Eve of National Thanksgiving
Jesu Juva
“Goodness in Action”
Text: Psalm 107
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father,
and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The
Psalm that we sang this evening was a rather lengthy one. But I will tell you that it could have been
longer – much longer! For when you are
listing out the things for which to give thanks to God, it is a long list. And that is when you only list the things
that we can think of . . . there are also the things that we forget to give thanks for, and then also the things that God does in our
lives that we do not think to give
thanks for. The things
that seem to us to be bad things, unfortunate things, things that we would
rather not have in our lives. Even these, the Psalmist reminds us, are
things for which we should give thanks.
And
so the first verse of the Psalm sets the stage for the entire Psalm – and so it
is the verse that we used as the antiphon, singing it throughout: “Oh
give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His love endures forever!” It is the word love in that verse that is the key, for it is a Hebrew word that is
rich in meaning, and so it is often translated in many different ways: love,
steadfast love, kindness, goodness, mercy, compassion, favor, benefits, and even
beauty. And its meaning includes all of
them! It is what God is, for He is all
those things. Luther’s definition of
this word was a good one too. He explained
it as meaning “goodness in action.” (Luther’s Works vol. 49, p. 50) And that is what
God is for us: goodness in action, in all things.
Now
it is true that we do not always see
or recognize that fact, that in all
God does He is “goodness in action.” But that does not make it any less true. . . .
We heard in the Old Testament reading that the forty years of wilderness
wandering the children of Israel had to endure was to humble them, and it was good. For when God humbles us, it is so that we
might learn to rely on Him and Him alone.
And in the midst of that wandering, they were not without God’s love and
care, as He gave them manna, meat, water, clothing, and protection. . . .
We heard there also of God’s discipline, and that it is good. For
when God disciplines us, it is so that we might learn not to love sin and walk
in ways that are hurtful to us; ways that lead away from Him, for He is leading
us to a good land, a Promised Land, a Heavenly Land. And if left to ourselves and our own devices,
it is a land we would never see. But
God, in His love, does what is necessary for us – as hard as it may be! That we might receive His
promises. And it is good. All of it, goodness in action.
We
then heard in the Epistle that we should “not be anxious about anything” –
which implies that there will be things that happen in our lives that could (or
will!) make us anxious! But that for these things, we should give thanks. For despite appearances, it is good; goodness in action. .
. . And then in the Holy Gospel, when
the ten lepers cry out to Jesus for help, what does He do? He first sends them away! An act which to the eye makes it seem as if He doesn’t want to be bothered with them. But the reality is just the
opposite – it is good; goodness in action.
And
so the thing about God’s goodness and love is that it so often cannot be seen. Perhaps it can best be described as like an
iceberg. What we see, that actually looks like God’s goodness and
love, is only a small part of all that He is doing in us and around us. The majority of His “goodness in action”
cannot be seen – indeed, may not even (as we have been considering) – may not
even look like goodness, but something out to sink us! But
faith knows that it is good; God’s good; all of it. Or, to quote Luther again, in commenting on
Job – a man who knew a thing or two about God’s goodness, even in the midst of
trouble – “He did not simply look at the
evil, as would-be saints do; he kept in sight the goodness and grace of the
Lord. . . . We are also to look at our misfortunes in no other way than that
with them God gives us a light by which we may see and understand His goodness
and kindness in countless other ways. Then we conclude that such small
misfortunes are barely a drop of water on a big fire or a little spark in the
ocean.” (Luther, Ibid.)
And
where this is most true and certain for us is the cross. For there, to the eye, is no good thing. There is only trouble and humiliation and
defeat. But faith knows that the reality
is the opposite. That the cross shows
us, like nothing else, God’s goodness in
action. God’s
goodness in offering up the life of His Son in our place. God’s goodness in providing for us what we
needed most of all – the forgiveness of our sins. For the love of God is more than just hanging
clothes on our backs, stuffing food in our mouths, putting bigger and better
roofs over our heads and more presents under our trees! The Hebrew word has it right – it is much,
much more than that. It is love than
knows no bounds. It is love that does
not do what is easy, but what is hard.
It is love that loves enemies and sinners, and trades His life for
theirs. It is love that suffers and
enters the jaws of death. It is love the
likes of which we see only pale imitations of in this world, which is perhaps
why it is so hard for us to understand. But that does not make it any less true! That is what makes it godly.
You
know, as people gather around tables all over the country to give thanks
tomorrow, many will give thanks for the turkey, who gave its life so that we
may eat. And after we eat it, the
typtophan in the meat will make us drowsy and we will fall asleep. . . .
But as we gather here tonight, around the Table of our Lord, we give
thanks to the Son who gave His life so that we may here eat His body and drink
His blood. And this meal does not put us to sleep, but in fact just
the opposite! It raises us from the
sleep of death and gives us a new life. A new life of godly love.
A new life that will last forever. A new life where we do not
give thanks just with words, but with deeds. Loving as we have been
loved. Forgiving
as we have been forgiven. Goodness in action. Because that is who He is, and that is who
you are in Him. And that is truly a
reason to give thanks!
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen.