Sermon 22 November 2016 Thanksgiving Service Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Year C

     The story of the first Thanksgiving celebration in this country has been learned by countless school children. I’m not sure how well they learnt it, though, since here’s a composite of things children say about Thanksgiving. “The penguins landed in their big boat. They gave things to the ‘Nature’ Americans. They remembered being seasick a long time. They invited everybody to dinner. Then they all said thank you God.” Okay. Wrong species, but I guess the important things got remembered.

     What about our biblical story from Deuteronomy tonight? The story teaches us about the biblical tradition of thanksgiving. And, the story helps us learn how to express our thankfulness for God’s blessings. In Deuteronomy, what people do is this:

·      Giving

·      Remembering

·      Celebrating

First comes giving. You might notice in their giving, the

Israelites were told to give their first fruits to God. “First fruits” meant the finest and the best. It meant the first picking of the ripest, best looking, and tastiest of all they had grown. It is apparent God does not like the last scrapings or the leftovers.

Next comes remembering, that is, history. Who are we? Where did we come from? How did we get here? It is apparent that in the Israelites’ afflictions, God is the deliverer. And, in the Israelites’ new inheritance of the land, God is the agent who made it possible.

Finally, there is celebrating. And the celebrating is done together with both the citizens who now rule the country, and with the resident aliens. The celebration takes place for all with all the bounty God has provided.

How would our Thanksgivings be different if we followed our Israelite forbears in the faith?

·      If each year we gave first?

·      If we remembered who we are and how we got here?

·      If we celebrated by inviting those we know and the resident aliens among us?

Giving, remembering, celebrating. I think that’s what most children I talk to have in mind. It might still sound like this. “The penguins landed in their big boat. They gave things to the ‘Nature’ Americans. They remembered being seasick a long time. They invited everybody to dinner. Then they all said thank you God.”  But in the end, what children get out of the story is giving, remembering, and celebrating. So whatever way you remember is okay too. Even if it’s some version of, “The penguins landed in their big boat. They gave things to the ‘Nature’ Americans. They remembered being seasick a long time. They invited everybody to dinner. Then they all said thank you God.” Because giving, remembering, and celebrating is how we respond to God’s grace with grateful hearts. AMEN.

The Rev Nicolette Papanek

©2016