Deuteronomy 8: 1-10: “The whole commandment that I command
you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and
go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your
fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your
God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble
you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you
would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and let
you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your
fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread
alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your
clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know
then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your
God disciplines you. 6 So you shall keep the commandments of
the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. 7 For
the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of
brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and
hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and
pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land in which you
will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose
stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 And
you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for
the good land he has given you.
If New Year’s is about making resolutions for the future,
then Thanksgiving is about remembering the past. Turkey, stuffing and stories
get passed around from person to person. While the platters and gravy boats get
emptied, the stories get filled out with new details and embellishments. Some
of the stories are as old as grandparents and great-grandparents and
great-great-grandparents. Others are as new as what happened in the kitchen
this morning. You can relive the past year simply by looking down the row of
chairs at the table. Where grandma once sat, a new daughter-in-law now sits,
uneasily. One cousin moves up to the Big Table while a toddler leaves the high
chair at the Big Table to take that spot at the kids’ table. For some, the
dining room is squeezed to capacity. For others, it’s now a Styrofoam container
from a restaurant, eaten next to an empty couch in front of a TV show. The gray
hairs, the children’s laughter, great-grandma’s dinner set, and grandpa’s
secret pie recipe, the quiet rooms – they all contribute to the story, each
with their own thread in the narrative.
But for the person who has no memory, or who doesn’t know
where he or she comes from – they have a difficult time giving thanks. The
reason is that that person doesn’t know what to be thankful for or whom to
thank.
So, Moses sets out in Deuteronomy chapter 8 to help remind
us whose we are and where we come from. He wants to help us remember. It’s a
short sermon – just a couple verses long – with its theme as remembering. Over
and over, Moses will repeat it to the Israelites – Remember the Lord. Remember
and do not forget!
Think of these words of Moses in Deuteronomy as a
grandfather who is telling the old family stories, again. You hear him speaking
again tonight, although long dead, he speaks through Scripture. You hear Moses
saying, “Remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you.”
You belong to the Lord. This is what the Lord has done for
you: He sent you a prophet greater than Moses – Jesus Christ, His Son – to
deliver you by His death and resurrection. He brought you out of slavery to
sin. He rescued you from the reign of death and the devil. He drowned your
enemies in baptismal waters and called you to be his people. He has led you
year after year thought the wilderness of this life, a land in which you are a
pilgrim and a stranger. Remember.
But thanksgiving isn’t just about a recitation of facts. The
mental exercise of recalling names and dates might be good enough to pass a
high school test, but it certainly isn’t going to do for thanksgiving. I might
know all about 1621, the Mayflower Pact, Squanto, Plymouth Plantation, and
William Bradford but no one will say that just telling the story is remembering
thanksgiving. Remembering Thanksgiving involves the whole person: making a
pilgrim’s hat or bonnet out of construction paper, make a turkey from a
hand-print, phone calls to family members distant, a forkful of pumpkin or
pecan pie, loosening the belt a notch or two and hugs and kisses as family
parts company until the next time. A proper remembrance of Thanksgiving
involves the whole person, not just the mind.
So, when Moses says “remember,” he doesn’t just mean recall
the story. He wants your entire life to be one of remembrance, for you to
remember the Lord with your heads, your hands, and your hearts. Through Holy
Baptism, you are a member of the heavenly Father’s family and you now remember
the Lord your God by living as His Child. So, remember by living as His child.
Now, that’s an interesting idea. To be a child means first that you receive
what your parents give. You live in their house, you eat at their table, you
call to them when you’re in need, and you enjoy the goods and belongings that
are theirs. So also for you who are children of God in Christ Jesus. In this
place you remember who and whose you are. This is your Father’s house; this is
His table. You call him Father and you speak to him as dear children to their
dear father.
This is not a one-time thing. This is your life as a child.
You remember the Lord by receiving more from him – more forgiveness, more
salvation, more blessings showered more abundantly than you can ask or imagine.
You give thanks, for His delight is in you – to provide for you and to answer
you. He does this not only here, in His house, but also at your house as well.
Your roof, your bed, your refrigerator, your turkey and stuffing and potatoes –
they are all from His hand.
He gives and you receive. And, as you receive, you remember
who and whose you are: God’s beloved child in Christ Jesus.
At present, though, you are still living in a fallen world.
That means that there is hunger and sickness and sadness. Some tables have less
this year than last year; some tables hardly have anything. For some, instead
of loosening the belt, their belt is tightened a notch. For some, instead of
rejoicing in bounty of twenty-pound birds and twenty-dollar pecan pies, there
is rejoicing for just enough, a buck twenty five frozen dinner, or even a
peanut butter sandwich. For some, the empty spot at the table is almost
overwhelming and the silence is loud.
If this is you, my friend, do not let the devil lie to you
and tell you that this is a sign that God is displeased with you, or that he
has abandoned you in your need. Your God, who loves you enough to save you into
eternity, is with you in your suffering. He knows your pain and sorrow and
hunger. And, because Jesus suffered once and for all for you, you can know with
full confidence that God has not abandoned you to suffer forever. If this is
you, then I encourage you to remember – not just with your mind, but with your
entire being – remember that whatever you have, even the little, is from His
Fatherly hand. Remember you are His child, even when life is hard. Remember to
fear, love and trust in Him for He is good and gracious. Remember that you do
not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from His mouth. You
have enough – maybe just barely – but the Lord does provide.
The best remembrance that a child can give to his parent is
to copy what the parent does. To be a child of God is to imitate him – to
forgive as he forgives; to love as He loves. Remember the Lord by living as
Christ to your neighbors, by loving and serving those who are around you. You
remember the Lord by inviting a widow or widower to your Thanksgiving table;
you remember the Lord by calling a shut-in whose family is unable to visit; you
remember the Lord by giving to food pantries and toy drives; you remember the
Lord by telling someone “Jesus does love you.” You remember the Lord when you
copy the Father’s actions and show that you are His child.
We are always in danger of forgetting who we are. In
spiritual matters, as in the rest of life, we are prone to be forgetful and
have selective memory. But Thanksgiving makes us pause, stop and remember. And
Moses helps jog our memories. He reminds us of who and whose we are: the Lord’s
people, purchased by the blood of Jesus. Remember this by receiving His gifts.
Make the sign of the cross. Listen to His Word preached. Open your Bible at
home. Come to His Table to eat the feast of Thanksgiving that He has prepared.
Remember who you are by living as one who is redeemed by Christ the Crucified.
Remember it with your heads, hands, hearts, feet, ears and mouths. With this remembrance and thanksgiving, go forth,
pick up your platters, tell your stories, pass the gravy and enjoy all the
blessings the Lord has given you.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
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