has happened. What has the world done to you, that you should be so sad?” His forlorn friend replied, “Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, an aunt died and left me $10,000.” “Well, well. That’s a lot of money!” “But two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew, passed away leaving me $20,000 free and clear.” “Sounds like you have been incredibly blessed!” “Just wait. Last week I learned I had inherited $100,000.” Now his friend was really confused. Then why do you look so glum?” “This week...nothing!”

That is the trouble with receiving something on a regular basis. Even if it is a gift. We eventually come to expect it! There is actually a word for this these days, it is called entitlement--a whole bunch of parents on the peninsula are very concerned about their own children acquiring this mindset not realizing that we can all fall victim to it- it is an attitude that permeates our community, our nation and even our international relations. It is a problem.

What can we do. What is the antidote for this epidemic- the antidote for this attitude of entitlement?

The antidote is a daily dose of gratitude- It is an attitude of gratitude-the attitude not only practiced by people of faith but required of people of faith. Scripture is filled with injunctions to be grateful. In Colossians we hear, "Put on the garments that suit God’s chosen people, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. And be filled with gratitude. Let the message of Christ dwell among you in all its richness." In Philippians, "Have no worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.".

Perhaps you are so filled with worry there is no room for gratitude, perhaps you aren’t feeling blessed this day. Perhaps, hard as you try, you cannot see the gifts that God has given you. Maybe the pain in your life has overwhelmed you to the point where you cannot no longer see how blessed you are. Or perhaps you have been so blessed that even those blessings don’t feel as blessed any more.

The truth is, the world has had a hard year. Locally we have had a hard year-many of us have had hard years-lots of loss-close relatives and beloved mentors have died, jobs have been lost, health has deteriorated-

But it is the Sunday after Thanksgiving-we are supposed to give thanks- we are people of faith it is what is required of us.

So what do we do? One thing we do is to gather together to make Eucharist-which means in Greek "give thanks." In a way we could say that Thanksgiving day is Eucharist day when we practice giving thanks- we give thanks consciously, intentionally for all that God has given us in our lives-when we say thank you to God and one another for the gift of every moment of life and love in this world and then next. I don’t ‘know about you all but in my house it is the only meal of the entire year when everyone is willing to take a moment to hold hands and give thanks before diving in.

It is not a new idea, giving thanks; giving thanks even for apparent tragedy and trusting god to be god. Thousands of years ago, the Jewish people formulated blessings (berakah) for every circumstance of their lives. Good news comes, "then blessed be the one who is good and does good." Bad news comes-"then blessed be the judge of truth!" Humankind had a duty to pronounce blessing on the bad as well as the good in life, because all life came from God. The Talmud says, "It is forbidden to taste of this world without a blessing!"

Let me tell you about a man named George- he has had more than his share of life’s hell, especially in recent years What puzzles all his friends is that he is so inexplicably cheerful-and in a way that doesn’t make you uncomfortable. There’s nothing forced about his upbeat spirit, he say there are basically three responses to life, “Damn!”, “Help!”, and “Thank you”. He’s tried them all. The first one he describes as something like pouring all your energy down the drain. The second is appropriated more often than he would like. But it is the third that produce the most mileage. He says, “I faced a lot of bad stuff in my life, including death, and I decided I might as well live, and lives as gratefully as I could. Every day’s a gift, and I don’t want to waste it in either cynicism or self pity.”

Our challenge then this Thanksgiving weekend and every day is to say "thank you" to God for the whole mess-the things we welcome as well as the things we wish we could escape. For all that we experience is an invitation to draw closer to God, and God is constantly drawing closer to us. God goes with us everywhere; there is no corner of our lives where God is not present. Difficult as that often is to believe, let alone remember!

Thomas Merton wrote, “To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything God has given us. Every breath we draw is a gift of his love; every moment of existence is a grace. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and praise.”

Sometimes we have to work our way through the "damn!" and "help!" before getting to gratitude and it’s often a struggle to get to that grateful place when life is particularly hard and unfair. No one said it would be easy. In fact in the face of tragedy and evil, gratitude is the hardest spiritual practice of all.

I am reading a wonderful book by Sara Miles called Take This Bread- it is all about the radical conversion of a woman, Sara, who visited St. Gregory’s in the city, took communion, found Jesus and heard a call to feed others in Jesus' name by establishing food pantries all across the city. When people come to the pantry they often ask her to pray for them. In one passage, Sara describes a middle aged couple who have found sobriety a little to late for their daughter a broken and bitter girl whose life had been made hell by her parent’s drinking. They are fervent AA members now but they are consumed by guilt about their child, much as Sara was about the years her own daughter, Katie, had been lonely and worried, when Sara had been going through her own troubles. Sara writes, "Katie was thriving now, unafraid and sunny. I had to believe that the hurt places in her and my inadequacies were not defining who she could become. that our lives were not about avoiding pain at all costs but about going through it, together and finding gratitude for the experience.'God', I said after a long time holding hands with the couple, 'thank you for healing; for new life after all, and thank you especially for the dark years. Thank you for everything that works in the dark.'”

It is hard to feel gratitude in a society that encourages us to want more, to be greedy for more, to compare ourselves to others-that fills us with a sense of entitlement that won’t let go- just check the advertisements for post Thanksgiving sales. Greed grabs, gratitude receives. That is why it can seem like a radical, subversive reaction to life.

Gratitude takes nothing for granted.

Gratitude unleashes the imagination. It defies the messages of the world and of others.

Gratitude is irrational, Unnerving, Life changing.

So let us be thankful that we don’t already have everything we want for we have something to look forward to.

Let us be thankful that we don’t know something for it gives us an opportunity to learn.

Let us be thankful for our limitations, because they give us opportunities for improvements and to depend on others.

Let us be thankful for each new challenge for it can build character and strength.

Let us be thankful when we are tired or weary, because it might mean that we were able to make a difference.

Let us be thankful even for our mistakes, for they teach us valuable lessons and God's unconditional love.

To be grateful is to remember and recognize the love of God in everything God has given us and God has given us everything...So let us be on the lookout for God and ready with our chorus, “This week....Everything! “

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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