Sermon: "Thanksgiving - A Holy Place and a Holy Time"

Thanksgiving: "A Holy Place – A Holy Time"
Isaiah 65:17-25

The Pilgrims had a feast with the Indians – that’s the story we recall at Thanksgiving. It's certainly not the whole story about the interaction between the two races before or after the much needed shared meal. Many of us grew up reenacting a glorified or sanitized version of what the meal was really like. Admittedly, that's the way history first gets retold - from the perspective of the victor, whether their cause or methodology was good or bad or a mixture of both. Later perspectives sometimes allow us to more honestly reflect on behaviors and actions of prior generations and warrant our repentance on behalf of our ancestors. That has certainly been the case when it comes to our treatment of our native American brothers and sisters. So, this is simply an introductory apology for now approaching this significant day primarily from the perspective of my white ancestors in hopes of encouraging a more inclusive experience today.

There's no question that at least one of the reasons those early settlers left England was because of their religion. Can you imagine what it would be like to uproot your family and leave everything familiar in order to practice your faith? While those Pilgrims were unaware of everything they were going to face when they boarded the Mayflower, they had to know they would probably never return to their homeland and extended families.

The trip across the Atlantic was rougher than they expected. It took longer than they anticipated and thus their supplies ran dangerously low. Imagine being confined to a small area along with 100 others for that long of a time. It was their faith that got them through it.

It was a difficult first winter. The New World was harsher and colder than what they were used to. Over half of the 100 died. It was tempting to give up. Again, it was their faith that got them through.

It was out of want, you see, not abundance that they and their new Indian neighbors got together to give thanks. It was a holy place and a holy time when they gathered on that first Thanksgiving. (1)

John Witherspoon was the President of the College of New Jersey at Princeton and a Presbyterian minister during the colonial days. He was the only active clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. One of the stories told about him supposedly happened as a result of an unexpected visit by a neighbor. The neighbor burst through Witherspoon’s door, totally out of breath, and rather dramatically proceeded to share with him the details of his ride from Rocky Hill to Princeton. For some reason, his horse bolted. As a result the buggy he was riding in was smashed and he barely escaped with his life. He asked Witherspoon to pray with him to thank God for having escaped death.
Witherspoon supposedly did so, but only after he was said to have offered: “I can tell you a far more remarkable providence than that. I have driven over that very same road hundreds of times. My horse never ran away. My buggy never was smashed. I was never hurt.”

Any of the rest of you suddenly as convicted as me of having to acknowledge it as an accurate account of our journey through life as well? How often when things haven’t gone so well for me have I been tempted to shake my fist at the heavens and cry out to God, “Why me?” Or, to exclaim, “Thank God!” when I have felt fortunate that things turned out better than I could have or should have expected. It’s curious isn’t it, how sparse our offering of thanks is when things are going very well most of the time in our lives. (2)

A young woman by the name of Terry accepted a new job in California. It meant she had to move over 2,000 miles away from her family. Oh, she loved the change in many ways, but, there were those times when she really missed her family. When Thanksgiving drew near that first year she realized that she would not be able to go home. It would be the first time she would not be able to be with her family on Thanksgiving.

Knowing that most of her coworkers would be with their families and that the mall would be closed she realized that she was going to be alone unless she did something. She read in the local newspaper about an area church that was offering a free meal to people who were struggling with financial issues or in need and so she contacted the church to see if she could help serve.

She was excited when she arrived at the church. She knew she was still going to miss her family, but at least she was not going to be alone. While she was serving meals she had the opportunity to strike up several conversations with some of the people. She often sat down to talk with the children and their parents. She was really touched by their stories and realized how fortunate she was.

When the day was done, she returned to her apartment and she called her parents to share with them how wonderful the day had been. The next week, the pastor of the church called her and thanked her for her help. He said that several people stopped and told him how much they appreciated being able to talk with someone as well as having a meal. They mentioned that most of the time no one bothered with them and they really appreciated someone that cared enough to talk with them. (3)

Many communities and churches sponsor such opportunities in our day. I've had the privilege of helping for several years in a community one and in one organized by a local church. This year I will again be a diner at such an event because I can no longer "make the rounds" and talk to people or do the serving. If there's such an event near you, I encourage you to sign up to help and eat a meal with some neighbors this week. Some who gather will be in need financially, some will be in need emotionally, some will be dealing with other personal issues, some will be present because they have no other place to go and others will be present just because they want to be part of a community meal because it feels a whole lot more like what that first Thanksgiving was like – a holy place – a holy time.

And then the word of God as the prophet Isaiah heard it makes its way back into our minds: “No more weeping or cries of distress – no more infants dieing after only a few days of life or adults before they have lived a complete life – no more homelessness – no more starving – no more laboring in vain – no more bearing children into a world of suffering – no more waiting for God to answer our cries – wolves and lambs will eat together - lions will eat the fruit of the earth instead of other animals – hurting and destruction will not exist on all of God’s holy mountain.”

What a difference these words are from much of what Isaiah offered. Much of the time Isaiah talked about the terrible things that were going to happen. This portion of Isaiah’s work proclaims that all of those terrible things will someday come to an end – that God’s intent for Israel is for something better – that there will be a new reality:

• new heavens and a new earth, nature and social structures would be aligned with God’s purpose;
• a city of rejoicing will replace Jerusalem’s memory scarred with pain and weeping;
• people will realize their full potential – an end will come for infant mortality and short lifespans;
• social justice will become a reality: Israel had suffered loss of property and other losses as an oppressed people throughout their history. This dream of God’s was that justice would be the new order, not just for Israel but for all people – God’s vision is that the new experience would be that people would be able to do honest work and not have it “stolen” by corrupt governments or unscrupulous people – the whole idea of the wolf and lamb feeding together, peacefully, speaks of an end to oppression. (4)

Do you ever find yourself hoping, dreaming for such a reality? Have you ever prayed that such a day would come to pass? What would such a day look like in our day – in our minds? What painful realities of this day would come to an end? How about politicians getting together to do what is right – what is socially just – instead of slinging mud at one another and making decisions based on personal political survival? What about a group of world leaders sitting down for dinner at a fast food restaurant and talking about the weather and asking questions about each other’s loved ones, instead of having to be concerned about their corner of the world? How about no more divorces – no more child abuse – no more sudden deaths – no more flooding or hurricanes or forest fires or ... dreams? Is Isaiah crazy to offer this dream as something he has discerned God promising? Can this dream really become a reality? Will there ever really be a holy place – a holy time?

The bishops of a national denomination gathered in Kansas City. A west coast bishop returned and held a meeting with his staff for the purpose of sharing what he heard at the gathering. His sharing really became energetic when he started talking about the three major speakers. He told his staff: “One of the speakers teaches Bible at one of our seminaries. She did an excellent job of tracing all the currents of biblical research that have brought us to the present. She gave an excellent review of the recent and not so recent past in biblical studies.”

“A second speaker was a theologian,” he continued. “He did much the same thing as the biblical teacher. He reminded us of our heritage. He talked about the giants of theology in the early 20th century. He outlined the major streams of theology that have brought us to our present state.”

When the bishop began to talk about the third speaker’s presentation he became even more animated. “The third speaker,” he said, “was an incredibly gifted lay woman who works in the field of applied science. She is a member of our denomination and a product of one of our church colleges. The things she told us about the nature of science today were mind-boggling. It’s a field that is changing with incredible speed. The average length of time of a job in her field is three years. The average length of time of a company in the field is seven years. On the one hand, she said, that is scary. On the other hand, however, this is probably the most exciting time to be alive that humankind has ever known. Things are changing. There are grand new opportunities. We can change our future!”

When the bishop was finished reviewing the three speakers he grew more serious and reflective as he offered: “I found it interesting that our church’s leaders talked to us mostly about the past while she talked to us mostly of the future. And that’s not all. She not only talked about the future but she made it clear that science has moved far beyond the point of thinking that God is to be factored out of any intelligent equation. As we move to a new future, she said that the spiritual issues were of absolutely vital concern. And you have the answers here, she said to us. We look to you. We need you. Help us provide the spiritual sustenance the world needs as we move toward a new tomorrow.”

The bishop left no doubt that he was greatly impressed with this woman scientist. He relayed to his staff that he had an additional chance to talk with this woman near the end of the five days they were together and she said in addition to what she had shared with the whole group: “that she had been very carefully observing our group over our five days together. And she was impressed. ‘These are wonderful leaders,’ she told me. ‘As a group you are incredibly bright and talented. I’ve never heard any group that is so knowledgeable of the kind of issues you discuss with each other. I’ve been listening in on your conversations and I am thankful that my church has such dedicated leaders. But,’ she said, ‘everything you talk about is in the past. It’s the past that you are so expert in discussing. It’s the church’s past that you are so knowledgeable of. But I don’t think I’ve heard anyone discuss the future. Where is your church going in this exciting time? What kind of new future are you going to create? Surely in the church you have language to talk about the future. Surely you have language in the Bible which can hold out a vision of hope for a new world.’” (5)

“For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind. No more weeping or cries of distress – no more infants dieing after only a few days of life or adults before they have lived a complete life – no more homelessness – no more starving – no more laboring in vain – no more bearing children into a world of suffering – no more waiting for God to answer our cries – wolves and lambs will eat together - lions will eat off the land rather than other animals – hurting and destruction will not exist on all of God’s holy mountain.”

Thanksgiving meals are being held in local churches and communities all over! All sorts of people join in preparing it, serving it, eating it, and communing with one another! Local churches offer rooms in their building for community groups intent on improving people’s lives! Holy places – holy times: not the whole vision to be sure, but glimpses of it – shadows of it – a portion of it indeed. Enough to provide us hope and motivate us to pursue it even more ways? That is my hope and dream.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

1. Emphasis, November/December, 2007, p. 39.
2. Ibid., p. 38.
3. Ibid.
4. www.gbod.org/worship/articles, Preaching Helps for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C – November 18, 2007.
5. Richard A. Jensen, Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing, 1994), 0-7880-0081-0.