J. Douglas Dortch, Jr., Ph.D.
First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, FL
“Thankful For What?”
Thanksgiving Sunday
Scripture: Dueteronomy 8:10-18
November 18, 2007
Our world is an emptier place for the tragic death some months ago of the editorial cartoonist Doug Marlette. Marlette, as you may remember, worked for a season with the Tallahassee Democrat, but I was introduced to him first through his “Kudzu” cartoon, and its protagonist preacher, the Reverend Will B. Dunn.
In one of the cartoons, the youthful Kudzu is sitting on a hilltop with Reverend Will, and they are apparently in the throes of a terrifically deep discussion on the topic of gratitude. The preacher speaks in the first frame: “Remember the old saying, son: ‘I complained because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.’” And in the next frame the young Kudzu responds with one word, “Heavy!” Then Kudzu tries to carry on the discussion along the same lines by saying, “You know, preacher, I complained because I had no call waiting, until I met a man who had no cell phone.” The preacher is not impressed, and in the last frame we read the despondent thought that the preacher is thinking to himself. “I weep for the next generation.”
We all like to think that our generation is more grateful than the ones who have gone before us or the ones who are coming behind us. But the fact of the matter is that every generation is afflicted with the trait of ingratitude. It seems to be “hard-wired” in our DNA.
Much of that ingratitude stems from our excessive pride – from our belief that we are essentially responsible for everything good that has come our way. Bart Simpson prayed the prayer for far too many of us when in one episode he prayed, “Lord, my dad earned the money to pay for this food, and my mom worked for hours to cook it, and what did you do?”
Our biggest problem is that we have short memories. The abundance we enjoy has dulled our brains so that we have lost perspective as to the source of our blessings.
So teaches the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is one of those books that people sometimes trip over in their efforts at reading through the Bible. The codes and commandments sometimes seem outmoded and irrelevant to a postmodern people. But the truth is that the book of Deuteronomy is one of the very best Bible books for people to be reading today, because Deuteronomy is the book that reminds us of the immeasurable value of taking time away from our everyday obligations and responsibilities to reflect upon how far we have come and how much we have been given. Deuteronomy is one of the very best Bible books for people to be reading today, because it calls us to remember. “Be careful not to forget,” this passage warns us.
Moses has called the Children of Israel together. They are far removed from the bondage of Egypt and are on the east side of the Jordan River, waiting to enter Canaan, the Promised Land. The journey has been tough, but God has been faithful. In his power they have defeated aggressor nations. In his power they have weathered droughts and famines. In his power they have managed to get around snakes and scorpions, which from the way the Bible describes it was as common as fire ants and armadillos in these parts, but obviously far more dangerous.
Now they are days away from entering into Canaan – a land flowing with milk and honey, a place of plenty that will make them more materially secure. But will they be better in the fullest sense of that word? The answer to that question, according to Deuteronomy, depends on how consistently they remember God.
There is peril to prosperity, that peril being that when we are in a safe and secure place, we are prone to developing a serious case of spiritual amnesia.
Once upon a time, a man found himself in the midst of a terrible storm. The man prayed to God, promising God a sacrifice of 20 oxen if God helped him to survive the storm. As the storm quieted, the man thought to himself, “Why be so foolish as to give oxen? Why not give nuts?” But on the way to offer the nuts, the man became hungry and ate the nuts. So, he ended up offering the empty shells as his sacrifice.
If you’re honest with yourself, there have been times when you’ve walked that path. There have been times when you’ve pleaded with God for divine assistance. And when that assistance came, unmerited and undeserved, your desperation gave way to complacency, and before you knew it, God was the farthest thing from your mind.
What the book of Deuteronomy is reminding us is that we always live, as the Reformers spoke of it, coram Deo, “before God.” In other words, God’s provisions don’t wax and wane; they don’t come and go. They’re not provided every now and then. God’s provisions are always at hand. It’s just that after a season of satisfaction, we too often get prideful and pompous and delude ourselves into thinking that maybe we didn’t need God’s help that much after all.
Jesus taught about this temptation in his parable of the Wedding Feast. Someone gave a great dinner, Jesus said, and he invited many people. When the time came for everyone to gather, those who were well-positioned began making all kinds of excuses. “I’ve bought a piece of land and I need to go check it out.” “I’ve bought some livestock and I’m going to try them out.” “I just got married and so I can’t come.” So what will the master of the house do? He will go to his servants and say to them, “Go out at once out into the streets and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame…. For I tell you that none of those who were invited will taste my dinner” (Luke 14:15-24).
It’s not so much that Jesus was against people who bought property or livestock or against people who got married. It’s more the case that Jesus knew that is only the desperate who will open their hearts to the wellsprings of God’s mercy. We must get in touch with that part of ourselves that is desperate in order for God to do what only God can do.
I think it was Barth who once said that the gospel is not a natural “therefore” as much as it is a miraculous “nevertheless.” It’s not the result of a well-planned, well-executed life as much as it is the staggering and transforming message that “God loves us exactly the way we are, and God loves us too much to let us stay that way” (Ann Lamott, as quoted in The Christian Century, 1/9/07, p.5). And when you are on the receiving end of that message, your heart never ceases to be thankful and your mouth never fails to give praise.
How good is your memory and how thankful is your heart? How much in awe are you of all that God has done in your life and all that God has provided?
There’s nothing as inspiring to me than the testimony of a new Christian. Time hasn’t dulled their enthusiasm and crustier Christians haven’t yet robbed them of their joy. There is an innocence to their faith that shames those of us who, quite frankly, have been around the spiritual block enough times to have lost all our “marvels.”
That’s why I love the story a friend of mine wrote about that had to do with an announcement in a church bulletin that the Lord’s Supper would be celebrated the next Sunday. A new Christian with no church background saw the notice and called up the church office. “I have two questions,” the new Christian said. “Am I invited and how much will it cost?”
If you’ve forgotten the answer to those two questions, then this Thursday won’t hold any real meaning for you at all. But if, on the other hand, you remember, then every day is Thanksgiving and every moment an occasion for praise.