Big or Small, Be Thankful For It All
Pastor Mathew Magera – 11/25/15 – Sermon 128
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from
God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
There are many times in
Biblical history where God gives something to his people and they take it for
granted. As early as creation, God gave Adam and Eve every good thing they
would need, but they took it for granted and became greedy for more. Their actions
caused repercussions for the rest of humanity. When the Israelites entered the
Promised Land they received an immense amount of provision from God but they
also took it for granted. Not long after they entered the Promised Land did
they decide they needed a king. That's where we get Saul, David and Solomon.
After a few years united. Israel divided into two different kingdoms, north and
south. The prophet Joel lived during this time and it was a time of great
prosperity.
Both kingdoms, north and
south, were expanding militarily, administratively, commercially and
economically. It was considered probably the largest growth since the time of
King Solomon. However, a massive locust plague had taken over. The locusts
obliterated the crops, animals died and even the religious ceremonies were
threatened due to the lack of animals for sacrifice. It was during this time
that the prophet Joel saw God's judgment over Judah. The people had taken God's
provisions for granted. Faith had degenerated. Joel prophesizes that this
locust plague is only the beginning. In fact, only a few verses before the ones
we read tonight are words we typically hear on Ash Wednesday, "Return to
the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding
in steadfast love." Joel wants the people to replace their trust in God,
not to take anything, large or small for granted. If they did, God would
restore their health, their crops, their ability to sacrifice.
How many times are we given
something that our eyes are focused somewhere and we don't recognize the gift?
We have been given green grass, fruit on trees, crops in the field. Yes, we can
see those and perhaps we recognize them as gifts, but perhaps we just pass it
by. God has given to us many things but do we recognize them? If we don't, how
are we able to give thanks and praise for them?
So, as we gather tonight, I
hope that we might be able to better recognize some of the smaller things in
life that we have been given and to give great thanks for God's provision in our
lives. So, I want to share with you a few things I am thankful for in hopes to
enlighten with each of you the ability to see how God works in even the
smallest details of what might seem like an ordinary day.
Iced Coffee
So, as I thought about those
small ways in which I was able to thank God, I came upon my first example. I'm
thankful for iced coffee. Now, many of you know I'm not a coffee drinker. I've
still not gotten into the stuff but if there is one part of coffee that I am
able to get down, it has to be iced coffee. Coffee that is surrounded in ice,
and completely diluted with creme, sugar, and various flavors. Ah, yes, it
tastes nothing like coffee. Okay I can do this. But, many of you might know
that already. What you may not know is this. Back in September 2014 Lane and I
were coming to Trufant for our very first visit. It was a long rainy drive in
the dark but we finally arrived at the parsonage sometime between 11 and 12 at
night. We were greeted by Steve and June as well as Bill and Margo. After
getting a tour of the house and the church we went to bed. The next morning we
were glad to have a few hours to sleep in before going to Greenville for lunch.
So, I remember waking up and going into the kitchen. I open up the refrigerator
and what do I see? A carton of iced coffee. I just about laughed.
Now, let me tell you why.
Not more than two weeks before this visit did I get an email from Margo
introducing herself. In her email she asked what kinds of food, drinks or
snacks we would like in the house while we were there. I took this opportunity
to jokingly confess my dislike of coffee and ask for forgiveness as I knew this
could affect the decision of the candidacy committee if their potential pastor
didn't drink coffee. I did tell her, as part of the joke that if I did ever
drink coffee, it would be iced coffee because it tastes nothing like coffee. I
closed out that email listing just a few things that would be nice and simple
for us. Yet, there I stood in the kitchen staring at a carton of iced coffee
that added a punchline to my joke and really made my day.
You see, I'm thankful for
iced coffee because it was more than just a drink that morning. It was a small
token of hospitality, a hospitality that wasn't necessary but yet happened
anyway. I'm thankful for small tokens of hospitality because somebody took the
time to listen and to hear something. Who knew someone would see my attempt at
humor as a request for iced coffee in the refrigerator. It wasn't a request.
That carton was a gift and a sign of what hospitality means. Hospitality isn't
just about attending to needs, but it is about openly listening and providing
beyond what is simply needed. Where in your life has something been hospitable
to you in a way that went beyond your needs and took it a step further? For
that reason, I am thankful for iced coffee.
Chopsticks
The next thing I find myself
thankful for is chopsticks. Not the piano tune. No, chopsticks. The things you
eat with. I love chopsticks. Anytime I get the opportunity to eat with
chopsticks I take it. For many years I have always wanted my very own
chopsticks, not the cheap splintered ones that you eat with and then throw
away, but real crafted chopsticks. Not too long ago, my want became a reality.
After Lily came our way she was having a package shipped from Taiwan with a few
things she wanted. When she learned that I really wanted chopsticks, she had
someone add them to the package. Then, not too long after, the package arrived
and inside were my very own eight pairs of very nice wooden chopsticks that I
could use over and over again.
What I like about chopsticks
is that it really takes dedication to learn how to use them. It's that learning
curve that I find myself thankful for. There are many cultures in this world.
Many different backgrounds and it is easy enough to just pass them by and do
you own thing. It takes little effort. But, to learn something about a culture,
to understand it, to embrace it, well, that takes time and dedication. I'm
thankful for chopsticks because they way I think things should be done may not
be the only way. You don't have to eat with a fork, knife or spoon. There are
other ways. But, eating is only just the beginning. I'm thankful that there is
more than one way to do things and that I'm not always right. I'm thankful for
the variety of people and ideas in the world. For me, in particular, for me
this year, this thankfulness epitomizes within these two simple sticks.
High Fives
The next thing I find myself
thankful for is a high five. Yes, seriously, I'm thankful for high fives.
There's a good story to this. Earlier this year I was meeting with Michael and
Ashley Christensen, who at the time were engaged to be married here at the end
of July. We were in our last pre-marital session getting everything ready for
the service. At the end of our meeting, we were ready to go. The wedding was in
two weeks, we're ready. As they got up, Ashley held up her hand, as is the
universal symbol for requesting a high five. And you know what Michael did? He
left her hanging. No high five ensued. After I walked them out I came back to
my office and I had all the sermon preparation I needed. I brought up that
story in my sermon that day as a way to help them relax and then I proceeded to
say that a marriage was like a high five for three reasons.
To be brief, first I said a
marriage was like a high five because it takes two people to make it work. You
can't high five yourself, and a high five with three or more people just never
seems to work out and someone ends up getting hit in the face. Second, I said a
marriage was like a high five because you can only control yourself. If the
other person is having a bad day in a marriage, you have to pick up the slack
and do a majority of the work. In a high five, if someone is not that into it,
you need to work harder to get the intended slap and sound of that high five.
Third, I said a marriage was like a high five because air is necessary. If you
high fived in space, it wouldn't make a sound and we all know the best part of
a high five is the sound it makes. A marriage only creates sound when it has
Jesus in the middle. Without Jesus, it's just two sweaty palms bumping up
against one another.
Now, the reason I'm thankful
for high fives is because after that wedding I haven't thought of a high five
the same. It tells me that when I'm out having a good time and I high five a
friend that Jesus is in the middle of that friendship. When I high-five Skye,
Jesus is in the middle of that relationship. When I come to our monthly game
nights and can pepper two in clubs and make it, I know Jesus is in that
victory. Often we might look past our friends as gifts from God, but they are.
God brought you and your friends together and if and when you ever give each
other high fives maybe you'll think about how God made that friendship
possible. I'm thankful for high fives because they are a reminder that God is
in control and that he is always in our midst.
* * *
God gives us what we have.
It could be big, it could be small. We could be going through good times. We
could be going through bad times. Either way, big or small, we should be
thankful for it all. Joel spoke to the people while they were experiencing a
great plague which Joel saw as a warning for coming judgment. Now, we don’t
want to be thankful out of fear. Fearing God’s judgment should not be the
reason we are thankful. We should be thankful for what we receive. We should be
thankful for what we are given. Let’s not lose sight of that. It may be easy to
think of judgment given the current events in the world, but we must not lose
focus. Be thankful for what you have whether it be ice coffee, chopsticks or
high fives, whatever might remind you of the gifts you have been graciously
given by God. But, at the heart of your thankfulness, be thankful for the gift
of forgiveness given to us in Christ. Nothing we have been given in this world
can compare to the gift of eternal life that was given through him. So, give
thanks. Big or small, be thankful for it all. To God be the glory, now and
always. Amen.