Thankfulness

Introduction

The hymn Now Thank We All Our God [1] which we sung before the Gospel reading represents a spirit that has become exceptionally rare in the Western Church. This song was first sung in the city of Eilenburg during the Thirty Years War; a city overrun by armies, crowded with refugees and afflicted by pestilence and famine so severe that the pastor who wrote this hymn was burying up to 50 people a day. Somehow the Christian people of that little city were filled with an unconquerable spirit that refused to stop praising God. The Spirit of God was filing their souls with the resurrection life of Jesus so that no evil could destroy their thankfulness (cf. Rom 8:31-39).

That was 400 hundred years ago, but we are living in an era of intensifying ingratitude, an “age of entitlement” where people think they deserve the good life. The many stresses, anxieties, depressions and discontents of modern Australia are largely the fruit of our culture’s unwillingness to acknowledge that every good thing comes from above (James 1:17). Praying in the Middle East years ago I sensed that our nation suffers from a “spirit of deprivation”, no matter how good our weather, economy, political peacefulness…it is never enough[2]. This negative spirit is not only in the world, often the people of God find it easier to complain rather than pray, to gossip rather than to bless, to dwell on the past rather than to believe God for the future. Jesus died to cleanse us from such attitudes (Eph 5:4; Col 3:13). To understand why we struggle so much to thank God for all his benefits we must go back to the beginning (Pss 103:2; 116:12).

The Failure of Thankfulness

When Paul describes the origin of evil in Romans 1 he points to ingratitude as the basic sin of humanity; “For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (vv. 20-21 ESV). Adam and Eve were aware that their own lives, their marriage and the natural world were a gift from God. But the greatest gift of all was their relationship with their Creator; it was the gift of fellowship with God that was tested by Satan. The temptation “you will be like God knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5) opened up the possibility of absolute independence, of not owing God anything. If they could become equal to God Adam and Eve reckoned they would have no reason to thank him. The expression “Thanks For Nothing” sums up well the sinful ungratefulness that plagues humanity.

Despite their deliverance from Egypt Israel grumbled in the wilderness, grieved the Holy Spirit and were refused entry into the Promised Land (Num 14:26-30; Isa 63:10). It was no different in Jesus’ day. When he healed ten lepers at once only one turned back to give thanks (Luke 17:11-19). The New Testament puts the negativity of bad language in direct opposition to a spirit of thankfulness; “Don’t use dirty or foolish or filthy words. Instead, say how thankful you are.” (Eph 5:4). These sorts of things should prick our consciences.

Here is a penetrating story from a preacher of another generation[3]. A pastor was visiting a young Christian girl suffering curvature of the spine and who lived in a Phelp’s box. A Phelp’s box looks like a shallow coffin and children with curvature of the spine used to be strapped to one, as nearly flat as possible. Her box was by the window and she said to the minister: “In this position I can only look up. On those nights when I can’t sleep I play with the stars.” “How can you play with the stars?” he asked. “I pick out the brightest star I can find and say “That’s Mummy” I pick out another bright one and say, “That’s Daddy.” I find a twinkling one for my brother, my puppy, my spinal pram…” and on and on she went. Nothing seemed forgotten. Then she concluded with this: “But there aren’t enough stars to go round!”  The sermon ends with these cutting words. “There aren’t enough stars to go round! Go home you thankless people, and count the stars!”

I am not sure I have ever met anyone who appreciates how much pain our ingratitude causes God. Shakespeare puts this lament in the mouth of King Lear, ‘How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.’  Our heavenly Father is cut to the heart by our ingratitude (Gen 6:5-6)! Only Jesus can make us truly thankful people.

Jesus and Thanks

The crowds that followed Jesus commonly broke out into praise to God because of the wonderful miracles he was doing (Matt 9:8; 15:13; 21:16; Luke 18:43; 19:37). Jesus pointed to the power of the Spirit of God as the cause of the mighty works that released spontaneous thankfulness; “if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matt 12:28 ESV). When the apostles return with news of miraculous deeds done in his name, Jesus ““rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; “”(Luke 10:21). Wherever the Spirit of God releases the power of the kingdom God to restore what has been lost to sin, Satan and death there will always be thankfulness. The greatest work of the Spirit in Jesus’ life is the cross.

As the Last Supper concluded the Lord sang a hymn as part of the Passover liturgy. This was one of the Hallel psalms, literally psalms of “praise” (Pss 113-118 Matt 26:30). What was going on inside of Jesus so that on the verge of the betrayal, suffering and death of Gethsemane and the cross his heart was full of thanks? The author of Hebrews gives us the answer, “by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice” (Heb 9:14). The Spirit of God testified to Jesus that something was about to happen that despite all its crushing pain was so eternally wonderful that the Father deserved all praise (cf. 2 Cor 1:8-11). This conviction seems totally contradicted by what happens next.

Jesus cries out in a loud voice from the cross, ““My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Mark 15:34). Despite all appearances the suffering of the cross is putting an end to anything that could ever stop us thanking God. With unforgettable directness Luther unwraps for us what was happening to Jesus, ““All the prophets of old said that Christ should be the greatest transgressor, murderer, adulterer, thief, blasphemer that ever was or ever could be on the earth. When He took the sins of the whole world upon Himself, Christ was no longer an innocent person. He was a sinner burdened with the sins of a Paul who was a blasphemer; burdened with the sins of a Peter who denied Christ; burdened with the sins of a David who committed adultery and murder…. In short, Christ was charged with the sins of all men, that he should pay for them with his own blood.”[4] He must become for us the very opposite of his nature, he becomes that ungrateful child whose mouth is shut to the praise of the heavenly Father (2 Cor 5:21). The pain this causes Father, Son and Spirit is indescribable.

Yet the Spirit who took Jesus to the cross raised him from the dead and took him to heaven (Rom 8:11). Today Jesus’ heart is overflowing with thankfulness at the victory he has achieved in the Spirit’s power over all the evil which crushes humanity (cf. Ps 45). The wisdom and goodness of the Father’s will have triumphed forever. The memory of an earthly life that includes misunderstanding, betrayal, desertion, torture and death cannot dampen the overflowing thankfulness of the S/spirit of the Son of God (cf. Rom 14:17). The unconquerable resurrection happiness of Jesus is the foundation for the irrepressible happiness of the Church.

Overflowing Thankfulness

Hebrews explains how Jesus is active in our worship today; “I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation/ekklesia I will sing your praise.” (Heb 2:12). Jesus is present with us by the power of his Spirit to help us thank the Father. Paul writes to the Ephesians, “be filled with the Spirit, [addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,] giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:18-20). The New Testament is filled with constant thanks for other Christians; repeatedly at the start of his letters to even the most difficult churches Paul says, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you,” (Rom 1:8; 1 Cor 1:4; Eph 1:16 etc.).We are exhorted to “give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:18 cf. Eph 5:20). It is a humanly impossible thing to thank God when we are in pain, that’s why we are exhorted to a “sacrifice of thanksgiving/praise” (Pss 107:22; 116:17; Heb 13:15).

I often find myself called to do something I don’t feel like doing. I learnt long ago that if I start to thank God for what I must do my feelings undergo a remarkable transformation. The Bible is clear, “just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. ⁷ Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” (Col 2:6-7 cf. 1 Thess 3:9). “you will overflow with thankfulness.”; any church and any follower of Jesus can become an outstanding beacon of thankfulness.

Thanks in Tribulation

My sister used to have on her fridge, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” But it is impossible for Christless people to say, “When the going gets tough, the tough get thanking”.  Thankfulness in the midst of tribulations is not some shallow emotional state it is the Spirit’s testimony to a lost and dying world that he has raised Jesus from the dead. The issue is clear, to live in the fullness of the Holy Spirit is to live a life of thankfulness, to mouth discouragement and ingratitude grieves the Spirit and makes such a triumphant mode of living impossible (cf. Eph 4:29-30).

Jesus remedy for false accusation was the exhortation,““rejoice and be glad”” (Matt 5:11-12). When beaten and imprisoned, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25 ESV). History is full of such testimonies. How are such things possible?

In a passage dedicated to something few people enjoy, the sacrificial giving of finances (cf.2 Cor 9:7), Paul provides us with the key to this entire subject of thankfulness. “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (2 Cor 9:15 cf. 8:2; Luke 2:38). The wonderful gift is not my life, my spouse, my family, my friends or even going to heaven, it is the gift of Jesus. The greatest gift of God is God’s Son. Christians are people whose greatest desire is to become like Jesus. Becoming like Jesus means we have to live like Jesus, as the Lord became perfected through suffering (Heb 2:10; 5:9) so must we. Paul reminds the Philippians, “it has been given to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,” (Phil 1:29 ESV).

The first believers who sung that marvellous hymn, Now Thanks We All Our God, knew that as they offered up a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God Jesus was in their midst, the power of the Holy Spirit was amongst them and they were being made fit for eternity. As they walked together through the valley of the shadow of death they experienced the unconquerable resurrection Spirit of the living Christ so that their hearts overflowed with gratitude (Ps 23:4; cf. 84:6).  God is setting a choice before us today that is unmistakable.

Conclusion

A few weeks ago I met with the leaders of a church in Hong Kong whose redevelopment programme will have then off site for up to four years. Those attached to the history, heritage and furnishings of the building had began to grumble. I explained to them that the shift out of familiar surroundings is always a journey into the wilderness to be tested by God (Deut 8:2). Today will elect a new parish council and are about to embark on a major building programme that will have us out of this building for some period of time.

Many will be tempted by the devil to complain, put God to the test and grieve the Holy Spirit. For some the temptation to remember old disappointments, the limitations of previous priests and past problems with the diocese will prove irresistible. I must warn you, the ungrateful can never enter the land of promised blessing (Heb 3:11, 19).

Today is an opportunity to decisively, once for all, to leave behind the negativities of the past and to look ONLY to Jesus and our future with him together (Heb 4:6-7; 12:2). The Spirit beckons us for the sake of the crucified Christ so desire to live a life of thankfulness whatever the cost. Humanly such a life is impossible, but by the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead it is possible (Rom 8:11).

In a moment we will celebrate The Eucharist, eucharist is the Greek word for thanks. As we share together in the church’s great thanksgiving for the death and resurrection of Jesus we are called to a life of thankfulness, not simply individually but together.