“Acting on Thanks” Text: Deuteronomy 26:1-11. Thanksgiving Sunday, Oct. 13

Preached by Rev. James Murray at Dominion-Chalmers United Church

Whenever I meet a music teacher, I do not tell them that the way most music teachers teach the piano turns people off of music. Whenever I meet a clown, I do not tell them they are scary. Whenever I meet a politician, I do not tell them their behaviour has destroyed my faith in democracy. Whenever I meet a scientist, I do not tell them my life story and all my wonderful theories about how the world is in danger. So whenever I meet someone  for the first time and they find out I am a minister, I don’t know why they feel the need to tell me what they think is wrong with Christianity and why they don’t belong anymore. 

They often tell me how they find God in nature, as if people in the Church aren’t aware of that. They speak of the beauty of the natural world, as if Book of Psalms never mentioned it. For them, the world is a lovely beautiful place and that is all they need.  They want a world full of rainbows and happy children.  

I feel sad when I hear people tell me this story. Because the world I live in is very different. Yes, we see God in the beauty of a sunset and the joy of our children.  But we also see God as being present in times of pain and difficulty. God is present even when someone you love is dying of cancer. God for some reason thinks mosquitoes are a part of the natural world. 

Nature is ‘red in tooth and claw’ where the strong prey on the weak.   So we are thankful that God lifts us out of the merely physical world in to a world where there are forces seeking to bring order, peace and hope. We need such positive forces, because we do live in a world where there is sin and evil. A rainbow is not enough to stand against racism, a cute photo of a puppy dog will not bring an end to violence.

A lot of people today say they are ‘spiritual but not religious’. When they say they are spiritual but not religious, they are saying they recognize God and the transcendent aspect of life, but they do not adhere to any system of belief or belong to a comy of faith. They have placed their personal experience ahead of the received wisdom of the past and the shared experiences of the community. Which is too bad, because the community of faith has a lot to teach us.

This past summer the drain hose on my dishwasher sprang a leak. I didn’t want to call a plumber, so I decided I would fix it myself. I went to Canadian Tire to buy a replacement hose.The package said it fits most dishwashers. When I got home, I had to figure out how to remove the hose, since it ran under the unit. Thankfully I found a video on Youtube which showed how to turn the machine upside down and get at the connectors.

It was then I discovered that the replacement hose which fits most dishwashers did not fin mine. I had to take it back in for a refund. I then called the dealer to order the right part. When it came in a week later, he briefed me on the tricks to get it to install properly. It went in like a charm. Without the help of the internet and the dealer, 

I would have had to spend hundreds of dollars to pay a plumber to do the job. Because of the help of others, I was able to teach my sons how to do it so they will be prepared to fix their own dishwashers down the road.

Many people who are spiritual but not religious say their religion is one of gratitude. 

They say grateful for all the material benefits they enjoy from living here. They look at people who are suffering and say “There but for the grace of God go I.” They feel lucky to be living in Canada instead of Somalia or Egypt or Afghanistan. As if God isn’t present and blessing and healing people there as well. 

Now I do believe God does ask us to be grateful. But God does not want us to feel lucky for where we are living. God is present in the pain and suffering which is all around us. 

And when we see people hurting, God doesn’t want us to feel lucky. God wants us to get mad. God wants us to act. 

In the book of Deuteronomy, the people are given instructions on how to celebrate thanksgiving. They were to present their offering to the pastors, so they could give thanks. Then they were to take that food and feed the widows, the orphans and the immigrants in their community. Thanksgiving wasn’t a feast they made for their own family to eat. Thanksgiving was the act of feeding other people who were in need.

This weekend we are celebrating the holiday of Thanksgiving. In French, it is Action de Grace. Action of Grace. Acting on grace. Thanksgiving is a call to action. It is to recognize we have received God’s gift of  grace, and we are to act with grace to bless the world. We can be the blessing others give thanks for as they gather for their thanksgiving meal. 

Thanksgiving is not a meal about gratitude which ends with a full stomach and a football game to watch. Thanksgiving is a foretaste of a new heaven and a new earth being born. It is the act of trusting in God’s grace as we feed others. When we follow Jesus, we are to be committed to making it happen by working together with others.

So in one sense it doesn’t matter if you call yourself spiritual or religious. The question we all must face is ‘How do you respond to the gift of  God’s grace?” If all you can say is ‘I am thankful and I feel lucky for living here in Canada’, then you are not acting out of grace. To live out of grace is to give. It is to work with others. It is to refuse to accept injustice. It is to accept the wisdom of others, to learn from others, so we can work together to build God’s kingdom here on earth.

We are called to do this together. This is a hard thing to accept since we live in a world 

where everyone wants to believe they are unique and an individual who thinks for themselves. If I was a person who thought only for himself, my dishwasher would still be broken, and my spouse would not be a happy camper. I know I need the help of others if I am going to get by. And the people I need help from are imperfect. We all are. 

We get things wrong. We fall short of the glory of God. We say stupid things. We mess up. We hurt each other even when we are trying to do the right thing. Yet we still need each other. Even though there is disappointment and failure here, we need the strength of the community if we are to survive. So it doesn’t matter what label you use to describe yourself. You may be spiritual. You may be religious. It doesn’t matter. We are all in this together, and together we can make a difference. 

For this reason, today is a Feast Day. It is a celebration. We celebrate how God  has taken us from where we were, and God has led us to where we can be. We rejoice how God is at work in our world. God is blessing every part of this world. The good news does not end there. God invites us to be a blessing. To make a difference. It starts with gratitude, but it doesn’t end there. Thanksgiving seeks to act on grace. Today we are invited to build the Kingdom. And the best part is, it all starts with a meal. Amen.

Source: Lillian Daniel “When Spiritual but not Religious is not enough”  Jericho Books 2013