Looking Ahead to October 9, 2022 -- Thanksgiving Sunday

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Deuteronomy 26:1-11
• Philippians 4:4-9
• John 6:25-35

The Sermon title is Remember with Thanks

Our Tree of Thanks waiting for more leaves

Early Thoughts: For what are you thankful this year?  As we approach Thanksgiving weekend we are encouraged to think about the gifts we have received over the past year (and the years before that). Sometimes we forget to be thankful. Sometimes we forget what we have to be thankful for. In a world where there is an entire, multi-BILLION dollar industry dedicated to convincing us to buy more it can be easy to forget about the abundance we already have.

This passage from Deuteronomy, a common one for Thanksgiving Sunday, is not really about giving thanks -- at least not at first reading.  It is about remembering. And it is about giving from what you have.

The remembering what God has done is a common theme in the stories of the Israelite people. Does that mean they tended to forget to remember? Remembering is often a conscious act, it is something we choose to do (or choose not to do). But if we don't remember what happens?

I am not thinking here of Santayana's dictum that those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it (though I tend to find wisdom there). I am thinking of how remembering or forgetting tie in to both our gratitude and our stewardship.

If we forget then are we aware of why we are grateful? I suspect not. If we forget the path that has led us to this point, the gifts shared and given to help us along the way, then it is easy to not express our gratitude.

If we forget the gifts shared and given that helped us along the path it is easier to think that we did it all by ourselves. And then to wonder why others can not do the same for themselves.

Memory is at the base of our gratitude and our stewardship. In the Deuteronomy passage the act of remembering is intrinsically tied to the act of offering the first-fruits to God's service. Practically speaking it appears that this offering goes to feed an support the Levites (religious workers) and Priests as well as those who are in need. As they remember they are thankful and they give from what they have received.

What memories make you thankful? What gifts do you pass forward as you remember and are grateful
--Gord