November 19, 2006

Remembering to Say Thanks

Luke 17:11-19

Opening Words: President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November 1863, as "a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father." Each year afterward, for 75 years, the President formally proclaimed that Thanksgiving Day should be celebrated on the last Thursday of November. But in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt set it one week earlier. He wanted to help business by lengthening the shopping period before Christmas. Congress ruled that after 1941 the fourth Thursday of November would be observed as Thanksgiving Day and would be a legal federal holiday.

This morning’s scripture text is traditional for Thanksgiving. Jesus heals a group of lepers but only one former leper returns to say, “Thanks!” Perhaps, that is a story for our time. With all the blessings that we have received how many grateful words have you heard lately? Let us hear this scripture together.

The year was 1620. The place was Southampton, England. A sizable group of adventurers boarded two ships to sail to their new home in the new world or America. Their destination was a place called Virginia. There was trouble from the start. As they sailed around the south tip of the British Isles one of the ships, the Speedway, was ruled not seaworthy. The two ships stopped and some of the group gave up and went home. However, others boarded the other ship, the Mayflower. Conditions on that ship were poor. Everyone was crowded as the made their way across the Atlantic. What made matters worse was the length of the trip. The trip was to take 66 days but it took much longer. When they finally arrived they were in Virginia they were in what is now called New England. (Navigation was poor in those days.) The weather was harsh because it was late in November. There was no time to build permanent shelters so they survived that first winter in this new world in crude temporary housing. In time, disease came and the death total began to rise. Historians tell us fifty-one of the original one hundred and two never saw the spring. They were buried in unmarked graves so the local natives would not know how small their numbers had grown. When the spring came they were forced to make a painful choice. The Mayflower was a rented ship and had to return to England. Would they stay in America or return to England? The decided to stay and their luck began to change. The friendly American Indians help them plant 30 acres of wheat and build permanent shelters.

When the anniversary of their landing approached everyone agreed they needed to remember. But how would they remember. Should it be a day of mourning, remembering those who had died? Or should it be a day of thanksgiving? They had survived and the future looked bright. It was a matter of perspective. The debate raged.

Three hundred and eighty five years the debate is still raging in our society. On this Thursday are you going to mourn all the hardships and disappoints you have in your life or will we celebrate your blessings? It is a matter of perspective. The Christian perspective sees the positive. As a disciple of Jesus Christ you need to thank God daily for all the goodness in your life. The world’s perspective is to see the negative. It seems to be human nature to take for granted the blessings of our lives and promote the negative.

That is at the heart of this morning’s scripture lesson. According to the text Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He enters a town and encounters ten lepers. They had heard about the Master and his healing powers. The law required that these lepers live in isolation so the best they can do is yell at Jesus when he draws near. Jesus hears their cries and responds to their requests. They are healed and go to the priest to be inspected so they can re-enter society. All ten of them were healed but only one returns to Jesus to say, “Thanks!” It is Jesus who asks the question, “Where are the other nine?” It is as true today as it was then. Thankfulness is a lost art.

So today, I want to encourage you to be thankful people. As a disciple of Jesus Christ you need to thank God daily for all the goodness in your life. The Christian perspective sees the positive. I can encourage you but the choice is yours. To help you identify your perspective on life let me ask you three questions. So if you are ready for my three Thanksgiving questions say, “Amen!”

Do you encourage people or do you discourage people? It is a matter of perspective. Are you more able to see the limitations in your life or in your little counter of the world or do you see the potential?

During the 1940’s there was a little church in Notasulga, Alabama. Those were hard economic times. There was no money in the town so there was less money in the church. Many in the church were discouraged. Some thought it would be best to close the church but they were out numbered. Most in the congregation wanted to press forward and do their best. They paid the electric bill. They cared for their pastor. They bought Sunday school literature so the children could learn about Jesus. They organized a Christmas pageant.

On December 19, 1943 at 7:30 pm they preformed the annual Christmas pageant. One of the little girls in that play was named Mary Jo Randle. She grew up and became a foreign missionary. Another girl in the play was named Gayle Carson. She grew up and married a minister. They served various congregations in the south for decades. Janelle Mitchell was in that play. She became a campus minister. Rea Morgan grew up and became a minister in Florida. Bill Turner became a minister and served the South Main Street Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. John Ed Mathison became the Senior Minister of the Frazier Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. All those lives and the lives they touched were impacted because a little church decided to encourage instead of discourage. As a church are we going to encourage or are we going to discourage? As are you going to be encouraging or discouraging? And all of God’s encouraging people said, “Amen!”

Do you exhilarate people or do you exhaust people? It is a matter of perspective. When you leave the room are people glad to see you go? Exhausting people are always right. Exhausting people have all the answers. Exhausting people are not tolerant of anyone else’s ideas. Exhausting people think identify a problem is takes skill. Exhausting people use passion as an excuse for poor behavior. One of the great theologians of the past century was George Burns, He said, “Too bad the only people who know how to run this country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair.” Exhilarating people understand this simple rule. If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. And all of God’s exhilarating people said, “Amen!”

Do you celebrate or complain? It is a matter of perspective. We have many people in the congregation who are going through some difficult times. Some promote the hardships. They become blind to anything else. Some demote the hardship so they can see the goodness in their lives.

John Claypool is a pastor. He tells the story of visiting two women from his congregation in a local nursing home. Both had physical problems. The first woman sat in a room of despair. Everything was wrong. The food was bad. She never saw her doctor. The nurses were lazy. The sheets were like sandpaper. It was impossible to sleep with all the noise. He could hardly wait to get out of the room. The second woman sat in a room of thankfulness. She said the doctors are there when I need them. The nurses are warm and caring. The bed is soft and sheets are clean. The food is good. She said to Claypool, “John it is not easy to eat at my age. I only have two teeth. I am so thankful that hit each other so I can chew a little.” It is all a matter of attitude. What is your prospective? And all of God’s celebrating people said, “Amen!”

The only Sunday school teacher I ever had was a woman by the name of Rose Parker. She was a stout woman with bright red hair that came out of a bottle. She was the only who would consented to teach us rowdy boys. She would say if you can’t find anyone else I’ll take them. They stopped looking at that point so she advanced through the grades with us. It must have been the Sunday before Thanksgiving. She held up a glass pitcher half filled with water. She asked us, “Is this pitcher half empty or half full?” A guy by the name of Dave Givens said, “It is half empty.” Another guy by the name of Ricky Prince said, “No way, it is half full.” Rose Parker said, “You are both right! It is both half empty and full. It is a matter of your prospective.”

What is your answer this Thanksgiving? Is the pitcher half empty or is it half full? Are you going to focus in on the emptiness of your lives or do you see what you have. It is a matter of prospective. Each one must answer for themselves. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”