November 23, 2008
Rev. Kip Gilts

           Thanksgiving.  Most of us grew up with this holiday.  We grew up knowing the right way to celebrate the holiday.  It was modeled for us before we could talk and we learned the rules without ever having to be told.  Then something happened.  For some of us the venue changed, for some of us the death of a matriarch or patriarch shifted everything around, and for some of us we fell in love and wandered into someone else’s Thanksgiving.  This was my story.  I never realized there were so many Thanksgiving rules until I was an outsider – a prospective in-law.  No one told me the rules – I had to learn them.  I share them with you now knowing that there are college students who may be “meeting the family” this Thanksgiving.

·         Rule #1 – Arrive on time.  Even if they tell you it is a Thanksgiving Dinner, it may be a breakfast that begins at 10:30 or 11:00.  I actually challenged this rule insisting that I not eat Thanksgiving Dinner before noon.  It took me nearly 25 years to win the battle and even at that, several people would be eating on the stairway when we walked in.  After all, rules are rules.

·         Rule #2 – Do not sit in Pa’s chair, and if he said, “You don’t worry about that, you sit right there” this was just a pleasant formality that meant absolutely nothing.  Even if Pa was OK with it, the subtle usurping of power from the outsider would not be tolerated by the family.

·         Rule #3 – Every family has the designated pray-er for the Thanksgiving Dinner.  Be careful with this one, because a question may be asked, “Who wants to offer today’s prayer?” and an unsuspecting guest could volunteer to do so.  Trust me, this has already been determined years before you came on the scene.  Just stand still and let the well-rehearsed drama unfold.

·         Rule #4 – During this meal, more than any other meal, there is to be a litany of apologies for the food by whoever happened to prepare the food.  The turkey was too dry, the dressing tasted flat, the fruit salad was too weird, the rolls were too hard, and the list is as long as the menu.

·         Rule #5 – Each apology is to be met with a chorus of praise.  “This is the best turkey ever.” “You really outdid yourself with this dressing.” “Oh my, these rolls could not taste any better in heaven.”

·         Rule #6 – The guest is not to take control of the remote, unless the host has not only insisted, but left the room.  This means if Lawrence Welk is on and the family is gawking at the dresses washed out by film that is 48 years old, or ignoring the distraction, or slipped into a tryptophan induced sleep, it is against the rules to gain control of the clicker and tune into the Detroit Lions game.

·         Rule #7 – The Thanksgiving good-bye is longer than most Texas good-byes.  Plan your exit with this in mind.  If you need to leave by 4:00, begin to say good –bye no later than 3:15.  Nothing prompts more questions about your life like than the words, “Well, we have to leave now.”

Of course, these are not universal rules.  Every family has their own, but trust me there are rules.  You will know this soon after breaking one.  There are, however, some universal rules for Thanksgiving.  These rules if followed faithfully will assure that you will have a Happy Thanksgiving.  They are found in the fourth chapter of Philippians, verses four through seven.  Hear now the Word of the Lord:

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

This is the word of God for the people of God.  In this passage Paul encouraged his audience to adopt an attitude of gratitude.  Let us pray.

I wonder how and when the expression, “Have a Happy Thanksgiving” came into being.  The holiday itself had a difficult time getting started.  There was a feast in 1621, a fast in 1623, annual celebrations here and there until the late 1770’s when the Continental Congress suggested a national holiday.  George Washington declared a day of Thanksgiving in 1789, but not in 1790.  Finally in 1863, Abraham Lincoln set the fourth Thursday of November as the National Day of Thanksgiving.  It took over 240 years before it caught on as a national holiday.  But when did the phrase, “Have a Happy Thanksgiving” begin being expressed and what kind of guarantee came with it?

I am not sure I can find the answer to the first part of the question, but I believe in this passage from Philippians we find the rules that guarantee that you will have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Rule #1 – Have a Happy Thanksgiving by focusing on what you have.

The Philippians were an amazing group of people.  This was Paul’s first church to establish in Europe.  He once went to Philippi on his mission to collect funds for the church in Jerusalem who had come on hard times.  When he got to Philippi he discovered they were as impoverished or more so than those in Jerusalem.  He planned to leave without asking, but when they got word of his mission they wanted to participate in it.  After all, they were part of the body of Christ.  If others were participating in this, they would want to do so.  Paul told this story to the Corinthians, an affluent people who had begun to hesitate in their generosity.  Now Paul was in prison and his audience was experiencing even harsher times with persecution as well as poverty.  How does an imprisoned apostle encourage a persecuted people?  By reminding them to focus on what they have.  He told them to “rejoice in the Lord always”.  Now it is careful to hear closely what Paul was saying.  He did not instruct them to be glad that they were poor or oppressed.  He told them to rejoice in the Lord.  Their joy was to be based on their relationship with God, on the promise that they are never alone, on the assurance that God was always with them and concerned for them.  They are told to focus on what they have.

This is what struck me when reading the reports from Africa and listening to Linda Marr’s account.  The people of Cote d’Ivoire are impoverished and extremely vulnerable to malaria and other deadly diseases.  The life expectancy is 54 years, the unemployment rate is 40-50%, and the infant mortality rate is ten times higher than in the US.  My guess is that Linda would have never known this in the worship service last Sunday, which I understand lasted more than two hours and included an offering which was the high point of the worship service. One of the participants wrote of this offering, “there was glorious singing and dancing, true joy with which all the people came to the sacks at the front of the church to share of their blessings from God.”  It sounds like a service of Thanksgiving, in which everyone focused on what they had and even the opportunity to give that.   

Now let me warn you, there are many people and spiritual forces that are not all that keen on this idea.  They want you to focus on what you have lost or what you don’t have.  They want to report on the economic downturn.  One of my friends, my age, was crying on the phone the other day, because of what they had lost in the recent plummet of stocks.  I am not going to tell you that Wall Street will rebound next week, next month, or next year, but I am going to tell you that you have a lot.  You have family, you have friends, you have finances beyond what most of the world can dream, but most of all you have faith in a God who assures you of his care and his presence.  Rule #1 - Have a Happy Thanksgiving by focusing on what you have.

Rule #2 – Have a Happy Thanksgiving by not worrying about what you lack.

Paul threw around a lot of universals, all inclusive terms, in this short passage: “Rejoice in the Lord always…Let your gentleness (patient endurance) be known to everyone…Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  It seems like these are not instructions for just one day a year, but imperatives for a way of life.  They were not to worry about anything.  Earlier Jesus had taught his hearers in Matthew 6:27 that worrying never really helped a whole lot.  It never extended life a single hour.  Today’s doctors will tell you that it actually does just the opposite – it shortens life.  Of course, there is also that notion of distrust in worry.  If I tell you that Tammy and Debbie will make sure that you have the Advent Devotional Booklet in your hands next Sunday, and you worry about it, there is a slight distrust in these two capable people.  Paul was not writing about a couple of capable servant leaders, he was writing about God.  Place your requests there, at God’s feet, and don’t worry about them.  God can handle it.  In fact, do it with such confidence that you offer these request, every one of them, all the time, with thanksgiving.  One commentator noted that the lack of gratitude (according to Romans 1:21) is the first step to idolatry.

Most historians seem to agree that the first official Thanksgiving was in 1623, two years after the famous feast in which the 53 surviving pilgrims, were joined by 90 Native Americans to celebrate the first significant harvest on this side of the Atlantic for the Pilgrims.  The 1623 Thanksgiving was in response to a drought.  Governor William Bradford declared a day of fasting and prayer as the people took their request to God.  Shortly thereafter rains came and crops flourished.  November 29, 1623 was declared by the Governor as a Day of Thanksgiving.  Again Chief Massasoit was invited along with his family and about 120 braves.  There was a severe drought, but Bradford knew that all the worry in the world was going to bring a drop of rain.  Taking these request to God with thanksgiving was the better course.

It is so easy to focus on what we lack.  It is easy to look around the Thanksgiving Table and focus on who is not there.  It is easy to pick up the 22 pound newspaper filled with ads of things you would like and know you can’t afford and sink into a Thanksgiving Day funk.  It is easy to worry about how you can get everything done by Christmas.  Don’t take the easy way – not this year.  Don’t worry about anything, but take everything to God.  Rule #1 – Have a Happy Thanksgiving by focusing on what you have.  Rule #2 – Have a Happy Thanksgiving by not worrying about what you lack. 

Rule #3 – Have a Happy Thanksgiving by resting well in God’s peace.

I love the image that Paul creates for his readers in verse seven, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  The word guard is the Greek word, phrourēsei, which literally means to stand sentry.  One of the Greek Lexicons defined it in this way, “to guard, protect by a military guard, to prevent hostile invasion.”  This is an image of God’s peace marching back and forth, guarding our hearts and our minds from any attack from the enemy who would love to disarm us by worry and fret.  This is the Grinch of Thanksgiving that desires to spoil our holiday by troubling our minds and disturbing our hearts.  God’s commitment, however, is to stand guard 24/7, marching to and fro, with his peace. 

Several years ago, my brother, a U.S. Air Force veteran, sent me an e-mail about the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.  I went to the official website to verify some of what was in this e-mail and I was amazed.  The sentries spend 5-hours every day getting their uniforms ready for the next day’s rounds. Their shoes are modified slightly so that the soldier’s steps are even and undisturbed.  21 steps he takes to the left (alluding to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary).  The soldier then turns toward the tomb and stands at attention for 21 seconds.  He then turns toward the right, shifts the rifle to the outside shoulder, counts 21 seconds and marches to the right, 21 steps.  He turns toward the tomb and stands at attention again for 21 seconds, turns toward the left, shifts the rifle to the outside shoulder and waits 21 seconds.  The soldier will continue “walking the mat” until his relief comes.  The tomb has been guarded in this way every minute of every day since July 1, 1937.  The soldiers march in rainstorms and blizzards, with approaching hurricanes and in the sweltering heat, when thousands of tourists are passing by and when no one else is around.  They are on constant watch.

Paul wrote the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind, in Christ Jesus.  This word “guard” is just that.  God’s peace is a sentry “walking the mat” guarding your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.  After all, if American soldiers will go to those extremes to protect the remains of the dead they do not know, how much farther will God go to protect the living hearts and minds of the children of God?  If you get this, really get this, you ought to sleep quite well this Thanksgiving.  Rule #3 - Have a Happy Thanksgiving by resting well in God’s peace.

So this Thanksgiving Day there are sure to be lots of rules, some that you know about and some of which you will only become aware when you violate it.  In the midst of these rules I submit to you three rules to have a Happy Thanksgiving.

·         Rule #1 - Have a Happy Thanksgiving by focusing on what you have.

·         Rule #2 – Have a Happy Thanksgiving by not worrying about what you lack.

·         Rule #3 - Have a Happy Thanksgiving by resting well in God’s peace.

People of God.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving!  Amen.