church

INI
Thanksgiving Day
November 26, 2009
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

HOW DO YOU PUNCTUATE 'THANKSGIVING'?
I Thessalonians 5:18

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen. The text that we'll
consider this Thanksgiving Day comes from Paul's First Letter to the
Thessalonians, chapter five, the 18th verse, as follows:

"In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
These are the Words.

Dear Fellow-Redeemed in Christ,

Three years ago a story appeared in the New York Times. It was entitled, "The
Million Dollar Comma." Two large Canadian telecommunications companies
were embroiled in a lawsuit, arguing whether one of the companies had the legal
right to withdraw from its contract with the other. The argument revolved
around the punctuation in the following sentence: "This agreement shall be
effective from the date it is made and shall continue in force for a period of five
years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms,
unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party."
The judge ruled that the second comma in that sentence governed both
preceding clauses, not just the second one. That meant that the one company
could legally withdraw from its contract. The cost to the other company of that
one misplaced comma? A cool million dollars!

So using the right punctuation isn't just a good idea - in certain circumstances it
can be absolutely crucial! Using the right punctuation can be very important in
our lives, too. A simple sentence, or even a single word, can take on many
different meanings, depending on the punctuation marks we use. Today I'd like
to ask you a very important question (and this is our theme):

HOW DO YOU PUNCTUATE 'THANKSGIVING'?

I. With a question mark,
II. With a period, or
III. With an exclamation point?

I'm afraid that Thanksgiving is another one of those holidays that has been
worked too hard in America. It's been popularized, commercialized and
media-ized so much, that, for most people, Thanksgiving means no more than
turkey dinners, parades and football games. I'm sure that the idea of actually
giving thanks on this holiday never even enters the heads of most folks. If it
did, they'd probably punctuate "Thanksgiving" with a question mark! "The
national economy's in a slump," they'd say. "It's the worst down-cycle since the
1930s! I'm working harder for less money than ever before. Try as I might, I just
can't seem to make ends meet. Thanksgiving? What is there to be thankful for?"
Question mark.

Look again at our text for today. If anybody had a right to put a question mark
after "thanksgiving", it was the believers in the town of Thessalonica.
Everybody hated this group of Christians. The government persecuted them.
The Jews persecuted them. The congregation had internal problems. And yet,
amazingly, Paul tells them to rejoice! To kick up their heals and be happy! He
says, "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for
you." How many question marks did you notice in that sentence? Zero! Makes
you wonder, doesn't it -- am I missing something? If these beleaguered
Christians, with all their problems, had reason to give thanks to God, how can I
question the Lord's goodness and blessing in my life?

On the other hand, it may be even worse to punctuate Thanksgiving with a
PERIOD. "Oh yes, it's Thanksgiving. Ho hum. Another church service.
Another turkey dinner. Another visit to the grandparents' house." When you put
a period after "Thanksgiving", you're not even thinking about whether or not
you have anything to be thankful for. You know you ought to "count your
blessings," but it's not worth the effort. There's a vague feeling that today's a
day to thank God for something, but what, exactly? Why bother? --
Thanksgiving. Period.

How do you punctuate "Thanksgiving"? With a question mark? Does it seem
like there's very little in your life to thank God for? When Jesus healed those ten
lepers, that's what nine of them thought. It didn't seem worthwhile to them to
go back and give thanks to Jesus, even though they had been delivered from
one of the worst diseases known to man. Only one returned to give glory to
God. Do you punctuate "Thanksgiving" with a period? The Pharisee in the
temple prayed, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector." Luke 18:11. This
self-righteous hypocrite put a period after Thanksgiving. For him it was just a
formality to go through. The passage says he wasn't even really talking to God -
he was talking to himself.

I'll tell you how to have a much richer, much more meaningful Thanksgiving.
Give it the punctuation it deserves! Put an exclamation point after
"Thanksgiving"!

One Sunday a farmer went to church and listened to a sermon on Isaiah 1:3,
"An ox knows his owner, and a donkey his master's crib, but Israel doesn't
know; My people don't understand." He didn't really get much out of the
sermon. It didn't seem particularly to apply to him. That afternoon, though, he
was feeding grain to his cattle when one of the cows lifted its head from the
trough and started affectionately licking his arm. It really seemed as though it
was thanking him for its food. "What a fool I've been!" the farmer thought.
"This dumb animal shows more gratitude to me than I do to God! And yet,
everything I have I owe to my Heavenly Father"

Paul tells us, "In everything give thanks." He has a very good reason for saying
that. Because everything we have comes from God! I could spend the next 20
minutes - or the next 20 hours, for that matter - running down a list of all the
gifts that God has showered upon us. The roof over our heads, the clothes on
our backs, good-paying jobs that provide a decent living -- the food we eat, the
air we breath - it all comes down from God! In James we read, Every good gift
and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variation, norr shadow of turning. James 1:17. In our faith
there is variation, isn't there? Our faith runs hot and cold from day to day. But
with God there is variation, and no shadow of turning -- He continues to pour
blessings into our lives day after day. How often do we stop to thank God for
all these things? Perhaps you're like the farmer, perhaps it's not very often!

Thanksgiving is traditionally a family holiday. When was the last time you said
a word of thanks for your family, and your loved ones? Look around here today
at our close-knit church family. There's fifteen or twenty people right there who
love you, just to start out with! And, not to mention all the other good things
you do have in your life, what about all the bad things God has spared you?

Some years ago our family had a very close call. It was when we were still
worshipping in Dupont. We were on our way to Church one Sunday morning,
and a young man attempting to commit suicide streaked past us, driving north
in the southbound lanes of interstate five. Well, he was successful in his suicide
attempt. He was also successful in causing a huge accident that severely injured
a number of people, and snarled I-5 for over three hours. It was by the sheer
grace of God that that terrible accident did not involve our family. And that is
one of the many examples I know about! What about the many times when our
Lord averts danger from our path and we do not know about it?

We can learn a lesson from a country pastor of days gone by, who drove his
buggy along ten miles of muddy roads in a driving rain storm to make it to the
Thanksgiving service on time. The few parishioners who showed up that day
wondered what the preacher could possibly find to be thankful for in the midst
of such a destructive downpour. The pastor was soaked to the skin as he
stepped into the pulpit. He began his sermon, "Lord, we thank You that it's not
always as bad as this…"

You have still another reason to give thanks today. An even more important
one. Paul gives us that reason in our text: "In everything give thanks; for this is
the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." Paul connects Thanksgiving with
Christ.

Let me ask you a question. What if a stranger came to our church door this
morning, and handed each one of you, as you left, a ten-pound brick of pure
gold? It wouldn't be very big, about the size of a pack of cigarettes. But at
today's prices, that little ingot would be worth just under $200,000. How do
you think you'd react? I know how you'd react -- this would be the most
thankful, excited congregation in America on this Thanksgiving Day! Well, God
is no stranger to you. And He's given to each of you a treasure more precious
than all the gold in Fort Knox! He's given you the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John
3:16. You have the gift of eternal life, purchased not with gold or silver, but
with the holy precious blood of Jesus. Your sins are forgiven! Everlasting life is
yours in Christ! Take that gift home with you today! Rejoice! Give thanks!
Take, as well, God's unbreakable promise that He will keep on providing you
with everything you need for this life, for, as Paul said, "He who did not spare
His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things?" Romans 8:32.

How often haven't you seen a child receive a present or a piece of candy, and
heard the parents ask, "What do you say?" We drill into our children the simple
courtesy of saying "thank you," and then forget, ourselves, to thank our
heavenly Father for all the gifts He gives us. Well, this is the day for giving
thanks. It's not the only day, but it's a good place to start. Let's say "thank you"
to our gracious Savior-God today -- and let's put an exclamation point after it!
In Jesus' Name, AMEN.