Thanksgiving

This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day so I thought that it would be good to spend a little time reflecting on what it means to give thanks. And to guide these reflections I'm going to use something from a Psalm.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 136.1

Thank You

This week we are going to renew a holiday. People across our nation are going to be getting together to give thanks. And that's a good thing to do. We have received much good from our Creator, and it is only fitting that we all say, 'Thank You', in response. Doing that will, however, be a bit more difficult for some. There are many reasons for this, but let me focus on just one. It will be a bit more difficult for some because what used to be their home no longer exists. A tornado blew it away. And that may have also taken away someone they loved. For that reason - and lots more for other people - this Thanksgiving Day will be more difficult. But while that's true, the command of God to all of His people still stands. We are to give thanks.

To help you to understand a bit better what this giving of thanks is about we're going to look at one particular place in Scripture where this command is given. This is from Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

What I'm going to do is explain this by using three questions: what, why and how. 

Giving Thanks

Luke 18.9-14

The giving of thanks is at the heart of what it means to be someone created by God. It is a basic expectation that God has of all of us. We can see this in Paul's letter to the Romans as he makes his point that all people are sinners. 'For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him...' Of all the things to point to as clear evidence of our sinfulness Paul includes the failure to give thanks to God. It really is that serious. And so, one sign that salvation has actually invaded a person's life is that he is thankful to God.

Now, the ability to give thanks is not just a matter of flicking a switch. It's not that once someone is converted the thankfulness light bulb is on and shining as brightly as it might. The ability to give thanks to the Father is something that must develop. It's a process, just like every other aspect of sanctification. So, part of learning how to follow Jesus is learning how to give thanks. The goal of this morning's sermon is to help you in that process. We are all at different places when it comes to our sanctification, our becoming like Jesus. But it is my hope that what I have to say this morning will help all of you to develop this aspect of your relationship with your heavenly Father.

Let's look at someone who gave thanks. Let's look at the Pharisee in this parable of Jesus. There is much for us to learn from him. The first thing that I'd like you to notice is that everything that the Pharisee said is true. His prayer is accurate and honest. He isn't an extortioner, unjust, or an adulterer. And he wasn't like that traitor to Israel who collected taxes for the Roman occupation forces. The Pharisee spoke the truth. And then, consider his religious practices. I recently read something from Psalm 119 that fits here. 'You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.' You want diligent? This Pharisee was diligent in keeping God's Law. The Law required that he fast one day each year. But he shows his desire to be diligent in this by fasting much more than that. And the Law only required that some of the produce of the land be tithed. Again, wanting to be diligent, he went beyond that requirement. So our Pharisee friend not only speaks the truth about himself, he also shows great zeal for the Law of God. And then, to top it off, he acknowledges that he is doing as well as he is only because of God's kindness. Did you notice how does he begins his prayer? 'God, I thank You...' This is a prayer of thanksgiving. What we have here is this Pharisee in the Temple offering up a great prayer of thanks.

So, why do we dislike him? Our almost automatic response to him is negative. It's almost always that way whenever we encounter a Pharisee in the Gospels. Why is that? What's wrong with him and his prayer? Well, he's a Pharisee. And we all have learned to think of the Pharisees as the bad guys. If this were an old western, the Pharisees would wear the black hats. So, whenever we read 'Pharisee' in the Gospels we quickly think 'bad guys.' But they weren't all evil. You need to remember that Nicodemus was a Pharisee. Another reason we dislike this Pharisee is that he is the negative example in this parable. But why is he that? What exactly is wrong with his prayer? Would it be wrong for any of us to offer a similar prayer of thanks? 'Thank you, Father, that you have kept me from falling into the serious sins that have snared so many, bringing such harm to them and others. Thank you for the pious habits that have been established in my life, Bible reading, prayer, Sunday worship, things which I diligently pursue.' Is that such a bad prayer? It doesn't seem so. But there must be something wrong with it. It is, after all, the negative example in the parable.

It's here that we take the next step. And it begins with this assertion. If someone wants to develop his walk with Jesus, he needs to consider what's going on in his heart. This is all about the importance of self-examination. We can't just look at the outside, at our behavior. We need to consider what is going on inside also, within our hearts. But - and getting this is essential - to do that well you need to know what you're looking for. If someone had asked our Pharisee friend, 'So, how are you doing Spiritually?', what do you think he would have answered? I think that he would have responded with something like, 'Oh, I think that I'm doing pretty well.' But he'd be wrong. I suspect that he would have looked only at his behavior. But let's assume that before he answered that question he had, in fact, taken a look at his heart. If that were the case, he didn't do a very good job. Jesus said that only one of the two men of the parable went home justified - and it wasn't the Pharisee. The giving of thanks is key to a restored relationship with the Father, but that calls for more than just saying the right words. It's also a matter of what's going on in the heart. If a person isn't careful, he can be fooled like the Pharisee.

Now we're ready to consider the tax collector. Jesus includes him and his prayer as a contrast to the Pharisee and his prayer. The tax collector's prayer is simple, yet so profound. 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' Let's take this apart to see what makes this a prayer to be imitated. I have four thoughts here. And they all relate to what's going on in the tax collector's heart.

First, the tax collector had a deep sense of his sinfulness. This man knew that he was approaching a very holy God. And he also knew that he had no business doing such a thing. He was, after all, a great sinner - and he knew it. His awareness of his sin shows in several ways. For one thing, he was standing far off. Remember that the significance of the Temple where these men were praying was the Holy of Holies. That's where the special presence of God resided. So, instead of coming up as close as he could, our friend finds an out of the way corner somewhere in the back of the room, and there he offers up his prayer. He feels his sinfulness, so he does not dare to get too close lest he offend the Holy One of Israel. There is another indication that he understood the seriousness of his sin. He would not even lift up his eyes to heaven. From Psalm 123: 'To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us.' The lifting up of the eyes is a look of eager anticipation and expectation. But the tax collector does not lift up his eyes. His eyes are cast down. You see, he is ashamed of himself, deeply ashamed. He cannot look up. He dare not look up.

Do you see what's happening? We are seeing the man's heart. By his actions he reveals to us what is going on in there. Just by watching him we know what he is thinking. 'What an offense I am to Your majesty, O God. I don't deserve to be in the same universe with You. You are the Holy One, and I am such a sinner.' Here is someone who knows about his sin.

That was my first thought about this prayer, his awareness of his sin. Now, the second. He knows what his great need is. He is a sinner in need of forgiveness. Now, you'll notice that I've separated his sense of need for forgiveness from his awareness of his sin. And there is a reason for that. We are too quick to jump from awareness of sin to a request for forgiveness. To the extent that someone makes that jump quickly, to that extent he is centered on himself. 'I'm a sinner. Quick, God, forgive me!' This person is only thinking about himself. But isn't such self-centeredness just another expression sin? Sometimes people can sin by rushing too quickly to the request for forgiveness. We need to remember that the worst thing about being a sinner is not that we might go to hell. The worst thing about being a sinner is that we have offended the holiness of God. Our need of forgiveness is important, but it is of secondary importance. The prayer of the tax collector is a God-centered prayer. First, there is awareness of his sinfulness. By itself. The focus is on the offense to God's holiness. That's why he stood far off and dared not raise his eyes. Then, and only then, does he move to express his need of forgiveness. And how does he express that need? 'But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying...' Again, we see the heart of a man expressed in his actions. What is this 'beating of the breast'? This is how someone in that culture would express deep remorse. Deep remorse. The man is expressing his repentance. He sees his sin. And he hates it. 'Such vileness! How ugly! What an offense to God!!' Here is true repentance. True repentance always precedes forgiveness. And it is about to lead to that here.

Something remarkable has happened. This man has expressed so much of his heart, but we have not yet heard one word! Words can be cheap. Don't be fooled by them. The heart is more clearly revealed not by words but by actions. The man has been praying by his actions for quite a while. It's only now that he adds words. And what does he say? 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' Such brevity and yet, such profundity. Powerful, honest, God-honoring prayer does not have to be long. Did you see how he defines himself? It's as if he were saying, 'If you take all that I am and boil it down to the bare essentials, all you'd find is my sin. I am a sinner. Not some decent person with a few flaws. No! A sinner. That is who I am and what I am, and nothing better than that.' His plea to God then makes complete sense. He understands himself as someone without any resources to deal with his sin, without any goodness to appeal to and thus persuade God to act, without anything to commend him to God. And so, what can he ask for but mercy?

My first thought was about his sense of sinfulness expressed in a God-centered way. My second thought was about his sense of need, the need of forgiveness, and how he went about pleading for it. Now, my third thought is about being his being humbled. Jesus describes the tax collector with an epigram. 'For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.' The tax collector humbled himself before God. Now, please understand. Being humbled before God doesn't mean that you hate yourself or that you generate some long list of negative traits to present to him. Humility is simply the fruit of acknowledging the facts of reality. And that's what the tax collector was doing. 'Lord, I am a sinner, and I am in desperate need. My only hope is that You are a merciful God.' Being humbled before God is simply being honest with Him. And if nothing else, the tax collector was certainly honest with God.

All this leads to my fourth thought. Jesus said, 'I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.' The language of being justified is just a technical way of talking about being restored to the Father. When the tax collector left the Temple, he went home blessed with the smile of his God. The fruit of being justified, of having your relation with the Father restored, is always the same. It's all about joy in the Spirit and peace of conscience, the assurance of God's love and so many other blessings of the Gospel. And to this Jesus adds the promise of an amazing life in heaven. '...the one who humbles himself will be exalted.'

So, back to the Pharisee's prayer. What was wrong with it? Why was it such a poor example of a prayer of thanks? The problem wasn't with the words. The problem was with the heart that offered the words. The attitude of his heart was all wrong, and the example of the tax collector revealed that. The point to take away is not that when you pray your heart needs to be expressing the same things that the tax collector's heart was expressing. The point to take away is that we need to be aware of what's going on in our hearts, especially as we pray. We live in a superficial age, and it is easy for us to follow that lead. We need to be careful here. It is important for us to give thanks to our God. He really has been very good to us, and we all have room to grow in this. Part of where we need to grow is in the area of understanding and dealing with our hearts. This is another reason why I love the Psalms so much. What are they but beautiful words backed up by hearts that are engaged as they reach out to God. There's nothing superficial about them.

So, let me urge you to consider some things. First, consider this whole area of giving God thanks. It really is that important. Then, as you do that, consider your heart. Consider what's going on in your heart as you offer your prayers of thanks. Ironically, the way to growth here is not by trying harder, but by praying about it. As the Spirit points to an area of weakness, respond by asking to be changed right there, and then watch what happens. As you do all of this, your life with the Father will flourish and blossom. And you will enjoy the fruit of joy, confidence, peace and more. And that will just give you more to be thankful for.