Sandra Leightner St. James United Methodist
Psalms 100 - Thanksgiving November 23, 2014
Turn in your Bibles to Psalms 100 - It’s one of the ones I memorized as a child. And like psalms 23, I memorized it in the King James Version.
But first let me tell you about an anonymous housewife who put together a list of things she was thankful for:
- For husbands, who do those little repair jobs around the house and mess it up so thoroughly that now I can call in the professionals.
For children who put away their things & clean up after themselves. They’re such a joy – I hate to see it when they leave to go home to their own parents.
For teenagers, because they give parents an opportunity to learn a second language.
For Smoke alarms, because they let me know when the turkey’s done.
And then there was the woman at the DMV, which was as crowded and noisy as ever. When I finally got to the window, I asked the clerk, “Does the never-ending line of loud people ever drive you crazy?” She shook her head. “Nope – I call it job security.” (Reader’s digest)
So what are you thankful for this holiday season? Like me, I’m sure, your list includes the big things like health, family, friends, & the freedom we have as Americans. The good life we lead here.
But even more than that, I’m thankful for Jesus Christ and for my salvation, for my church family, & the blessings that God gives me everyday. Because I am a Christian, I feel I have so much more to celebrate on Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is what led me to Psalms 100. It is the only Psalm with the Title – a Psalms of Thanksgiving. Your Bible might translate as Song of Praise. Psalm 100 is the song that was sung when the Jewish people came to the temple to celebrate the thank offering.
Psalm 100 King James Version (KJV)
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
I think everyone knows that the First Thanksgiving in America was celebrated by the Pilgrims in Massachusetts. In the minutes of the meeting, they wrote down why they wanted to have a feast. They give two reasons. The first reason was to praise God for his goodness. The second reason was because they wanted to glorify God.
But when I read the Pilgrim history of those early years, I see a people who dug more graves than they built houses, who died of cold and hunger. At one point, their daily ration of food got down to five kernels of corn per person per day. They were far from home and family, they had no money, and if they had money they had nowhere to spend it. No transportation, no hospitals, no communication, and no amusements at hand. They worked long hours and built everything they had, and grew everything they ate. They had no malls, no charge cards, no gifts to give or receive, no tinsel or trees, no table or chairs.
So what did the Pilgrims have? The Pilgrims had a love for God, a commitment to each other, and a great deal of courage and hope. It is out of that attitude toward life that caused them to invent the Thanksgiving Holiday.
Maybe if we were to really celebrate Thanksgiving, it would be less about the turkey and Black Friday and more about love for God and for our community. It would be more about having the courage to build a better world for ourselves. It would be more about facing the future with hope and walking boldly in God’s grace.
It would be nice if we could assume, that because of the example of the Pilgrims, and because today we have so much more than they had, that we Americans would be an extremely thankful people.
But it is often just the opposite, isn’t it? The more we get, the less thankful we become, the less mindful of God we are, and the more greed grows and the more community breaks apart. I’m not just talking about America now. Israel once labored as slaves in a foreign land, and they once had a God who set them free and led them safely across the wilderness to a promised land – a land where they could live free and prosper. But they also forgot God as they settled into the land. They neglected the God who had blessed them.
Maybe Psalms 100 was written to deal with that attitude, to remind us of our need to come to the temple and say thank you to God.
The Pslam begins with – Make a joyful noise unto the Lord –
A preacher named Vance Havner said, “The same church members who yell like Commanche Indians at a ball game on Saturday, sit like wooden Indians in church on Sunday. Now I don’t expect you to scream in church, but enthusiasm is welcome – from singing to responsive readings – this is our chance to voice our joy and our love for God.
In World Christian, John Huffman describes one unforgettable moment with his daughter. He had been away from home for several weeks on an overseas mission’s trip. When his airplane landed, he could hardly wait to see his wife and four children, but he and the other passengers were detained in customs for two hours. Finally the customs officials allowed Huffman to proceed to the lobby, where hundreds of people were anxiously waiting for family and friends. Huffman writes:
“There was such a press of bodies, I knew I would not be able to pick my children out until I walked up the ramp, past security, and got out into the open. But my three-year-old daughter, who had managed to squeeze her way to the front of the crowd, began screaming at the top of her lungs, “Daddy! Daddy! That’s my daddy!” She must have shouted that at least five times, when suddenly she broke free from the crowd, and bolted past the security guards, still yelling, “Daddy! Daddy! That’s my daddy!” She literally flew into my arms and began kissing and hugging me. What a welcome! I have never felt so loved and acknowledged in my life. It was a wonderful, fulfilling moment that even today brings a warm and happy feeling.”
That, says John Huffman, is what God feels like when we come to church excited to see him.
Verse 2 Serve the Lord with gladness – You all have been in restaurants, and you know that the attitude of the waitress can change how you experience your meal. A friendly helpful waitress makes the food somehow better. A bad waiter can cast a shadow over the whole meal.
If bad service can cast a shadow over a restaurant meal, how much more can a bad attitude overshadow the turkey and stuffing we enjoy at home with our families - Far better to bring gladness to the table.
At church our friendly faces and warm handshakes make all the difference in the worship service. When churches feel cold, it changes the entire experience. Far better to enter with gladness.
Verse 3. It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves.
There is book called Flowers of History written by a monk in the 13th century about current events of his day, and he tells a story about the Emperor Henry. It was the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and the emperor was out hunting with his companions when he got separated from them. Seeing a church near by, he made for it, and pretending to be a soldier, requested a mass of the local priest. Now that priest was a man known for his kindness, but so deformed in person that he seemed a monster rather than a man. When Henry saw the priest and his deformed body, the emperor began to wonder exceedingly why God, from whom all beauty proceeds, should permit so deformed a man to administer his sacraments. But presently, when mass commenced, and they came to the passage, Know ye that the Lord he is God, it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves, the king was struck in his heart by these words. God had made this deformed body, but filled it with kindness and service.
The story goes on from there but too often we are dissatisfied with how God made us – but God is our maker, he has given us our talents, our abilities and life itself. And as a friend of mine likes to say – God does not make junk. Within each of us is the image of God. Perhaps part of thanksgiving should be thanking God for our own marvelous creation.
Verse 4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Those are our instructions about how to come to worship on Sunday. It’s with a heart ready to worship.
Raymond Edman was a missionary, President of Wheaton College, and a friend to countless Christians. Dr. Edman once preached a personal anecdote. It involved his meeting with the king of Ethiopia some years earlier. In order to have an audience with the king, he had to observe strict protocol. If he didn’t meet and follow through on each criterion, he wouldn’t be judged worthy of coming into this King’s presence. Dr. Edman then drew a parallel with attending church on Sunday.
Here at church today - “You have an audience with the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.” Did you prepare yourself for your audience?
Dr. Edman asked if we truly comprehended the awesome act of worship. During worship, we hope to meet God. We prepare ourselves for this moment by coming with thankful hearts.
This holiday season, let us bring a new attitude to what we do and say to those around us. The Pilgrims were poor in the material goods of this world, but they were rich in spirit. The Jewish people, like us, had a time set aside for giving a thank offering to the Lord and they came prepared to praise him and to rejoice.
5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Amen