Preached on November 26, 2015
St. Luke 12:13–21
2 Corinthians 9:6–15
In the name of the Father and of the + Son
and of the Holy Spirit –
Technically, Thanksgiving Day, the fourth
Thursday of November, is not a Church holiday. It was not a day picked by the
Church or commemorating any special person or event in the Bible or Church
history. It was picked by the U.S. government. But, we still have a church
service today because the act of thanksgiving – giving thanks to God – is just what
the Church does. We already do it, have always done it, and will always
continue to give thanks to our God. Every Sunday, even every day, the Church
gives thanks because it is truly meet,
right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks
to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our
Lord.
There is also a similar point to
make in regards to charitable giving. This time of year between Thanksgiving
and Christmas is known in our society as a season of giving to those less
fortunate. And yet, once again, the fact that this happens at this time of year
is not exactly determined by the Church. Furthermore, we Christians don’t give
to charity at this time of year merely because it’s the expected thing to do in
our society. But we give to charity because that’s just what the Church does –
showing love to others and helping those in need. In fact, we should seriously
consider that especially Christians need to be doing this throughout the year,
since the poor are so often forgotten by our society once Thanksgiving and
Christmas are past.
Giving thanks to God and charity
to others is the activity of the Christian Church. It comes from a heart
redeemed and filled by our God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). It’s not done reluctantly or under compulsion, for God
loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). And not only do Christians give thanks
to God and charity to others as individuals – but we do it together as the
whole Church of God. We in the Church know how to do all this better than
anyone. And we should also be the ones to teach others – how to give thanks and
how to love and take care of those in need.
One reason the Church should be
society’s teacher when it comes to thanksgiving, is that our society knows how
to feel grateful, but doesn’t actually recognize the Giver. It is not enough to
simply feel grateful in one’s heart, or even to express that gratefulness in
general. Our mothers must teach us to express our thanks to the grandparents,
aunts and uncles who gave us our presents. We need to write the thank you notes
or call them on the phone. So also, feeling grateful needs to be voiced to the
true Giver of the gift – we give thanks, we say and sing our thanks to God.
In contrast, look at the rich
farmer in Jesus’ parable. His land produced plentifully and he was grateful. His
sin was not that he was ungrateful, but his sin was that he was grateful to the
wrong person. He gave thanks to himself. He was satisfied in himself and in his
possessions – what he perceived were his by right and by his own effort and
success. However, this kind of thanksgiving is not a happy one. Rather than
rejoicing in the plenty he was given, he took his abundance as a crisis. He feared
that he would lose what he had (neglecting the fact that it was sheer gift that
he should have it at all). Faced with what should have been an occasion for joy
and thanksgiving, he cried, “What shall I
do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?”
Such an undeserved bounty should
have made him a cheerful giver: “What a wonderful problem! I have too much for
myself and can give more away to others in need!” The bellies of the poor are
far better storerooms than our barns. * But sadly, that is not what he did. Rather
than rejoice and revel in giving it away, he stored up for himself. Rather than
being happy to store up treasure in heaven with God by giving his earthly treasure
to the poor, he hoarded perishable crops in perishable barns and so perished
himself.
The Church must step in and
teach how to give thanks and how to give away. Only the Church truly knows how
to do this because only the Church knows Jesus. He not only shows us how to
give thanks to God His Father, but He also gives Himself away to us and to the
world. Jesus alone is the One who has
distributed freely, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever
(2 Cor. 9:9; Ps. 112:9). He died for every sin of every sinner, even for those
who would never even try to pay Him back, even for those who would never
believe. That is the lavishness of His love. And out of His very own love and
joy He freely distributes His grace to all who believe. He emptied Himself on
the cross for us and He continues to empty the richness of His righteousness
into us poor sinners, filling us up and never running out, for His righteousness endures forever.
It is with this joyful
knowledge, this joyful fullness of God’s gifts, that the Church can cheerfully
give her riches away. When one of the pagan Roman Emperors desired to seize the
Church’s wealth, he went to Lawrence, the deacon in Rome who was in charge of
the Church’s treasury. The Emperor ordered him to bring out the treasure of the
Church. But Lawrence had previously given it all away to the poor. So Lawrence
brought before the Emperor the blind, the crippled, the orphans, and all those
poor people whose lives had been touched by Christian charity. “Here is the
treasure of the Church,” Lawrence said. That’s what the Church values above all
in this creation – those redeemed by Christ, and so the Church desires above
all to serve them just as Christ serves us.
Of course the Church has been
helping the poor even before St. Lawrence. When St. Paul writes to the
Corinthians about being cheerful givers, he is talking about their charity to
the poor brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. And here he also teaches how giving
to others and giving thanks to God are joined together. You will be enriched
in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce
thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the
needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God (2 Cor. 9:11–12). The gifts of God have a way of
circling back to Him. When we give to others as Christ has given to us, those
recipients then also turn to God and give thanks back to Him. The abundance of
God’s generous gifts are constantly rebounding in thanksgiving and praise. By
giving to others, not only do we provide for their needs, but we multiply the
songs of thanks and praise heard before God’s throne.
And besides, what better way could
there be to thank our God than by following Him – by imitating our Lord’s
self-giving love? The Corinthians were charitable because of their submission,
their humility before God the Giver of all that they have. Their submissive,
humble attitude flowed from their confession of the Gospel of Christ (2 Cor.
9:13). So also, our humble charity flows out of our faith in the Gospel, the
faith that we confess: Christ gave Himself for me. I am rich in Him. What more
joyful message could inspire our hearts to give to others and to overflow in
thanks and praise to this most gracious God?
The cheerful giver is the one
who for the joy of it all cannot help but give away what he has received. Like
the soldier or college student who receives a care package from home and wants
to share the goodness with his friends, so the Christian, and the whole Church
together, cheerfully gives to others having received everything from this
bounteous God. It is truly meet, right,
and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You,
holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God. And most especially are we bound
to praise You for salvation in Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Really,
it’s almost too much to put into words. Thanks
be to God for His inexpressible gift! (2 Cor. 9:15)
In the Holy + Name of Jesus –
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Charlotte, IA
* St. Augustine, Ancient Christian Commentary: Luke, 208.
