Thanksigiving ~ The Chair

Mstislav Rostropovich is widely recognized as one of the greatest cellist of the 20th century and many consider him one of the greatest cellists of all time. Rostropovich lived in the Soviet Union all his life and during the height of the cold war he spoke out passionately for human rights and artistic freedom. The more he spoke out, however, the more his own rights and freedoms were curtailed by the Soviet government. His concerts, foreign tours and recording projects were all canceled and the state-run media imposed a black-out of his name and all his activities. Finally the state gave him an exit visa so he could perform in Paris, but once his concert was over the government refused to allow him to return. In 1978, the soviet government stripped Rostropovich of citizenship and informed him that he and his wife could never return home.

On Nov. 9, 1989, 20 years ago this month, Rostropovich heard that the Berlin Wall was coming down and the communist regime in East Germany was falling apart. His heart was full of gratitude because he knew with the whole Eastern bloc coming undone, his exile from Russia would soon be over and he would be able to return home. As news of the Berlin wall coming down spread, Rostropovich thought about how he might be able to express his thanks and gratitude for this great moment, so he came up with a plan. He caught the first plane he could to Berlin, jumped into a cab and told the driver to take him to the wall. When he arrived at the wall it his intention was to play his cello, but when he got there he realized that he suddenly had to worry about something he had never had to worry about before: a chair. You can't play the cello without a chair and in every concert or rehearsal he had played the chair had always been provided for him. Never before in his life did Rostropovich have to worry about a chair, but now he had to find one. So he began knocking on doors of homes close to where the cab had let him off and finally a German family produced a small kitchen chair and Rostropovich was able to sit in that chair in front of the wall and play his cello.

What Rostropovich played that day, was a piece of music he had never recorded. He played a Bach cello suite and when asked why he chose that particular piece, he said, I chose Bach to say thank you to the great God. Bach is known as a sacred composer who often expressed his faith and trust in God through music, and so Rostropovich chose that specific composer as his way of thanking God for the changes that were about to take place. I don’t know if Rostropovich had Psalm 65 in mind, but look at verse 8, those living far away fear your wonders (or they are in awe of your power and strength) and as morning dawns and evening fades (or when a new day is coming – when there is a new beginning) you, God, call forth songs of joy. In the new day of freedom that was coming for Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, God called Rostropovich to come forth with songs of joy and a Bach cello suite was the song he chose.

Before his death in 2007, Rostropovich was able to return to Russia and he held several concerts in his homeland. This month we have celebrated the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and as we think about that historic event and the testimony of this amazing musician, I want us to think about one simple thing, the chair. In this season of thanksgiving, this chair reminds us of all the things in life that we take for granted, but shouldn’t. Rostropovich had always taken for granted that there would be a chair to sit on when he wanted to play the cello. As the wall was coming down, not only did Rostropovich give thanks to a great God, but he began to give thanks for all the people who helped provide for him and take care of him throughout his life. Sometimes it’s when things aren’t there when we need them, or when they are suddenly taken away, that we realize just how important they are.

I wonder if that’s how the Pilgrims felt during the first year they struggled to survive in this new land. When they left their home in England in search of freedom, I wonder if they knew how hard it was going to be? In England they had everything they needed, life may not have been easy at times, but they had homes and food and clothes and doctors and a secure and stable life. They had what they needed, but when they arrived here, they had nothing. I’m sure there were times that first year when they realized just how much they had taken for granted when they lived back in England, in this new world they didn’t even have a chair. The first year for the Pilgrims was a difficult one. For every home they built, they dug 7 graves. Life was so fragile that I’m sure they didn’t take anything for granted and at that first harvest they stopped to gave thanks to a great God for all the simple things that he had provided, like food, shelter, the help of the natives, and a chair to sit on.

My fear is that because we have so much around us all the time that it becomes easy for us to take many things for granted, so maybe this chair can help remind us of all the things God has given us for which we need to stop and give thanks. If we go back to Psalm 65 we begin to see some of the things God has given us that we should never take for granted. Psalm 65:2 says, you who hear our prayers. Too often I think we take for granted that God hears our prayers. Think about it, every time we cry out to God – God is there. Whenever we are in need – God is there. Every single word we pray God hears and we can’t take that for granted.

If we read through the gospels we find many stories of people crying out to Jesus. There was the blind beggar who cries out Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me – and Jesus hears him and has mercy on him. Jesus heals the man and restores his sight. There are the 10 lepers who cry out to Jesus for healing and Jesus hear them and heals them. Jesus even hears those who cry out in the silence and the desperation of their hearts. There was a woman who had been sick for 10 years and in her desperation she silently reached out her hand to touch the hem of Jesus robe and while she doesn’t make a sound, Jesus hears the cry of her heart and heals her. God hears us – every word we cry out to him in our hearts – God hears and God responds according to his will and purpose and plan.

God not only hears us, but God forgives us. Look at Psalm 65:3. What I like about this verse is that it doesn’t say, when we sin (singular) that God forgives us, it’s when we are overwhelmed by sins (plural) that God forgives us. God knows that our failures and sins are going to be many in life. God knows that daily we will fall short of what he wants for us, and yet when we are overwhelmed by all of this sin, God forgives us. God’s love and grace is always there and we can not take that for granted. Everyday we need to give thanks to a great and gracious God.

So the chair can remind us that God is always with us to listen and forgive and as it says in v. 5, draw us close to him, but the chair can also remind us of all the people God places in our lives to help us. Rostropovich took for granted the people who always provided for him a chair, but on that day he was thankful for a German family who gave him a chair. I wonder how often we take for granted those people who love, serve and care for us on a regular basis. As we gather with family and friends this coming week I hope we will take the time to give thanks for those closest to us who offer so much love and support, but there are so many other people that help and support us that too often we overlook. Too often we take for granted firefighters, police officers, emergency service personnel, doctors, nurses, teachers, the list goes on and on. There are so many people in our community that work hard to serve and protect us and too often we take them for granted, we just assume they will be there when we need them. Again, what a great time of year to stop and simply say thank you to all those who help us.

On Friday I was in the bank and in case you didn’t know, last week was bank teller appreciation week. At first I thought that seemed to be stretching things a little bit, but then I thought about how at the branch I use the tellers have always been nice to me, they have answered my questions when I had a problem and never made me feel bad if something I did went wrong, so when I got to the counter I made sure I took a moment to say thank you and let them know what a good job I thought they always did. The teller’s face turned all red and she got a big smile and said I was only the second person who had said thank you. We need to do a better job at appreciating those people who serve us. Even if it is there job to serve us, it means so much for people to hear those two words.

Can we send a note with our children to the schools thanking the teacher or custodian or principal for a job well done? Can we send a note to a doctor or nurse who helped us through a difficult time? Can we say thank you to those in our community who volunteer time and energy to help serve and protect us? I’m thankful that as part of our Christmas dinner we do try to remember and give thanks for the firefighters, police and emergency service workers in our community by making sure they have a dinner on Christmas day. And let me just say right now to all of you (because in some way or another all of you will help I know) thank you for working so hard and giving so much to feed so many on Christmas Day. You are not taken for granted, I and many many others appreciate all that you do in Jesus name.

As we remember and give thanks for the people who help us, we can’t just think about the people who support us here and now, what about all the people in the past who have helped us get to where we are today? Stop and think about what you are sitting on right now? Rostropovich took for granted his chair, do we take for granted the pews that are always here for us? Do we take for granted this church that so many people over so many years have worked hard to provide for us? Actually, many of you were probably here when the original church was built, or when 20 years ago these pews were put in. If you were here then, let me say, “Thank You.”

As we give thanks for those who have provided for us, we need to ask ourselves, am I willing to give and serve and sacrifice so that there can be a chair here for the next generation? We have the opportunity in the months and really the years to come to help put a new roof on the building, and pay off our mortgage which will be a blessing to the generations who follow us. My hope is that 20 years from today there will be a pastor standing right here saying that the congregation gathered for Thanksgiving that year can’t take for granted those who went before them, but that they need to stop and give thanks for a congregation that 20 years ago said, we are going to put a new roof on the building, and we are going to put in a new Heating and AC system, and we are going to pay off the mortgage so our children and grandchildren will have a place of worship and ministry, and just a place to experience life and faith together. My other hope is that many of you will also be here 20 years from today actively involved in the life and mission and ministry of Faith Church.

So the chair reminds us that we can not take for granted all the love and grace that God has given us and all the people God has given us, but the chair also reminds us not to take for granted the world in which God has placed us. If we look at Psalm 65:9-13 we see all the things God gives us for which we need to give thanks. God provides water for the land. He sends showers to soften the earth so food will grow. God blesses the crops and brings forth the harvest, a harvest which we will share in this coming week, and because of the water, grain and livestock that God provides, we are able to experience not just the feast of Thanksgiving, but all the joy of life. Everywhere we turn in this world we can see something for which we can give thanks; the question is will we take the time to thank God? Will we take the time in the middle of family, food, football and the frenzy of this season to simply stop and give thanks to God, the one who created and gives us everything?

Do you know that the number one command of scripture isn’t to love God or love our neighbor – it is to remember. Over and over again God calls us to remember who he is and what he has done and the reason God calls us to remember so many times is because God knows that in the midst of all the busy-ness of life, we will forget and will take for granted all that he has given us. So this thanksgiving, take an empty chair and put it at your table as a reminder to give thanks to a great God for all that he has done, and allow the empty chair to remind you of all the people who have shaped your life and continue to love, serve and care for you, and allow the empty chair to be a reminder that the God who created the heavens and the earth is still the God who listens to us, forgives us and draws us close to him.