a Homily for Thanksgiving
Text: Matthew 6:25-33

 An Unthankul Story

Tonight we’ve gathered to give thanks. More specifically, to give thanks to GOD for all of our blessings and all that we have to be thankful for. To give thanks to a GOD for so much wonderful stuff.

But we know not everyone feels that thankful.

Last fall, one of my wife’s friends from high school asked for prayers on Facebook. His family was suffering through a job loss and were fearful for their future. He described that he was trying to be faithful in the midst of the struggle because he knew GOD would provide. The comment field broke in two directions: most responded by telling him, just as Jesus seems to be telling the crowd in tonight’s reading, “Don’t worry! God will provide!” A few people seemed to chastise him for a seeming lack of faith; suggesting that his circumstances would improve if he just believed more or better.

My wife, however, was livid. We were struggling through our own job loss and to hear such ridiculous talk and cavalier attitudes about faith and GOD’s providence from people who weren’t struggling themselves were personally insulting. She was praying more than she ever had. But prayers didn’t pay the electric bill. She did when she wrote out the check. Prayers didn’t put food on the table. I did when I went to the grocery store. Our problems aren’t solved that way.

Now a Thankful Story

We have a story that deals with this.

In Exodus, the Hebrew people are rescued by GOD, brought across the parted sea, and arrive in the wilderness. Once they are free, they do precisely what any of us would do. They turn to each other and say “now what?” Then they start complaining about being hungry and thirsty. They whine about it incessantly. So Moses goes off to ask GOD what can be done. And GOD gives them clean drinking water. Then after more whining, some food. Then after more whining some more water.

I am fascinated by this because GOD doesn’t yell or punish the whining. It all seems expected. It has an “Oh, you need water? Here you go!” vibe to it. However, when it comes to the food GOD gives conditions. First, this sticky, flaky substance will show up in the morning. Eat up. It isn’t the bare necessity, you’ll get just what you can eat. In the evening you’ll have meat. But don’t save any until Friday; you’ll get a double portion that day for the Sabbath. Of course they test it out and it gets maggoty, just as GOD promised.

This story, often told as a test of faith for the people is really a story about generosity and preservation. They are given good food and a lot of it. And it isn’t dependent on their faith. They asked for food and GOD gave it. And kept giving it. Of course they eventually wanted a menu change. I’m sure they got pretty tired of that manna after a few weeks.

Don’t Worry, Feel

When Jesus invites the crowd to quit worrying about their stuff—food, clothes, shelter; the basic necessities—he doesn’t seem to be saying that these are unimportant. He doesn’t seem to be suggesting they ignore their needs: to not pay the electric bill and see what happens. He seems to be saying that’s not what I want you to focus on. Instead, focus on GOD. Our worry gets in the way.

Of course, this a tall order: to quit worrying. I don’t think we’re really supposed to. I think we are supposed to feel all of that. This passage comes to us in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon begins with the Beatitudes, a litany to those who are moved by injustice in the world. The whole sermon is a testament to creating and embodying a more just world. So when Jesus tells us to stop worrying, He is saying this isn’t our first priority. What we’re wearing? Not our first priority. What we’re going to have for dinner? Not our first priority. Even where our next meal is going to come from—not our first priority. First priority? The Kingdom of GOD. Period. We’ll be cared for, not because of our faith, but because this is how the Kingdom of GOD works. We love GOD so that we can even know what love actually is. And we start loving. We become people who love. The Kingdom grows out of us—out of that love—our love for GOD and our neighbors.

Our Thanksgiving Ministry

As people charged with this same apostolic ministry to bring the Kingdom of GOD closer, to “strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness” we’re invited to see our thankfulness a little different this year. To bear witness not just to all this good stuff in our personal lives or the beauty of GOD’s creation, but to the breaking through of that Kingdom. To provide fertile soil for spring plantings of justice. To give from our abundance as the need is uncovered. To aid the oppressed and usher in change to the systems that oppress them.

Like our ancestors in the desert, we are given precisely what we need. We don’t need more people or more money or more of anything to strive for the Kingdom of GOD in St. Clair. We just need to make it our first priority.

And to be thankful, not because it’s time to do that, only to rush out and bowl people over for $20 Blue Ray players on Friday. But because GOD believes in us, loves us, and cares for us.

When we gather around our tables tomorrow, may our hunger and thirst be satisfied, not by the food we eat, but through the justice we seek.