Luke 12:13-21; 2
Corinthians 9:6-15; Deuteronomy 26:1-11
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Giving thanks
is the natural fruit of justification, trust and faith in God for forgiveness,
life, and salvation. Thanksgiving blooms naturally from a Christian, the way
plump and juicy bunches of grapes burst forth from the vine. Yet, there are
many things that will hinder a Christian from giving thanks, amongst them being
covetousness and greed.
These are no
minor sins. Indeed, God has given no less than two Commandments against
covetousness and greed, the Ninth and Tenth – three, if you count the Seventh
Commandment, “You shall not steal.” These, like all sins, are ultimately sins
against God, a transgression of the First Commandment, as the covetous and the
greedy place their fear, love, and trust in some material or worldly created
thing over and above the Creator of all things. Thus, in book two of The Divine
Comedy, Purgatory, Dante described the covetous and the greedy as being bound
and laid face down upon the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly
thoughts.
We are all
susceptible to covetousness and greed. Indeed, these were present and active in
the Garden when our First Parents desired what God had forbidden, not only to
eat the forbidden fruit, but to be their own gods, producing no fruitful
thanksgiving and praise to God their Creator, but only the fruit of sin, which
is death. We transgress the Ninth, Tenth, Seventh, and First Commandments, and
probably others too, when we are anxious and worried about what we will eat and
wear, and when we place our trust in our own works, wealth, and prosperity as
did the man in Jesus’ parable this evening.
In answer to two
men in the crowd who were disputing over an inheritance, Jesus said, “Take
care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not
consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Then He told them a parable about
a rich man whose land produced plentiful crops so that his barns were filled
and he had no more room to store his grain. After considering, the man decided
to tear down his existing barns and build larger ones to store all his grain
and his goods. Then the man said to himself, “Soul, you have ample goods laid
up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”
To our
American, independence-idolizing ears, the man’s reasoning likely sounds good,
even praiseworthy. After all, it’s his grain, his barns, his land; he should be
able to do whatever he likes with what is his. That’s the American dream,
right? That’s what we all hope to achieve in our retirement, if not sooner –
independence, the freedom to not depend on anyone: parents, children,
neighbors, government, God. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry. Sounds good,
right? In fact, most of us will be doing just that tomorrow on the day we, as a
nation, have designated a Day of National Thanksgiving. But, how many will be
giving thanks? What will they be thankful for? And, who will they be thanking?
How many will thank no one but themselves?
The rich man
who tore down his barns and built bigger ones trusted only in himself. He was
pleased with himself and thankful to himself for his own efforts. Was the land
really his? No. Did he produce the seed that grew into crops? Did he make the
rain to fall and the sun to shine that the seed might grow and be fruitful? No.
No, truly, even the man’s life was not his own, just as your life is not your
own, and that very night God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul is
required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”
Relax, eat,
drink, and be merry, for I have ample goods laid up for many years? Today, you
are more likely to hear this adaptation: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow
we die. For, this is the common tomorrow that all men face, sooner or later. Therefore,
since we will not live forever in this life as it is, and we all know that
hearses don’t pull U-Hauls – that is to say, “You can’t take it with you.” –
the question is, “How, then, shall we live?” However, this isn’t so much a
decision that you need to make as it is fruit that you will bear when you have
faith and trust in God, the Creator and giver of all things, even your life.
Better, then is the way J.R.R. Tolkien put it in The Lord of the Rings: “All we
have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
St. Paul
explains saying, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one
must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.” For, Paul continues, “[The LORD] has
distributed freely, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures
forever. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and
multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency
in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” And, the result
of this is that “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way,
which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”
This is to say
that your life, possessions, wealth, time, talents, and treasure are all precious
gifts to you of God’s most loving grace. He gives them to you to use, for
yourself and your family, and He makes you a steward and manager of His gifts
to use for others. This is, in part, how you give thanks to God for His love,
faithfulness, and providence – by being generous with His gifts, you bear the
fruits of faith, which are living proof that you love the Giver more than the
gifts. This is your confession in action of your faith in the LORD, who
graciously provides you all that you need to sustain your body and life.
No man is an
island, but we are all conceived and born into families, communities, villages,
and nations. We are our brother’s keepers, and they are ours. Recognition of
this fact does not make us socialists, but Christians. The most important fruit
that is born of such faith and trust in God is freedom from the slavery of
idolatry. Because you are a slave to Christ, you are free to live in His grace
and receive His gifts, no strings attached. Therefore, you are free to freely
share His gifts and give them to others, knowing that you are losing nothing,
for your God who graciously gives you all things will not withhold from you all
that is needful and good.
On this
National Day of Thanksgiving, we remember the pilgrims who came to the New World
with little but the clothing on their backs. After much toil, tribulation, and
suffering, they were thankful; they were thankful for the land, for food, for
shelter, for friendly neighbors, and for their own lives. They were also
thankful for freedom: religious freedom, political freedom, freedom to taxed
only with representation, and freedom to a fair trial and justice. Jesus taught
that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Indeed, because of our prosperity and
wealth, we take much for granted and falsely believe that all we have is the
fruit of our labors and rightfully ours alone. As a result, we are not
thankful, and if we give, we often do so with somewhat less than a cheerful
heart.
Well, charity
does begin at home, and thanksgiving begins at the altar. We gather here this
evening to receive God’s gifts and to offer Him thanks and praise. He
graciously forgives our sins, strengthens our faith, and gives us eternal life
that we can live and worship and share His gifts without fear of not having
enough or running out. He fills you until you are overflowing, then He keeps on
pouring and giving that you may be both blessed and a blessing. “For the ministry
of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also
overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.”
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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