Giving Thanks to God... (with a nod to the Cubs)
Proper 25
Luke 18:9-14
“God, I thank
you…” the Pharisee began. You
wouldn’t think that that phrase propelled him into a minefield. But it did. Sentences that begin “Thank God” often, I think, send us
into minefields of misguided thanksgivings.
Those of you who
regularly come to the Thanksgiving Day service know that I struggle with
preaching on that day. I find it
one of the most challenging days to preach.
Not that we don’t
all have very much to be thankful for. We do. Not that we shouldn’t be thanking and praising God as long as
we have breath. We should.
It just seems
like we so often thank God for the wrong things. It’s tempting to thank God for all that seems good to us. But we thank God for things that weren’t God’s
doing.
A light-hearted
example: Tempting as it is, I don’t
think it’s appropriate to thank God
that the Cubs won last night. I'm celebrating, but I really don’t think God decides athletic contests. Nor, even though it is very tempting,
do I think it’s appropriate to thank God
that the Cubs pushed politics completely off the front page of today’s
Tribune. Glorious as that is.
Staying somewhat
lighthearted, I do think perhaps there are things to thank God for in the
baseball playoffs. Those of you
who are on Facebook know that during the series with the Giants a friend of mine
in San Francisco and I had a fun challenge going on Facebook. I thank God for that friendship. We are friends from
college. We don’t get to see each
other often at all or really interact that much. I thank God for the occasion of the playoffs as a time to
celebrate and to live into our friendship a bit. Those are thanksgivings I could offer even if the series had
gone the other way.
Also, I think… I haven’t had much time to reflect on
this, but I think… it is appropriate to thank God for those White Sox fans who understand
that Cubs success is not a personal affront, and there are blessings to be
found in shared joy.
More seriously,
so often we do thank God for selfish things. Things that we have gained at the expense of others. Or we thank God for things that are
ours just through good fortune, not divine providence. And when we do that, thank God for
selfish things, I think we do our relationship with God more harm than good.
Although we may
not use the Pharisee’s words, we often express his sentiment. Thank God I’m not like…
Given this
minefield of potentially inappropriate thanksgivings, I’m always looking for
tools to guide my thankfulness.
Here’s my latest attempt to help me offer appropriate thanksgivings to
God.
I want to thank
God for things that help me be a more faithful Christian, for gifts that make
me more faithful. I want to thank
God for the ways God helps me live more faithfully among others in the world.
Thinking about
all of this has reminded me of one of my favorite prayers in the Prayer Book, a
general thanksgiving among the collected prayers in the back of the book (p.
836). In one of its intercessions
we thank God for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge
our dependence upon God alone.
There are two parts
of this that are important. Note
first that the prayer does not thank God for calamities or disasters, even if
those provide opportunities for spiritual growth. God does not send hardship just to make us better. The prayer talks of disappointments and
failures… those times when my own
hopes have not been fulfilled or my own skills have let me down, when my
personal expectations have been disappointed. Thank God for the times those occasions of disappointment
and failure have led me to acknowledge my dependence on God alone… for the things that really matter in
life. Thank God for the reminder that only God can provide what really matters
to me.
A few more
examples. Not so much thank God
for all that I have been given, opportunities and material wealth, but thank
you God, for putting it in my heart to use what I have been given to help
others…. Thank you, God, for
leading me to use what I have to help others in need.
Or, not so much
thank you God for making me a citizen of this great nation. But thank you, God, for inspiring the
citizens of this great nation to inspire this nation to be a beacon of liberty,
justice and peace in the world.
So what about
that Pharisee? It’s important to
remember, that by the measure of his day, the Pharisee was righteous, fulfilling
or exceeding the expectations of the Law of Moses for faithful Jews. Better prayers might have been: Thank God for giving me the Law of
Moses to lead and guide me in the way towards righteous living. Or, thank you, God, for giving me the
faith and perseverance to pursue righteousness in my life.
A few more
thanksgivings: Thank you, God, for
things that lead us to feel wonder and joy. And, thank you even more for giving us the eyes to see you,
God as the source of all that is beautifully, wondrous, and loving.
Thank you, God,
for this sacred meal we are about to share. For the way it brings us into communion and closeness with
you and how it sustains us in our efforts to live faithfully in the world.
Thank you God,
for those gifts that help me be more faithful, know you more deeply, and serve
you more faithfully in the world.
There is one
thanksgiving that is always appropriate.
It concludes that thanksgiving in the back of the Prayer Book:
Above all, we thank you for your Son
Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his
steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through
which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are
raised to the life of your kingdom.
Amen.
