Introducing CANADA PRAYS
a Sample Sermon for Thanksgiving, 09 oct 2016
Deut 26.1-11; Psalm 100; Phil 4.4-9; John 6.25-35
Our Psalmist this morning invites us all to "[m]ake a joyful noise to the LORD." Harvest Thanksgiving is the perfect time to do just that - to joyfully proclaim our thanks and appreciation, whether our harvest is from the fields or the seas or the grocery store.
But the psalmist takes it one step further - this is not a simple "thanks" that we would express to someone who has done us a kindness, like holding open a door or handing us our coffee. These are things to be thankful for, to be sure, and such kindnesses ought to be acknowledged.
However, the psalmist invites us into a truer, deeper expression of gratitude, acknowledging the source of all for which we give thanks. "Worship the LORD with gladness; come into his [sic] presence with singing. Know that the LORD is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."
What wonderful joy, what bliss, what opportunity! To know that we are God's people, chosen, loved, cared for. And this type of care comes from long tradition, from our ancestors and ancestors, from all those who would come to God with grateful hearts.
Because thanksgiving is not always easy, as our first reading this morning reminds us. Our shared history as the chosen people of God includes difficult times. Things were bleak for our ancestors, yet God's care did not diminish. That care is remembered and celebrated in prayer such as the deuteronomical first fruits of the harvest. These prayers serve to recall and teach the hardships of the past, to celebrate the abundance of the present, and to share that bounty with everyone around, regardless of their views or status, in hopes that their future might also be one of abundance.
The psalmist continues with the joy of prayer: "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name." This is echoed in the passage from Paul's letter to the Philippians, where we are being invited to delve deeper into prayer and rejoicing, giving thanks that the Lord is near. To journey in prayer and supplication and gentleness, and through that rejoicing in the Lord being assured of a peace which passes all understanding. This is truly something to be thankful for.
This gratitude through prayer continues, as the psalmist concludes "For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."
And the Lord IS good. And God's love is eternal. And his faithfulness is assured to us in today's gospel reading. We are reminded that the food which endures comes from God alone, and that we have always been given this bread. Jesus clarifies that he himself is the bread of life, the abundance we seek, the essence of what we need. It's no wonder that the crowds gathered around Jesus are wanting more of him - at first his time, and his teaching, and then the stark declaration we all make: "Sir, give us this bread always."
Our request for the bread of heaven indicates a desire to engage more closely with the divine. Our means for doing just that is through prayer. Prayers come in a variety of forms - there's thanksgiving, petition, penitence, oblation, intercession, praise, and adoration. These are modeled throughout the scriptures, and show how people throughout the ages have wanted to enhance ongoing communication with God, to better align one's life with the will of the divine that is already happening.
Entering into this prayerful communication with God is something we should all want to do, and truly it is something we all can do. For the next seven weeks, from Thanksgiving until Advent, the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer is engaging in a project called "Canada Prays." In this, we're highlighting one form of prayer each week, to connect with the scriptures and the realities of our life. For example, this week the focus is on prayers of Thanksgiving.
Each Sunday, and new blog will introduce these forms of prayer on the National Church's "The Community" blog at thecommunity.anglican.ca; there's also a website at prayersofthepeople.org where folks are encouraged to sign up and receive a daily prayer email at noon, which will hopefully inspire folks to write a prayer of their own through social media - these prayers are then added to that virtual prayer wall.
It's an exciting project, one where we can come together from coast to coast to coast and pray together -- giving thanks to God for the technology that makes this possible. These prayers, and other resources, can be used in our own liturgies, in Sunday Schools, wherever people are wanting to pray.
These prayers are truly the prayers of the people, reflecting the truth of God whom we know is active in our lives. As more people participate, the richness will increase. Prayer is what we do, it's what our ancestors before us have done, it's what we want our descendants to continue with. It's how we are participants in a never-ending the conversation with God; which is in itself something to be thankful for.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, let us be mindful of the opportunity to pray our thanks to God. Let us engage with the Holiest of Holies in all we do and all we say; especially this weekend where we are invited to be truly thankful in our hearts and our minds, in our words and our actions.
May your Thanksgiving dinner be a time of prayerful gratitude - for all the gifts of this life, for all the promise of the life to come. Whether your earthly meal is a turkey feast or a peanut butter sandwich; whether your table is a dining set or a drive through; whether your company is a large assembly of family and friends or alone with a cat curled up beside you.
May your spirit come to God and never be hungry; may your soul believe in God and never thirst; may your heart be overflowing with prayers of thanks to our God.
Happy Thanksgiving.