11/18/2007                                                                               Isaiah 12

“How Will You Give Thanks?”

Rev. Jonthan Rumburg

Introduction

            Well, come clean.  Admit it.  Tell the truth.  How will you be giving thanks this Thanksgiving Day? 

            Will you be kicked back in your recliner, a bottle of antacids next to you because you’re bloated and in agony, and swearing you’ll never eat that much again, but secretly reminding yourself that that evening’s football game will include a big fat turnkey sandwich, reheated stuffing balls, and a slice of pumpkin pie.  (Stuffing balls are a long standing holiday staple in my family.) 

            Or will you be one among thousands planning your early morning excursion to area retailers so that you are in line long before dawn’s early light, to get the best bargain possible for that must have holiday gift? 

            Recently when Julie and I were at a Pittsburgh area Best Buy, we had just finished playing a round of Guitar Hero, and got to talking to a Best By sales associate.  We asked about the “Day after Thanksgiving Sales” curious as to what time we should prepare to be in line.  He said the line last year began forming at four o clock.  In a moment I thought, ouch, four o’clock in the morning is pretty early.  He then said that he meant four o’clock in the afternoon, on Thanksgiving Day.

            Yes, the holidays are once again upon us, and we find ourselves nearing the starting gate of the hustle and bustle of another Christmas season.  Soon, Christmas trees will be filling up our living rooms, sending Christmas cards will be moved to the top of our to do lists, Christmas gift buying will strain our budgets, and then Christmas present wrapping will consume our time.  Christmas cookie baking will take over our kitchens, decisions about where we will be for Christmas will have to be determined, and then Christmas travel plans will have to be made. 

            Yes, Christmas is once again upon us.  And once again, this year, we repeatedly say that Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier. 

            I remember a number of years ago, when working at a department store, putting out in July, Santa Claus figures that played and danced to “Jingle Bell Rock.”  I further remember a woman seeing these dancing Santa, and exclaiming “It’s only July!”  It was just moments later, however, that I saw her leaving the store with one in her bag.

            It does seem that Christmas comes earlier and earlier each year.  It seems that as soon as Halloween is over, suddenly it’s Christmas time.  And all of this leads me to ask the painfully obvious question:  What happened to Thanksgiving?

            Why are we so quick to skip over the chance to offer our thanks for all that has been given to us? 

            Have we become so expectant of that which we have that we feel we no longer need to offer our thanks?

            Has the opposite happened, and we have we become so discouraged with our situation that we don’t see any reason to offer thanks for the lousy hand in life we are trying to play right now.

            Or has our chance to say thanks been swept aside by an industry that has broader resources and tools that are used to drown out our voices as we try to offer our thanks?

            Whatever the case may be for us, we must not miss our chance to pause and recognize all that we have been given.  We must not permit the celebrations we’ll be a part of be just another excuse to over indulge and kick back during a football game.

            We need to refocus ourselves and use this Thanksgiving holiday as our chance to evaluate what exactly we have to be thankful for, and then to offer our thanks through our recognition and celebration of this holiday.

            And our text tells us how.

Move 1

            In our text for today, the prophet Isaiah is talking to the people of God prior to their period of exile.  It was a dim and chaotic period, a time that wasn’t a very likely a time to offer their thanks for the way things were.

            The northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians, and the southern kingdom of Judah had become a vassal state to Assyria.  They were in sad shape politically, and they were in even worse shape spiritually.

            There was uncertainty as to what was going to come next—but whatever did come next probably wasn’t going to be very good.  It was sure to come with its share of hardships and difficulties.  I imagine the people probably wondered why this was happening to them because, after all, they were the people of God.  Sure they didn’t always get it right, but they tried.  Certainly whatever they didn’t do right didn’t merit exile.

            And so it certainly didn’t seem, given the circumstances, to be a likely time for Isaiah to call the people of God to give thanks. 

            It probably wasn’t a good time to implore the people to trust and not be afraid because nothing but abandonment and fear was flooding their spirits.

            It probably wasn’t a good time for Isaiah to call the people and have them make known God’s deed among nations because they probably wouldn’t have given a very good report.

            It probably wasn’t a good time for Isaiah to call the people to sing praises to the Lord because if this was God’s idea of grace then surely these people didn’t want it.

            And it probably wasn’t a good time for Isaiah to invite the people to come to the well of salvation and draw its waters of joy because surely that well had gone dry for the people of God.

            But nonetheless, calling the people of God to give thanks is exactly what Isaiah did.  Isaiah called them to give thanks despite the dim circumstances, despite their attitude, despite other voices of authority drowning out the voice of God’s people, because Isaiah knew there were still reasons to give thanks to God.

Move 2

            So what reasons does Isaiah cite as reasons to give thanks?  Isaiah offers three reasons.

            The first reason to give thanks is found in verse one.  “You will say on that day: I will give thanks to you O Lord for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, and you comforted me.”

            Though the people are deserving of God to be angry, God instead offers comfort.  And so, through God’s grace the people are forgiven, and that is reason to give thanks. 

            The second reason to offer thanks is found in verse two.  “I will trust and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might.”

            This verse reminds the people that in moments that seem to be too difficult to endure, God’s gift of strength in their weakest moments is present, and that is reason to give thanks.

            And the third reason to give thanks is found in a verse three.  “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”  This is perhaps my favorite because the imagery is so vivid.  It is a verse that reminded people of the gift of joy that is never in short supply to the people of God.  Those faithful to God could draw from this well a continuous supply of joy in a time and place that had none of its own.  For the well of salvation is a well that can never go dry.  And that is indeed reason to give thanks.

            The gift of forgiveness, the gift of strength in your weakest moment, and the gift of joy that is never in jeopardy of going dry is why Isaiah called these exile bound people of God to offer thanks in a time and place that didn’t seem to merit such an offering of thanksgiving.

            And the same call can be heard of Isaiah for today.  We are called to give thanks to God, regardless of our circumstances, because whether our circumstances are good our not, there remains still reason to offer our thanks.

            The same promises God made to the people of God facing exile are the same promises God makes to us today.  And the same reasons Isaiah gave to the people of God to give thanks, are the same reasons we ought to give thanks today.

            But coming up with reasons to offer thanks isn’t really all that hard when implored to do so.

            How we offer our thanks, once we have taken the time and effort to really concentrate on why we should offer it, well that becomes the difficult task.

            How are we to offer our thanks, particularly in a day and age when the need to say it has been pushed to the way side by outside voices imploring us to focus our attention somewhere else, or because we have grown complacent, or discouraged? 

            How will you give thanks?

Move 3

            There can to be two schools of thought when breaking down how we offer thanks.  There are the likely times when we give thanks, and then the unlikely times we give thanks.           

            When life is moving along smoothly, when we’re enjoying good health, satisfying work, good family relations we are “likely thankers.”  It is only logical to offer our thanks to God when the waters of our lives are calm and tranquil.

            But then there are those times when life is not so smooth, when we find ourselves confronting uncertain health, strained relationships, financial struggles, or unexpected loss.  In those times we are “unlikely thankers” because it just doesn’t seem right or even logical to offer our thanks to God.

*******

            Because of a drunk driver, the Rev. Robin Garvin found himself attending the funeral of a colleague’s wife, daughter, and mother.

            As Rev. Garvin sat in the sanctuary waiting for the service to begin, he wondered what the presiding minister could possibly say to comfort the numb and heartbroken congregation that was gathering.

            Over a decade later the words offered by that presiding minister still resonated with Rev. Garvin.  He explains how the pastor began by honestly telling how much he struggled to find the right words to comfort and encourage them.  This pastor went on to say that he was convinced the only way through this tragedy, the only way through this dim and chaotic time, was to give thanks.

            The presiding minister said the only reasonable response to the chaos was to give thanks that night to God: to give thanks to God for the gift of life, to give thanks to God for those who had died, and finally, to give thanks to God for the incredible gift of eternal life.

            Rev. Garvin writes, “To be sure, we were a fellowship of ‘unlikely thankers’.  And as we gave thanks, we came to believe that it was the way through, because it made us aware of God’s presence, and God’s abundant love for us.”

            I don’t know all the situations you and your family and friends are confronting today and this week.  Some of you may be “likely thankers”—you are healthy, family and friends are by your side, your basic needs are being met, and life is reasonably stable.  If these are your circumstances, then this Thanksgiving, as you over indulge and kick back in your recliner, recognize and remember and sing praise to God for you have drawn from the well of salvation and found abundant joy.

            Undoubtedly, some of you are “unlikely thankers.”  As we have gathered in this place, you find yourselves confronting uncertain health, strained relationships, financial insecurities or maybe the loss of someone that is dear to you.

            If these are your circumstances, I gently invite you, as well, to offer your thanks to God this Thanksgiving.  Not for the present circumstances, but for the God who promises you forgiveness, strength, and joy that will never be in short supply today and tomorrow.

            Likely or unlikely thankers, we all have reason to give thanks.

Conclusion

            Yes the Christmas season is upon us once again.  And it has come sooner than we thought it should, but it’s great that we are excited and celebrating so soon because celebrating Christmas is good and right.

            But let’s not forget Thanksgiving.  Let’s not forget that Isaiah reminds us why we must not allow the season of Thanksgiving to pass us by without so much as a nod to our Lord for the reason of the celebration we’ll have in the coming weeks.

            And let’s not forget that Isaiah tells us how we can give thanks.

            So this Thanksgiving let us remember that God comforts us even if we don’t deserve it, offers strength in moments of weakness, and permits us to draw joy from the well of salvation.

            So because of those blessings, let us, this Thanksgiving, proclaim and sing praises to the Lord, let us shout aloud and make known God’s deeds, for great in our midst is our Holy God. 

            Amen