Text: Psalm 103, Philippians 4:4-7
“Do not worry about anything.” There is a lot of advice, a lot of instruction, a lot of admonitions in the scriptures, but if there is a word that is timely for us, it may be this. “Do not worry about anything.”
It is timely because we live in a time of worry. There is a lot to worry over. A lot of folks are out of work and others worry about losing jobs. War continues in Afghanistan and Iraq and we worry about loved ones serving in the military. We worry about H1N1 – skyrocketing sales of antibacterial gel are a sure sign of worry. All of this is addition to the usual kinds of worries we have over relationships, health, work, school, safety and security, and so forth.
“Don’t worry about anything” is timely because we live in an age of worry. “Don’t worry about anything” also sounds naïve – you would think that in order to not worry, you would have to just plain ignore reality. How could a person not worry? You would either have to not be awake or be deliberately in denial.
In writing the Philippians, Paul does not ignore or deny the situation faced by those whom he was writing. They had cause for worry. Life was hard and as Christians, a small minority religion, they faced persecution in the Romans Empire. Paul was not unaware of this. In fact, he understood exactly what he was talking about: he was writing from a jail cell. He was suffering for his faith. He knew all about hard times. But he also understood that there are prisons of our own making that can be even more daunting than those imposed upon us.
Paul had found that a life of joy, a conscious choice of gratitude, could transform worry into peace. “Don’t worry about anything. Rejoice in the Lord always. Offer prayer and thanksgiving to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Rather than being naïve, praise during difficult times is a far better way to live. No less a theologian than the actor Jim Carrey was quoted in USA Today: “I challenge anybody in their darkest moment to write what they're grateful for, even stupid little things like green grass or a friendly conversation with somebody on the elevator. You start to realize how rich you are.” A conscious choice for gratitude can change our lives.
This was the choice made by the Pilgrims at that first American Thanksgiving in 1620. They had survived a horrible year. Many of their number had died that first winter. But with the help of Native Americans, they had a successful crop and had gathered their first harvest. And they chose to have feast of Thanksgiving to God. They made a choice of gratitude.
We will be gathering around tables with loved ones later this week, eating turkey and gravy and dressing and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, or whatever variation or alternative your clan chooses to eat – I understand tofurkey is popular in some circles - and recalling the blessings we have received. We feast as a way of celebrating Gods’ bounty. Even when times are difficult and “bounty” may not be the first word that comes to mind, we can give thanks as Paul did, understanding that in the big scheme of things, we are wondrously blessed.
Thanksgiving is not a religious holiday per se, not in the way that Christmas and Easter are. People of all faiths and people of no faith can be and are thankful. But in a deeper sense, thanksgiving is the ground of all religious feeling. Thanksgiving is the heart of worship – we gather each week out of gratitude to God.
The theme of Thanksgiving is found throughout the Bible, and perhaps nowhere more so than in the Psalms. Psalm 103 is a great psalm of thanksgiving. ”Bless the Lord my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.”
This psalm, attributed to King David, begins with words of personal thanksgiving, and I think that’s where most of us begin too. If you had to make a list of what you are thankful for, where would you start? Probably with the ways in which you have personally been blessed.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,God blesses us with salvation and health and with all the good things we need. The greatest blessings may be the ones we most take for granted. There was a 60 Minutes program that featured a man in Texas who was arrested and convicted for crime he did not commit. Witnesses to the crime knew at trial that this was the wrong man. It was a case of mistaken identity, but he had been convicted anyway. The system failed him. Appeals were denied.
and do not forget all his benefits—
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
This man was a professional, an engineer. He and his wife had two young daughters. He was a model parent, an upstanding member of the community – and he was in prison. 60 Minutes did a little bit of investigating, the kind of stuff a defense attorney or prosecutor should have done in half a day, and aired this man’s case in a program. There was such a furor that finally the man was released from prison.
He was interviewed in a follow-up show. “What did you miss the most?” he was asked. He said he missed the little things that we all take for granted. Things like fresh air. Taking a walk. Being with family. American writer Cynthia Ozick says, “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”
Some of greatest things in life are things we may take for granted. The Psalmist knows this. Do not forget the Lord’s benefits, he says. “God crowns you with love and mercy and satisfies you with good.” Look around and be aware and appreciate all of the good things we enjoy in life – these are all gifts of God.
How often do spiritual blessings even cross our minds? Love and mercy and forgiveness and salvation – how often do we give thought to such things? There is a whole world of spiritual blessings that merit our gratitude. And we reminded that God’s healing is both spiritual and physical. Health is certainly something that we take for granted. When we are well, we may hardly give it a thought. When we are ill, we really value our health.
The Psalmist continues by giving thanks not only for personal blessings, but for communal blessings and thanks simply for who God is.
The Lord works vindicationFor those who feel downtrodden, we read “the Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.” For those who are hurting or lonely, we read “the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” For those feeling burdened by sin or guilt or shame, this Psalm gives words of comfort that can be a reason for thanksgiving: “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities... as far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our transgressions from us.” To those whose hurt makes them feel unloved, or those whose loss fills them with pain, we are reminded that “as a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him...the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.” Nothing separates us from God’s love, not our sin, not our pain, not the losses we must endure. There truly is reason for all of us to give thanks.
and justice for all who are oppressed.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
As a father has compassion for his children,
so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.
The steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him.
You know, sometimes the action has to come first and the attitude will follow. When we’re not feeling very thankful about life in general but we find it within ourselves to give thanks anyway, we may be surprised at how expressing gratitude can change our perspective. Ellen Degeneres described gratitude as “looking on the brighter side of the life, even if it means hurting your eyes.”
The old hymn contains a great truth: “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost, count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.”
What all of this is all getting at is that Thanksgiving is an attitude that does not simply depend on our circumstances in life. A number of years ago, on spring break working at a church in New York City, I sat in a circle during a Bible study. We were going around the circle telling something we were thankful for. Franco was a homeless person. He lived down the street from the church in a little shack he had put together out of cardboard in a vacant lot. He said he was thankful he had made it through a cold winter--some people he knew had not made it. He was thankful for this church that cared about people and made him feel welcome. He was thankful for his health. Here was a person with few of the things we think of as basic necessities of life -- yet he had a sincere gratitude that far surpasses that of an awful lot of people with big houses and nice cars and good jobs and healthy bank accounts and loving families. Thanksgiving is an attitude that does not depend on the circumstances we find ourselves in. This Psalm of Thanksgiving could be said by Franco on the street as well as it could be said by a millionaire living a few blocks away.
One writer put it this way (anonymous writer):
Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.This does not mean that we would prefer the difficulties and setbacks, but we can maintain an attitude of gratitude even in the midst of hard times. As Paul puts it, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice!”
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.
It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are also thankful for the setbacks.
The third portion of Psalm 103 is a call to praise. In light of God's blessings and in light of who God is, praise to God is to come from every living thing. Angels, heavenly hosts, all of humanity, all of creation is to praise God. We have a reason to give thanks, and we are called to give thanks. How do we go about doing that? How do we give thanks?
The highest act of praise is worship. It is in gathering together in worship that we, as a family of believers, give thanks to God. We can surely give praise to God when we are alone, but there is a uniqueness and power in corporate worship as an act of Thanksgiving. In our gathering, in greeting one another, as the candles are lit, in the music, in our singing, in the reading of God’s word and in the proclamation of God’s word, there can be an attitude of thanksgiving and gratefulness. Every act of worship can be an act of praise to God.
One of the ways we give thanks and offer worship to God is in our offerings. In Old Testament times there was an offering called a Thanks-offering. To express gratitude to God, the people would bring an offering of thanks. When we give our tithes and our offerings, we are expressing our thanks to God. We give thanks through thankful giving.
Most of you have received pledge cards in the mail. If you are newer here, you may not have received one, or perhaps you don’t have one with you – there are additional cards available in the narthex. As an act of worship and an expression of thanksgiving, we would invite you to present your financial commitment to the work of this church in the coming year as we receive our offering this morning. It is a commitment to the work of First Baptist Church, but more than that, it is an expression of thanksgiving to God, a way to “praise God, from whom all blessings flow.”
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name… Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Amen.
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