Sermon manuscript:
If there hadn’t been this latest surge in cases, we might
have thought that we were getting back to some kind of normal. As it is, case
count have gone up significantly not just in Iowa, not just in red states, not
just in the United States, but throughout the northern hemisphere.
In light of this, the governing authorities have recommended
that we all stay home for Thanksgiving. And so we can just add this to the list
of things that we thought would never happen. Before this pestilence came upon
us, I never would have thought that Christians would be prevented from
gathering in churches for Easter, and yet, so it was. Now many families won’t
get together for Thanksgiving—at least not in the same way as we are accustomed
to. Who would have thought?
But Easter was not cancelled this year. Every element of
Easter worship was fulfilled this year as it is every year by those who are
Christians. For true worship is nothing other than faith. And most assuredly
there were Christians on Easter believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of
God, who rose from the dead. Even without meeting in large numbers or in the
way that we normally do—even without receiving the sacrament that day—nothing
was missing from the celebration of Easter for those Christians to whom faith
in Christ has been given. For Jesus says in John 6 that his flesh can be eaten
and his blood can be drunk by faith. Those who believe that his flesh is the
living bread from heaven, and that whoever eats this bread will live forever,
most assuredly have what Jesus says, because Jesus doesn’t lie.
As it was, Easter went on an involuntary diet. Lots of stuff
went by the wayside. There were no large scale Easter egg hunts. There were no
large scale ham dinners. But everything that was essential for Christian
worship was there, for you have been given the promises of God concerning
Christ. True worship is nothing other than believing that God’s promises in
Christ are true. This is pleasing to God, when we honor Christ, by believing
what God has said about him.
One of the ways that trying times, such as the ones we are
living through, can be beneficial for us is that it reveals what is essential. When
all the niceties go away, what does it mean to be a Christian? What is
necessary for the Christian Church to survive?
The answer, again, is faith. When Peter identified Jesus as
the Christ, Jesus told him that this confession is like a rock. Even the gates
of hell cannot prevail against a Christian’s confession that Jesus is the
Christ. Not this Sunday, but the Sunday after, you will hear Jesus say in the
Gospel reading that heaven and earth not only might pass away, but most certainly will pass away. And yet, Jesus says, his word will never pass away.
This is a very practical matter. It is applicable to times
like ours when things are done differently than they normally are. Wherever
there is faith in Christ, you may be assured that everything is going to turn
out just fine sooner or later. Or even if we are not dealing with these large
scale events, but quite personal tragedies and evils, the same applies. If you
are sick unto death, and it’s hard to breath, and there’s little hope that you
will recover, so long as you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior,
all things will turn out right. Heaven and earth will pass away, but Jesus’s
Word will never pass away. And he says, Whoever is baptized and believes in him
will not perish but have eternal life.
This means you are not dependent upon living forever in this
world in order for you to be happy. Jesus will make you happy at that time that
he has already predetermined for you. You are not dependent upon not getting sick
with this virus in order to be happy. Any one of us could get this virus,
regardless of how careful we might be. Is all lost if that should be the case?
Or if we do get the disease, is our happiness dependent upon recovering and
surviving?
If that is the way that we think, then we are not
Christians. Whether we should die of this disease or in some other way, Christians
believe in the happiness that has been promised to us. We know that our
Redeemer lives. Even if this skin should be destroyed, nevertheless, in our own
flesh we will see God. We will see him with our own eyes.
Now we’ve arrived at Thanksgiving, and it is likely that our
plans have changed. It is likely that our festivities have gone on an
involuntary diet. We might not be cooking for a crowd. We might only be cooking
for one or two. So is Thanksgiving cancelled? No, it’s not. At least for
Christians it is not. For Christians this holiday is about giving thanks to
God. It is not first and foremost about family gatherings, just as Easter is
not about Easter eggs. This virus does not prevent you from giving thanks to
God. In fact, this virus might just burn away the dross so that we learn
something about giving thanks as Christians.
For many, giving thanks is a matter of counting your blessings.
That is to say, “Just look at all the stuff I have!” What we can learn from
Paul, in particular, is that we can be content and give thanks regardless of
what situation we might find ourselves in. His little letter to the Philippians
is sometimes called the epistle of joy because it is practically bursting with
praise and thanksgiving. But as Paul himself says in that letter, he is writing
the letter in chains. He’s sitting in prison as he writes. And yet he says, “Rejoice
in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!”
Or in another place he says, “We boast or rejoice in our
sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, endurance produces
character, and character produces hope. And hope will not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who
was given to us.”
It is natural and easy to be on top of the world when
everything is going splendidly, and to be down in the dumps when things are
going poorly. It is natural and easy to set our sights merely on the things of
this world, as though our happiness may only be located in our earthly
happiness. It is something else to set your sights a little further out, to the
life of the world to come—to be far sighted instead of short sighted.
When we are far sighted we might very well recognize that
the suffering which God places upon us is for our eternal good. It might make
us quit believing in an idol that we especially cherished—idols that have no
power to save, even though they might give us a great deal of pleasure in this
life. By being deprived of what we might otherwise want, we might be taught
about what is really essential. What does it mean to be a Christian? How can I
be sure of my salvation? These are by no means small questions. Learning the
answers to the questions in the school of hard knocks leaves a much deeper
impression than learning them in confirmation class.
Plus we might learn in a new and deeper way, the everyday
goodness of God that we so easily take for granted. We wicked sinners are so blind
to the goodness of God that practically the only way we can learn about the
goodness of something is when it is taken away. We don’t know the goodness of
health until we become sick. We don’t give thanks for the sunshine until we’ve
had to endure weeks and weeks of grayness. In the midst of all the disruptions
caused by this pestilence that God has sent upon the earth, we might recognize
what otherwise was taken for granted.
Speaking for myself I can say that I took for granted the
ability to gather in person for worship. Meeting in the sanctuary on Sundays
ran like clockwork until it didn’t. I took for granted that I could have Bible
studies whenever I wanted and anybody who wanted could join them. These were
effortless and abundant. I don’t think I ever once gave thanks for them. We
don’t know a good thing until it’s gone.
But all things work together for the good of those who love
God. With the lessons of 2020 our eyesight has been adjusted. It seems to me
that we as congregations have not been harmed by what has happened. By and
large, I think our people have learned to pray. We’ve learned to put not our
trust in princes.
As the hymn goes: “Trust not in rulers, they are but mortal;
Earthborn they are and soon decay. Vain are their counsels at life’s last
portal, When the dark grave engulfs its prey. Since mortals can no help afford,
Place all your trust in Christ, our Lord. Alleluia, alleluia!”
As members of a congregation, I think we better know what we
are about. We better know why we are here. These teachings—and these teachings
are by no means small teachings—couldn’t have been better taught than through
the bitter experiences of this year.
So Thanksgiving has not been cancelled. If anything,
perhaps, it has been sharpened. When other things fall away, there’s a better
chance for us to really get it, for we are not distracted by other things. O
give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good. And his mercy endures forever.
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