Thanksgiving 1995

For those of you who don't know me very well yet, I am kind of a research fiend. I get excited about a project or a subject, and I'm instantly unavailable because I'm haunting the libraries, scouting locations, spending hours on end reading in the bathtub, and holed up with my computer.

In preparation for our new Youth Communion Service, which we have titled "The Festival of Friends," I sought out the Young Adult services of other churches, on the prowl for resources, models, and ideas.

At one of these services-at the University Christian Church at GTU-about eight of us sat around a low table ringed with candles, for a very informal service which could hardly be called a liturgy. The sermon consisted of our each taking a large sheet of paper and a magic marker and, in the words of the old evangelical hymn, we were asked to "Count Our Blessings, Name them One by One."

Now, as some of your may be aware, Kate and I have been going through a very difficult time in our lives, so getting started was rough going. The first thing I thought of is my dog Clare, who is a never-ending source of joy to me, regardless of my circumstances. Next, I wrote down "My wife."

-Now, of course I was not listing these in order of importance, although Kate may argue otherwise-

Eventually the gratitude gates burst open, and in a felt-tip frenzy, my blessings poured out over the page. Couriously, however, I noted that not all of the things I noted appeared to be all that positive at first glance. I was expressing to God, on this sheet of paper, gratitude for my difficulties, of all things, for the challenges, the pain and the occasional heartbreak that has visited my life. When I finally finished, with a list of 82 items, I was amazed at how many of the items came from God's Left hand, how many were "suprize" gifts which I would hardly have of thought as gifts at all.

Today's reading is a familiar one, and is drawn from a long section peculiar to the Gospel of Matthew known as The Sermon on the Mount. Earlier in the "sermon" we find Jesus dealing with just exactly the sort of paradox I encountered in trying to enumerate my blessings. For he was not talking to a hypothetical audience, he was talking to an occupied people, who were dominated on the one hand by the Romans, who told them they could not govern their own affairs, and the Pharisees on the other, who told them that God was far from them because the common people were not part of the elite "inner circle" of God's Pharisaical elect. On top of that add a harsh climate and all of the little mishaps that life seems eager to send our way, and you have a pretty vivid picture of the people who are hearing this sermon. And to them, Jesus is saying:

"Are you poor in spirit?" Are you depressed or disempowered?
Then you are favored in the eyes of God. You are blessed.

"Are you mournful?" Has great sadness befallen you in your life?
Then you are favored in the eyes of God. You are blessed.

"Are you meek?" Do you feel badly about yourself, and feel yourself unworthy of God's grace and comfort?
Then you are favored in the eyes of God. God will bless you!

"Are you persecuted because you do what is right?"
Then you are favored in the eyes of God. Yours is the kingdom of heaven.

None of these people felt particularly blessed by their hardships, and yet Jesus defied their skepticism, and called their hardships a blessing to them.

And when even your hardships have a flip side to them, what can there possibly be to fear? Jesus says to us "Don't worry about your life, about what you shall eat or drink, about what you shall wear. Your God knows what you need." God will not abandon you. What you need will be provided. The hardships you face will end in blessing.

I realize that I'm beginning to sound like Robert Schuller and his "Be-happy-attitudes." That's a frightening thought, so I'd like to back up for a moment and provide us with a reality check.

We all like our kitchens tidy. We all like our living rooms presentable to strangers, and our bathrooms spotless. But the truth is that our lives are rarely tidy. Our bathtubs always have a ring, and there is always something in our lives that is inconvenient if not tragic. And that is not likely to change.

But Jesus did not wait for the world to get tidy to enter into it. Jesus is not waiting for tidyness to enter your life in order to minister to you. God is found in the middle of the mud, or God is not found at all. In the recently discovered Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says, "Split the wood, and there you'll find me. Move the stone and there I'll be." It is in the midst of our ordinariness and chaos that we meet God, it is in the most difficult of circumstances that grace comes to bear. It is up to our ears in parking violations, missed appointments, sick loved ones, marital strife, and unreliable appliances that God is waiting to be noticed, that blessings are waiting to be received and that peace is available to any who will have it.

Jesus did not say "The Kingdom of God is above you," or "The Kingdom of God is beyond you," or "The Kingdom of God is in some far-off future when you get your kitchen tidy." What he said was "The Kingdom of God is amongst you," in the midst of our daily squalor, frustrations, and epiphanies.

Kate was telling me of an aquaintance she made once of a young woman who had lived a very hard life. She had had a baby out of wedlock in her early teens, and ten or so years later, she said, "The worst thing that ever happened to me was getting pregnant, and the best thing that ever happened to me was my son."

As we turn our hearts towards our families on this holiday, I hope that we can forgive the frustrations enough to see the beauty of those we love. And as we turn our minds towards those things we are grateful for, I hope that you will discover, as I did as I listed my blessings one-by-one, that God's good gifts come in many varieties, some more welcome than others, but all can enrich our souls, if we have the courage, and the patience, and the faith, to receive them.

Let us pray: Many and great, O God are thy things, Maker of earth and sky. Thy hands have set the Heavens with stars; Thy fingers spread the mountains and plains. Lo, at thy word the waters were formed: Deep seas obey thy voice.

Grant unto us communion with thee, thou star abiding one;
Come unto us and dwell with us;
With thee are found the gifts of life.
Bless us with life that has no end,
Eternal life with thee.