November 20, 2022 – Thanksgiving Sunday
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Colossians 1:11-20; John 6:25-35[1]
Thanksgiving is
more than the festivities, the feasting, or the football games on TV. It gives
us time to ponder what lessons we have learned and how we can spread happiness to
those around us. It is an opportunity to look back at the great memories and good
people who have come into our lives. I am thankful for this congregation and I
want you to know that I appreciate you. Happy Thanksgiving Day to you and your
loved ones.
Many of us have
traditions around thanksgiving. Some of us gather food for the less-fortunate.
Some participate in “Turkey Trots”. And some just try to be kind in little
ways. One way I try to honor the holiday is to say “thank you” more often. I recently
read a story about the power of just saying “Thank you” to someone.
Yareli worked as a janitor in a small company for many
years. Being a janitor is a pretty thankless job, which many of us might
consider as a “dirty” job or at least pretty far down the totem pole. In other
words, Yareli often felt like she was invisible.
One day, the company changed owners. Within a few
days, the new owner wrote a personal thank you card to every employee in the
company. An assistant went around to each employee and handed them out.
When Yareli received and opened her card, she burst
into tears. She asked if she could be excused from work. Thinking she was sick,
the assistant allowed her to leave for the rest of the day.
The next day at work, the owner found Yareli and asked
if she was alright. She said she had worked there for over twenty years, and she
had never received even a verbal thank you from the previous owners - much less
a personal card. She was really touched by the card expressing appreciation for
her work.
Yareli had been thinking the change of ownership was
probably a good time to quit and find another place to work. She had planned to
give her two-weeks-notice that previous day. Because the owner had taken the
time to send a thank you card, she felt – for the first time – that someone
cared.[2]
When we think
about what we are thankful for, most of us will have a long list. Much of that
list may be material things, but I’m sure that our lists also will hold many
names of people who have touched our lives. As you think through the names on
that list – family, friends, teachers, janitors – is one of those names Jesus?
I’m not trying to shame you or make you feel guilty. I admit that I don’t
always include Jesus in my list of thankfulness. But when things fall apart,
when I start to drift away from my center, I need reminding that there is One
in whom all things hold together (C. 1:17). There is One who empowers all my
acts of kindness and gratitude. And I am thankful, truly thankful, for Jesus.
We have the
experience of living in a community and culture that is largely Christian.
While there are certainly disagreements about just how to be a good Christian,
what we believe about Christ, and how we live our faith, we are all generally
pulled in the same direction. That was not the case for many people in biblical
times, particularly those who lived in the near-east where many cultures bumped
up against each other, and many philosophies from near and far vied for
attention.
Colossae was
one of the most celebrated cities in the western part of what is now modern
Turkey. A significant city from the 5th century BCE onwards, it had
dwindled in importance by the time of this letter from Paul. The town was known
for its variety of competing religious influences. Cosmic forces and unseen
spirits were understood to be everywhere, and the Christian community was
drifting away from their new faith. Paul writes to them to try to re-center
Christ in their lives.
As we heard in
our reading, Christ is not merely another choice in the marketplace of
philosophies, but the center-point. Christ “is before all things, and in him
all things hold together” (C. 1:17). The people may believe that they have to
appease these other spirits lest they fall into disease or poverty. Paul
reassures them that in Christ, “all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers”
(C. 1:16). These other things may cause you to worry, but as Christians we must
remember that Jesus Christ is our connection to God who rescues us from the
power of darkness, and reconciles all things.
For us, following
Jesus is not supposed to be one task competing with others, not just something
we think about on Sunday morning, but the way in which we live our whole lives.
There are certainly plenty of powers competing for our attention, from
materialism and greed to struggles for power and prestige. What Paul is telling
us here is that we aren’t subject to these other powers. We belong to another
kingdom, “the kingdom of [God’s] beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins. (C. 1:13).
When you read
the letter to the Colossians, you’ll find that it is filled with love,
encouragement, and reassurance. Are you struggling with the fears and forces
that pull you every which way? Are you weighed down by all of the suffering,
brokenness, and sin in the world? All of it, and all of us are gathered up in
Christ, who is able to hold all of us, to heal and comfort and restore. God’s
house is big enough to shelter everyone and everything. In Christ, “all the
fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to
reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace
through the blood of his cross” (C. 1:19-20).
As we gather with
family this Thanksgiving Day, to share a meal together and give thanks for all
the people and things on our lists, we can be thankful for what fill us up. Not
just the meal, though you may be filled, or over-filled, by that. Not just the
fullness in our hearts from the presence of loved ones. We can be thankful that
we are also filled with the true bread from heaven (L. 6:32). We can give
thanks for the constant presence of Christ in our lives.
I believe that
there are many ways to experience the Lord’s Supper. It can be on the first
Sunday each month in church. It can be at home watching a worship live-stream.
It can be the meal shared in Fellowship Hall. And it can be the family
Thanksgiving dinner. There, at the table, we give thanks, break the bread, and
share it together. If we are intentional about it, we can encounter “the bread
of God… which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (L. 6:33). “Jesus
said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be
hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty’” (L. 6:35).
Let us pray.
God, we are thankful. Fill us with all the fullness that comes from your
glorious power. Prepare us to endure everything with patience, while joyfully
giving thanks to you, who have enabled us to share in the inheritance of the
saints in the light. We give thanks today for Jesus Christ, the bread of life. Amen.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of
the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2]
Adapted from “Gratitude Story about a Janitor” on https://www.thank-your-stars.com.
