I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the British nun, Sister Wendy, made popular in recent years as a commentator—in full habit--on a series of popular television shows about art. Sister Wendy is knowledgeable, eloquent and disarmingly funny and has a way of making art accessible to everyone. Her way of popularizing art appreciation has won her the disdain of art critics and the allegiance of devoted fans.
Moving from the field of art, Sister Wendy has just released her most recent book called “Sister Wendy on Prayer.” It seems that she has applied her basic intelligence and down-to-earth approach to the art of prayer itself. The review I read said it would have been really very helpful to us right before Thanksgiving.
For those of us not so comfortable with praying out loud or not in the habit of saying prayers or grace before meals, Thanksgiving can often present that awkward moment when someone at the table is expected to pray before anyone can do what they really want to be doing in that moment—which is to eat! And since polls show that less than one-in-three families in America now say grace on a regular basis--Sister Wendy to the rescue.
Again, in her down-to-earth style, she popularizes prayer in the way that she popularizes art, making it accessible to everyone. It’s not hard to understand, she says. Just think of it as “a conversation between friends.” And then, don’t worry about the words you say.
You know, even in that high pressure situation around the Thanksgiving table, when everyone’s dressed up and the best dishes have been brought out, and certain relatives you only see a couple times a year have gathered round, even then, if you can’t think of something particularly eloquent, it really would be OK just to say “Thank you.” “Thank you, God.” I have a feeling that if all of us just said those words much more often than we do, our lives would be richer and fuller and our hearts would soften with gratitude and love.
The old Christian master, Meister Eckhart, put it so simply: “If the only prayer you ever say is “Thank you,” that would be enough.”
I think this is the message behind the verses from the Book of Deuteronomy we heard (Deuteronomy 8:7-18) read. The Lord has done this and this and this for us. Do not forget. The Lord has brought us into a good land with flowing streams and underground waters, a land of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey. Do not forget. The Lord has brought us into a land whose stones are iron, whose hills are full of copper. Do not forget. When you have eaten your fill and built fine houses, when your flocks and herds and silver and gold have multiplied, do not forget. When you have all these things, remember the Lord your God.
You see, the easiest way to remember, to remember that all this come to us from the gracious and generous heart of God, is to say “Thank you.”
I had to pause and re-think all this a bit this morning in light of this second round of Malibu fires. But, you know, even in the midst of the tears and the fear, even in the midst of the anger at how this fire might have started and the shock we feel at how quickly so many homes were destroyed and lives changed, there is still an underlying sense of gratitude. For lives saved. For the fact of only one injury. For the support of neighbors and community. Again, for the brave and tireless work of the firefighters and volunteers. Even for the sobering, life-giving truth that life itself is far more precious than material possessions.
Maybe that’s part of the lesson the writer of Deuteronomy was trying to convey—in times of prosperity and well-being, never forget the Lord your God.
A couple weeks ago, our district superintendent, Grant Hagiya, was here for our Charge Conference. In his stewardship sermon that day, he retold the story we know as “the Widow’s Mite”, that story from Mark about the widow who put her last two small coins in the offering at the temple. That story shows us so powerfully that the generosity of the poor comes from knowing that they cannot make it on their own, and that they must put all their reliance on God. Those of us who have so much more forget that basic lesson and start to rely too much on ourselves—our ingenuity, our cleverness, our entitlements, our success. This is the lesson to learn from that poor widow—no matter your circumstance, always put your trust in God and say “thank you.”
It’s a lesson John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, put into practice with his early groups. He insisted that they have weekly contact with the poor, that they be engaged in service directly with poor people on a weekly basis. He wanted us Methodists to never be out of touch with the actual living conditions that poverty brings. And he wanted us to be constantly renewed by the faith of people who know best how to put their reliance on God alone.
I know that many of you who participated in the Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the Civic last week experienced this. I know that many “thank you’s” were expressed to you. And I know that your hearts were filled with gratitude at the opportunity to serve. And I am delighted that some of you went as families and that you know how important it is to teach our children about service to others and gratitude for all we have received.
A sense of overwhelming gratitude for God’s goodness and abundance that we feel so powerfully now at Thanksgiving time is to be a mark of who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ. We are following his example and his way. Gratitude and generosity are hallmarks of his life and of his kingdom. This is why he instituted “this great sacrament of the table” as the primary way by which we remember him and the kingdom he came to inaugurate.
And this is why one of the names for this sacrament is the very word, Eucharist, from the Greek word for “Thanks” because it begins and ends in thanksgiving to God.
Jesus took bread and gave thanks to God, and then that spirit of gratitude overflowing in him spilled over into a sharing with his disciples, his friends. He took bread, and gave thanks, and broke the bread and shared it with them all. This great sacrament of the table holds the very presence of God and the keys to the kingdom of Christ Jesus. It’s all here—the praise, the gratitude, the hospitality, the overflowing abundance of grace, the promise of life and life everlasting.
When you come forward to receive this morning, I know that sometimes people don’t know quite what, if anything, to say after receiving the bread and cup. So if you’ve wondered, let me just say that it’s fine to say “Amen” or to remain in silence, expressing your thanks to God in your heart “thank you”, or simply to say “thank you,” just as you would in response to the kindness of a friend. Remember the old master’s words: “If the only prayer you ever say is “Thank you” that would be enough.”
And then, after today, maybe it would do us all good to say “thank you” much more often. When we rise in the morning and lie down at night. When we take a breath or a bite of food. At that first cup of coffee or a phone call from a friend. When we hear beautiful music or the song of a bird or the joy of children’s laughter. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
May gratitude for all that has been inspire us with hope and trust for the future, that as God’s people, our joy and generosity will infuse with world with renewed hope and peace.
Thanks be to God.
©Patricia
Farris, 2007. Permission is given for brief quotation with attribution.
All other rights reserved.
"Take Care That You Do Not Forget the Lord Your God"