As we approach this season of Thanksgiving we need to remember that the earth is the Lord’s and everything in this world was created by God and comes from the hand of God. The food we will eat on Thanksgiving has come from God. So as we cook the turkey and bake the pies and mash the potatoes can we say to ourselves over and over again, the earth is the Lord’s and everything it. Can the very breath we take become a prayer of thanksgiving for all that God has given us? Can we look around at the faces of family and friends gathered at our tables and see each one as a gift from God? Everyone who lives in this world has come from God. God created us all and in love God placed us in families and gathered us together in circle of friends and communities and a church so that we can share his love and grace together.
All through the Thanksgiving season we need to say to ourselves over and over again, the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world an all who live in it (say it with me). This verse can help keep us grounded because it reminds us that the most important part of the celebration isn’t the turkey, stuffing or pumpkin pie; it is giving thanks to God for it has all come from him.
But let’s stop and think about this for a moment, if it has all come from God and it if all belongs to God then we need to ask ourselves, are we using it all the way God wants us to? Are we being good stewards of God’s creation? Did God give us the gift of food so we can fill our tables and eat all we can until we can’t eat anymore? Is the gift of family just for us or has God called us to share what we have and care for those who might be in need around us? Remember it says in Psalm 24:1 that all who live in this world belong to God, which means all those who are hungry belong to God. All those who are hurting and lonely belong to God. All those who the world has forgotten belong to God and God does not want them forgotten or lonely or hungry, God wants them remembered and loved and fed and God calls us to do it.
So part of giving thanks to God has to be making that sure we are using the gifts God gives wisely and according to God’s will. As we sit around tables overflowing with food will we make sure that others in our community have enough food? In the Old Testament strangers who were hungry were to be welcomed to the table and fed by God’s people as if they were family. Jesus calls us to feed the hungry and he told his disciples to feed the crowds even when they didn’t think they had the means to do it. I was thinking about this and I have decided this year that I am going tithe my Thanksgiving Day dinner. I am going to figure out how much money I will spend on food for my family on Thanksgiving Day, the entire day, and I am going to send a tithe of that amount to the blessing basket ministry so that others can have food on Thanksgiving, and I want to invite you to join me. Figure out what you will spend on your Thanksgiving Dinner, or on the food your family will eat during the entire day and then give 10% of that to the blessing basket ministry which is going to help provide food this year to 40 families, that’s twice as many as last year. Or if you want, you can figure it out after Thanksgiving and send your tithe to the food bank. Or you could do both, 10% to the food-bank and 10% to the blessing baskets and then as you faithfully give, watch God bless you. Isn’t that what it says in Psalm 24:4-5?
We will be blessed when we have clean hands and a pure heart. In other words we will be blessed when we live the way God calls us to live and the way God calls us to live is not just by saying thank you, but by living a life of thanks and gratitude that touches the lives of others because we are willing to share and give. So I invite you to tithe your Thanksgiving Day dinner, and when God blesses you in that faithful giving, step out in faith and tithe again during Christmas and then make tithing a way of life in the new year.
But it is not just about the money. As we sit down with family and friend on Thanksgiving can we invite others to join us who might not have a place to go? Do we have an empty chair at our table that could be filled by someone who lives alone and has no family in the area? Can we take some time during the holidays to visit those in the nursing home or those going through rehab during this season who might not have people to visit them. A couple of years ago when someone was delivering our Christmas dinners a woman asked the driver to stop and talk with her for a moment because he was the first person she had seen all day. There will be people who will spend Thanksgiving alone, can we remember them, visit them, invite them to join us? Again, in the OT one of the most important laws was the law of hospitality which said you welcomed strangers and those in need into your home, it’s God’s desire for His people to reach out to all those God has created and make sure they are remembered and loved and fed, will we do this?
Psalm 24 can help us keep focused during this Thanksgiving season, but it can also help us stay focused during the Christmas Season. It is believed that Psalm 24 was written when the Ark of the Covenant was carried into Jerusalem and then later used during times of worship when the people remembered that event. The thought is that when the ark moved into the city the people on the city gates would cry out Psalm 24:7 – 8a and then the people with ark would say Psalm 24:8b. Then the people on the city walls would say, Psalm 24: 9-10a and the people with the ark would respond again with Psalm 24:10b. And then the walls of the city would open wide and the Ark of the Covenant, the very presence of God entered the city. So this psalm remembers the moment that God entered the city of Jerusalem and as people recited these words and used it in worship it reminded them not to open the city gates, but to lift up the heads and open their hearts and lives to allow the king of glory to enter into them.
As we prepare for Christmas we need to remember that the entire celebration is about God coming to us in the person of Jesus. God comes to us just as he came to the people of Jerusalem, so will we open our hearts and lives to receive him. One of the carols we love to sing at Christmas is O Little Town of Bethlehem and there is a line in that carol that goes, to meek souls who receive him still the dear Christ enters in. Will we allow Christ to enter into our hearts and lives during this season? And if that is what we want, what will that look like? What will it mean for Christ to enter our hearts and lives during the busyness of this season? I don’t think God will be content to enter into our lives and then be told to sit and wait until the celebration is over for us to listen to him and respond to his leading. God wants to enter into our hearts and lives today to shape how we celebrate this season and how we celebrate the gift of Jesus.
If we go back to Psalm 24 we see that allowing God to enter into our heart and lives means having clean hands, a pure heart and then listen to this, not lifting our souls up to idols. If Christmas becomes a time when we go into debt because we think we have to buy the latest and greatest gifts for everyone we know, then we are lifting up our souls to the idol of materialism and greed. If the season is only about shopping and what to buy, then we are lifting up our souls to an idol, and it is so easy to do this. This past week, a full two weeks before Thanksgiving one of the big news stories I read was about how Target leaking their black Friday sales flyer so that people will be ready to run out and buy all the latest electronics and toys on the day after Thanksgiving. When that becomes an important news story, we are in danger of worshipping the wrong god. As we head into this frantic holiday shopping season, here is the verse we need to remember, do not lift our souls up to an idol.
Now I always feel the need to give this disclaimer here, not buying into the materialism and greed of this season doesn’t mean we don’t give any gifts at all, we can, and maybe we even should, give gifts at Christmas because what we are celebrating is the gift of Jesus given to us by God, but we need to think about how to give gifts that truly honor and imitate the gift of Jesus. God gave his son, not an ipad. God gave himself not a HDTV. God gave his time and love, not an xbox360. While all of those electronics might be great gifts to give, they do not reflect the gift of Jesus, so how can we give the gift of our selves, the gift of our time, the gift of our love in a way that reflects the gift of God? If you remember last year we learned how we can celebrate this season more faithfully when we are willing to spend less but give more. We need to spend less at target and amazon and walmart and give more of ourselves to others and to God. What relational gifts can you give? What gift can you give in Jesus name that will help the future of the church? What gift can you give in Jesus name that will lift up a community in Africa, or a family in Bellefonte? These questions need to guide us as we make our way through this Christmas season.
It will be a challenge to turn away from the idol of greed and materialism that says we need to get all the latest stuff for family and friends, but we need to turn away from the world and give the way God has shown us and in the way God has given to us and if we will do this – we will be blessed, again look at Psalm 24:4-6.
So if there is one passage that can guide us through this busy season of the year and help us to stay focused on what it is really all about, maybe it is Psalm 24 and these 2 verses:
The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.
Do not lift up your soul to an idol… and you will receive blessing from the Lord.
