Thanksgiving Day, USA
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series VII, Cycle A
Object:
Seasonal Theme
The teaching and ministry of Jesus the Christ.
Theme For The Day
Being thankful for all God has given and done for us.
Old Testament Lesson
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
A Gracious God
This passage sounds like a thanksgiving hymn rejoicing in Canaan's bounty. No austere practice of the faith, verse 10 says we can "eat our fill." Then comes an important warning in verses 12-14. They are not to forget that all this comes from a gracious God. They are not to take credit for themselves for this prosperity. They are reminded of how God cared for them in harder times in the desert.
Verse 18 is a specific reminder that this is the same God who led them through the wilderness and made the covenant with them who has given them the power to obtain wealth and land. A further illustration of this is found in Deuteronomy 32:15. Many feel these verses of Chapter 8, the most memorable in the entire book, are the basis for interpreting the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11).
The largest danger flagged for us is the danger that, in our prosperity, one believes that God isn't any longer important for one's life. Perhaps we learn here that there is more to be learned in times of suffering and going without than we can learn in times of prosperity. Is it any wonder the church has declined in the U.S. during this longest period of prosperity in its history? Jesus tried to teach the truth in a different manner in the parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). Finally, let us remember that self-achievement might easily displace the solid recognition that all is a gift from God. Happy Thanksgiving!
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Cheerful Givers
It's true as verse 6 claims: if you are very stingy sowing the seed, then the harvest will be meager. And the kind of giving Paul encourages here is the kind which is done with joy. It's true also that the more we must have for ourselves, the less we have to give away. The big point for us Americans at Thanksgiving is that we are most blessed who do the giving (v. 11). So not only is the receiver of the gift blessed and God pleased because we gave on God's behalf, but also we are changed.
It's very much like witnessing when the one who does the witnessing is most changed; like teaching when it is the teacher who is most instructed; and like the preacher when the one doing the preaching is most inspired. So when we give we are blessed a lot, because we need to give it more than the person or cause or institution needs to receive it. Wow! That will really preach!
The Greek word in verse 8 for "having enough of everything" is autarkeia. It is not that one has so much one doesn't need anything. It is independence. It is when our lives are not focused on getting more and more creature comforts and wealth, but rather, on reducing our needs. Paul must have had in mind Proverbs 22:8-9 and Psalm 112:9 in his Bible when he wrote this letter. No doubt Paul pictures here the Jerusalem Christians in their worship remembering the Gentile Christians out in the provinces and then celebrating God's grace (verses 14 and 15).
The Gospel
Luke 17:11-19
Ten Lepers Healed
You know the background of leprosy in Palestine. They were outcast and had to shout out "unclean" when anyone came close. In this case, as only Luke tells it, being outcast had forced together those who would otherwise hate each other. These are the Jews and Samaritans. The prescribed ritual in the Synagogue for cure was based on Leviticus 14. They must have had some knowledge of Jesus before this event. They ask for mercy instead of crying "unclean." They called him "Jesus, Master."
The one who returned had the kind of thankful response that heals a person. Of interest to me here is verse 12: "Keeping their distance." We could explore who "keeps their distance" in our culture and also ask must they do so? All these lepers are marginalized and forced into isolation. Luke's purpose for telling this parable might be to raise the idea of universality of the salvation which Jesus brought. Then we could title it: "Thankful Response of a Samaritan."
Preaching Possibilities
A. Since this is for a day of Thanksgiving, we can easily put all three readings together focusing on that theme.
1. The Old Testament warns against the times when we have so much, we forget to acknowledge God's providence in our lives. So we must be careful lest "ingratitude is our attitude" after God leads us though hard times like the wilderness. (It's our U.S. situation.)
2. The Second Reading is Paul's teaching of the Corinthians that thankfulness involves sharing what we have and doing it cheerfully. He promises not only the receiver will be blessed but also we will be blessed even more for the giving. Generosity is rewarded with the gift of your being more thankful to God (it's what we don't understand).
3. The Gospel parable of ten lepers healed and only one returning adds yet one more dimension. To be thankful is not only to remember who gave it all to us and to realize the blessing of sharing but it is also to know a new kind of fellowship of the healed and to return again and again to worship and thank God. This too changes who and how we are. Here is a quotation which will help in addition to the metaphors at the end of this section.
Tom Brokaw, on the Thanksgiving evening news, said, "When we sing the dirges, we must also sing the anthem." He went on to say we must recognize not only the miseries of life but also the joys. So it is being a sinner and living in an imperfect world.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
1. I doubt if you can improve on the narrative as Luke the medical doctor recorded it. But you could begin by putting this in a modern context where a pastor prayed and prayed in the hospital for a member to be healed and when she was -- the person left the hospital never to darken the church doors again. About nine out of ten hospital calls could end like that! It's about average for today and in our culture.
2. Now see if you were the one to return how you would answer his question in verse 17 about where were the others:
a. They went back home to tell their families of their healing.
b. They didn't feel the need to come to Jesus now that everything was okay again in their lives.
c. They don't want to be seen with a Samaritan, since they were Jews, now that they were healed.
d. They wanted to use their new found freedom to have a big celebration in their village.
e. They were going to get even with those who treated them so badly when they were lepers, and so on.
f. Oh, here is a way-out one -- perhaps those who were Jews were still showing themselves to their priests. This one who returned may not have done so at all and so got back much earlier than the rest! After all he was a foreigner (v. 18).
g. We who have been healed of our sin and who have been given such a great Promised Land need also to return to God with thanks. Our faith is simply not complete without an "attitude of gratitude." Being thankful affects the "thanker" most of all.
3. Now move to the flip side of this miracle.
a. Talk about what you see there. We still have a mission to heal on Jesus' behalf.
b. Who keeps their distance from Jesus and our church because we somehow make them feel unclean?
c. Perhaps the one with AIDS, the gay and lesbian, the one of a different color, the uneducated, or maybe the physically challenged because of our church building.
4. One more big, big item on the flip side which needs to be addressed: To be thankful for our bounteous "promised land" means we have a serious responsibility of stewardship of all creation. That means both the human and non-human elements of creation.
5. Then put here or in the worship bulletin three or four specific steps members can take to be responsible and thankful people.
6. Now return to your opening story and frame this powerful sermon.
Prayer Of The Day
Move us tonight, dear Holy Parent, to be your responsible and grateful children in caring for your creation, helping those who need healing, and reaching out to those who stand at a distance from our congregation. In the name of the one who came to bring healing to us all, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Possible Stories
Dr. Scott Kinnes was a critical care specialist in Oahu, Hawaii, until he went to a garage sale about two blocks from his home. There were trash bags stuffed with old papers, photos of movie stars, and autographs obtained by the Zane sisters who worked at the San Francisco Opera House and the Curran Theater. Some of the autographed photos included Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Mary Pickford, Vivian Leigh, Carole Lombard, Orson Welles, Errol Flynn, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong plus some Presidents of the U.S. Kinnes paid less than $10,000 for all of it. The surviving sister "wanted to get rid of the stuff." It had been gathered over forty years. It is now valued at more that one million dollars. Kinnes said, "I feel obligated to go back and give them a bonus now." We often don't recognize the value of what we already have.
The National Technical Information Service announced in 1997 that the average U.S. citizen spent his time this way:
1,595 hours a year -- watching television, or just under 4.4 hours a day
2.9 hours a day -- listening to the radio
45 minutes a day -- listening to recorded music
27 minutes a day -- reading a newspaper
17 minutes a day -- reading books
14 minutes a day -- reading magazines
I wonder what is the average time spent in prayer and worship.
Or how about the number of hours spent in serving others?
Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes told a story of a woman who looked out the window of a commuter train and saw one of her gloves. So she pulled down the window and threw out the other glove so there would be a pair for someone. We have quick and passing opportunities to be unselfish. It doesn't come very naturally but God calls us to that kind of lifestyle.
The teaching and ministry of Jesus the Christ.
Theme For The Day
Being thankful for all God has given and done for us.
Old Testament Lesson
Deuteronomy 8:7-18
A Gracious God
This passage sounds like a thanksgiving hymn rejoicing in Canaan's bounty. No austere practice of the faith, verse 10 says we can "eat our fill." Then comes an important warning in verses 12-14. They are not to forget that all this comes from a gracious God. They are not to take credit for themselves for this prosperity. They are reminded of how God cared for them in harder times in the desert.
Verse 18 is a specific reminder that this is the same God who led them through the wilderness and made the covenant with them who has given them the power to obtain wealth and land. A further illustration of this is found in Deuteronomy 32:15. Many feel these verses of Chapter 8, the most memorable in the entire book, are the basis for interpreting the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11).
The largest danger flagged for us is the danger that, in our prosperity, one believes that God isn't any longer important for one's life. Perhaps we learn here that there is more to be learned in times of suffering and going without than we can learn in times of prosperity. Is it any wonder the church has declined in the U.S. during this longest period of prosperity in its history? Jesus tried to teach the truth in a different manner in the parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). Finally, let us remember that self-achievement might easily displace the solid recognition that all is a gift from God. Happy Thanksgiving!
New Testament Lesson
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Cheerful Givers
It's true as verse 6 claims: if you are very stingy sowing the seed, then the harvest will be meager. And the kind of giving Paul encourages here is the kind which is done with joy. It's true also that the more we must have for ourselves, the less we have to give away. The big point for us Americans at Thanksgiving is that we are most blessed who do the giving (v. 11). So not only is the receiver of the gift blessed and God pleased because we gave on God's behalf, but also we are changed.
It's very much like witnessing when the one who does the witnessing is most changed; like teaching when it is the teacher who is most instructed; and like the preacher when the one doing the preaching is most inspired. So when we give we are blessed a lot, because we need to give it more than the person or cause or institution needs to receive it. Wow! That will really preach!
The Greek word in verse 8 for "having enough of everything" is autarkeia. It is not that one has so much one doesn't need anything. It is independence. It is when our lives are not focused on getting more and more creature comforts and wealth, but rather, on reducing our needs. Paul must have had in mind Proverbs 22:8-9 and Psalm 112:9 in his Bible when he wrote this letter. No doubt Paul pictures here the Jerusalem Christians in their worship remembering the Gentile Christians out in the provinces and then celebrating God's grace (verses 14 and 15).
The Gospel
Luke 17:11-19
Ten Lepers Healed
You know the background of leprosy in Palestine. They were outcast and had to shout out "unclean" when anyone came close. In this case, as only Luke tells it, being outcast had forced together those who would otherwise hate each other. These are the Jews and Samaritans. The prescribed ritual in the Synagogue for cure was based on Leviticus 14. They must have had some knowledge of Jesus before this event. They ask for mercy instead of crying "unclean." They called him "Jesus, Master."
The one who returned had the kind of thankful response that heals a person. Of interest to me here is verse 12: "Keeping their distance." We could explore who "keeps their distance" in our culture and also ask must they do so? All these lepers are marginalized and forced into isolation. Luke's purpose for telling this parable might be to raise the idea of universality of the salvation which Jesus brought. Then we could title it: "Thankful Response of a Samaritan."
Preaching Possibilities
A. Since this is for a day of Thanksgiving, we can easily put all three readings together focusing on that theme.
1. The Old Testament warns against the times when we have so much, we forget to acknowledge God's providence in our lives. So we must be careful lest "ingratitude is our attitude" after God leads us though hard times like the wilderness. (It's our U.S. situation.)
2. The Second Reading is Paul's teaching of the Corinthians that thankfulness involves sharing what we have and doing it cheerfully. He promises not only the receiver will be blessed but also we will be blessed even more for the giving. Generosity is rewarded with the gift of your being more thankful to God (it's what we don't understand).
3. The Gospel parable of ten lepers healed and only one returning adds yet one more dimension. To be thankful is not only to remember who gave it all to us and to realize the blessing of sharing but it is also to know a new kind of fellowship of the healed and to return again and again to worship and thank God. This too changes who and how we are. Here is a quotation which will help in addition to the metaphors at the end of this section.
Tom Brokaw, on the Thanksgiving evening news, said, "When we sing the dirges, we must also sing the anthem." He went on to say we must recognize not only the miseries of life but also the joys. So it is being a sinner and living in an imperfect world.
Possible Outline Of Sermon Moves
1. I doubt if you can improve on the narrative as Luke the medical doctor recorded it. But you could begin by putting this in a modern context where a pastor prayed and prayed in the hospital for a member to be healed and when she was -- the person left the hospital never to darken the church doors again. About nine out of ten hospital calls could end like that! It's about average for today and in our culture.
2. Now see if you were the one to return how you would answer his question in verse 17 about where were the others:
a. They went back home to tell their families of their healing.
b. They didn't feel the need to come to Jesus now that everything was okay again in their lives.
c. They don't want to be seen with a Samaritan, since they were Jews, now that they were healed.
d. They wanted to use their new found freedom to have a big celebration in their village.
e. They were going to get even with those who treated them so badly when they were lepers, and so on.
f. Oh, here is a way-out one -- perhaps those who were Jews were still showing themselves to their priests. This one who returned may not have done so at all and so got back much earlier than the rest! After all he was a foreigner (v. 18).
g. We who have been healed of our sin and who have been given such a great Promised Land need also to return to God with thanks. Our faith is simply not complete without an "attitude of gratitude." Being thankful affects the "thanker" most of all.
3. Now move to the flip side of this miracle.
a. Talk about what you see there. We still have a mission to heal on Jesus' behalf.
b. Who keeps their distance from Jesus and our church because we somehow make them feel unclean?
c. Perhaps the one with AIDS, the gay and lesbian, the one of a different color, the uneducated, or maybe the physically challenged because of our church building.
4. One more big, big item on the flip side which needs to be addressed: To be thankful for our bounteous "promised land" means we have a serious responsibility of stewardship of all creation. That means both the human and non-human elements of creation.
5. Then put here or in the worship bulletin three or four specific steps members can take to be responsible and thankful people.
6. Now return to your opening story and frame this powerful sermon.
Prayer Of The Day
Move us tonight, dear Holy Parent, to be your responsible and grateful children in caring for your creation, helping those who need healing, and reaching out to those who stand at a distance from our congregation. In the name of the one who came to bring healing to us all, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Possible Stories
Dr. Scott Kinnes was a critical care specialist in Oahu, Hawaii, until he went to a garage sale about two blocks from his home. There were trash bags stuffed with old papers, photos of movie stars, and autographs obtained by the Zane sisters who worked at the San Francisco Opera House and the Curran Theater. Some of the autographed photos included Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Mary Pickford, Vivian Leigh, Carole Lombard, Orson Welles, Errol Flynn, Duke Ellington, and Louis Armstrong plus some Presidents of the U.S. Kinnes paid less than $10,000 for all of it. The surviving sister "wanted to get rid of the stuff." It had been gathered over forty years. It is now valued at more that one million dollars. Kinnes said, "I feel obligated to go back and give them a bonus now." We often don't recognize the value of what we already have.
The National Technical Information Service announced in 1997 that the average U.S. citizen spent his time this way:
1,595 hours a year -- watching television, or just under 4.4 hours a day
2.9 hours a day -- listening to the radio
45 minutes a day -- listening to recorded music
27 minutes a day -- reading a newspaper
17 minutes a day -- reading books
14 minutes a day -- reading magazines
I wonder what is the average time spent in prayer and worship.
Or how about the number of hours spent in serving others?
Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes told a story of a woman who looked out the window of a commuter train and saw one of her gloves. So she pulled down the window and threw out the other glove so there would be a pair for someone. We have quick and passing opportunities to be unselfish. It doesn't come very naturally but God calls us to that kind of lifestyle.
