Sunday, November 18, 2007

“Thanksgiving Peace”

Philippians 4:4-7

Reverend Susan Southall

Minister of Discipleship

In just a few days we will be celebrating the holiday we call Thanksgiving. Today when we hear the words, Thanksgiving Day, certain things usually come to mind: Food, gathering of family &/or friends, food, the Thanksgiving Day parade, more food, and perhaps a little football. Hopefully there is one more thing that is included in this day of feasting and fun, hopefully there are a few moments of quiet peace when we look back at the gifts of the past and give thanks for all God has provided for us. That is, after all, the origin of this day. It is the time when we remember those pilgrims who came to this country in search of a place where they could be in communion with God as they believed God was calling them to be. It is the remembrance of a sharing of cultures when different pilgrimages have intersected—a complex and difficult history. Whatever the long history may include, we can always look back and give thanks that God has been present providing guidance on both the joyful and the challenging parts of the journey.

Because of my recent travels, I will be taking a more global view of Thanksgiving this year. I will be viewing Thanksgiving Day as a day to remember and give thanks for all pilgrims who are or have been on the pilgrimage of life. I invite you to join me and to take some time this week for quiet reflection of the places we have been and the ways God has guided us on our life journeys. You see, long before pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, there were other spiritual pilgrims who landed on a rocky coastline not far from the modern day city of Kavala, Greece. These pilgrims were also searching for the place God was leading them – a place where they could worship as they believed God was calling them to worship. Because Paul and Silas found their way to that distant coastline, all of Europe would one day know the story of God’s love in Jesus Christ. Because these early pilgrims sailed westward from their homeland to the small town of Philippi, some 1600 years later there would be more pilgrims continuing to sail west landing on the coast far from their homeland continuing to worship the God of their savior, Jesus Christ. When you give thanks this Thursday or whenever you celebrate Thanksgiving Day, remember to give thanks not just for those faithful people of 1620, but also for the faithful pilgrimage of Paul and Silas many years earlier. It is the faith of Paul and Silas which landed on the coast of Europe. It is that same faith that has sustained many, many pilgrims along their life journeys – including those pilgrims who made their way to this country.

Just as we have been taught about giving thanks from the stories of the early years of the first Pilgrims in this country, so it would seem that Paul’s early years as a pilgrim in Europe have lessons for us to learn about giving thanks. Toward the end of this wonderful letter to the Philippians, Paul reminds them that thanksgiving is an integral part of rejoicing, praying, and making requests to God. He goes so far as to say that when we are able to give thanks, remembering that God is always near, we will have the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. Paul had apparently learned this from his time in Philippi and he wanted to remind his brothers and sisters in Christ that they too could have this Thanksgiving Peace.

How do we find this Thanksgiving peace? The story of Paul’s pilgrimage as recorded in the 16^th chapter of the book of Acts gives us some clues. First, we learn that we can find Thanksgiving Peace even when things don’t turn out the way we planned! This is a hard lesson to learn. We like to be in control. We like to have things go the way we want them to go. I’m sure Paul was no different than the rest of us. He had had times of success and times that weren’t so successful in his ministry. But, he always seemed to be confident that he was doing God’s work. He was a bright man who seemed to always plan ahead. But, suddenly, we can read in the early part of Acts 16 that all his plans were thwarted. Every time he tried to move in a certain direction it seems that God is stopping him. Eventually he has to set sail for a distance coast (Macedonia) which would send him off on a new adventure into new territory.

Have you ever developed a plan—a good plan, a plan you just KNOW is what God would want you to do only to watch everything seem to go wrong? It feels as though whatever you do, God is closing a door or changing the rules. Did you ever think of giving thanks in the midst such a time? Probably not! But, we can see from what happens to Paul that God had a different plan than Paul’s plan. Eventually what must have been very frustrating to Paul became a new adventure touching a whole different group of people and starting something that Paul could never imagine. So, here is our first lesson about Thanksgiving Peace…..When you are in the midst of a difficult time and things aren’t going as you planned – it’s time to give thanks remembering that God still has a plan for your future.

Once we learn to give thanks even when our plans don’t work out, it is time to learn about another aspect of Thanksgiving Peace…..Sometimes we have to find new ways to connect with God. We read in Acts 16:13 that when Paul had arrived in this new place—a part of God’s new plan—he apparently could not find a synagogue where he could pray and worship. So, he had to go outside the city and find a different group of people with whom he could pray. This turned out to be just what he needed. It was by going to this different place to pray that he met the woman who would become the founder of the first European church. She would not only give Paul a place to stay while he got started, but she provided the location for the church and was the first evangelist for her community. Her generosity would set the tone for this new church. Based on scripture, this becomes one of the most if not THE most generous church in all of early Christendom.

Have you ever been frustrated because you can’t find people who worship just like you do? Have you ever felt that people don’t sing the songs you think they should be singing or recite the creeds you want to recite? Perhaps you have even been frustrated with people who call themselves Christians but don’t act like you think Christians should act. Have you ever said that you don’t go to Sunday School or Bible Study or other small group because you have nothing to learn from being with a group of people? If this ever sounds like you, maybe it’s time to remember Paul worshipping not in a kosher Jewish synagogue but out alongside a river with a group of women. This group of worshippers may not have been what Paul had in mind when he arrived in town, but they turned out to be people with open hearts and generous spirits. They became people of great faith willing to share their faith with others. The second thing we need to learn about Thanksgiving Peace is that when we find ourselves worshipping in different ways with different people, it is time to give thanks remembering that God sees into the hearts of men and women where we do not always see.

Thanksgiving Peace doesn’t sound so “peaceful” at the beginning does it? It forces us to change and to think in new ways. But, the goal of such Peace is to bring us to a place of true and lasting thanksgiving, a place where we can recognize God’s way of working. That brings us to the third lesson about Thanksgiving Peace….We must learn how to continue to praise God at all times in all circumstances. [see Philippians 4:10-13]

You would think that things were going to go well for Paul once Lydia had invited them into her home and had provided a foundation for this new church. But, as often seems to happen to Paul, things did not go smoothly! As he continues to preach and speak God’s message, he upsets some powerful people in Philippi and he and Silas end up in prison. At this point, many of us would give up or would at least spend our time in the jail cell complaining about how God’s plan was not working out. However, this is not the reaction of Paul and Silas. Acts 16:25 tells us that about midnight they were praying and singing hymns to God. This may be the most difficult form of Thanksgiving….continuing to pray and even “sing” to God when it looks like God’s plan for your life is not going as it should. But, this is also the time when we can have the greatest witness. The scripture continues by telling us that the other prisoners were listening to Paul and Silas. And then, an earthquake occurs which gives them a chance to escape---many would see this as the answer to their prayers, but they don’t see it that way. They stay behind because they know that the jailer will get in trouble if they leave. And, through their faithful witness, the jailer comes to be baptized and joins the church – the real answer to their prayers! This also became an opportunity to speak before the magistrate and other officials in the town. Sometimes we must give thanks for a difficult situation because in the midst of such times, God is speaking to others through us.

One of the greatest theologians of the 20^th century was a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and teacher, worked as a part of the European Underground Resistance movement against Hitler. In 1943 he was captured and sent to a series of Nazi concentration camps. While this was not the plan he had for his life, he found that he could continue to be a pastor and and teach from his prison cell. He continued to hold worship services and even taught Bible studies never leaving his prison cell. In this way he encouraged many of the prisoners and German guards during those last couple of years of the war. In fact, we have some of his letters and writings still today because some of the German soldiers helped smuggle out his work to his friends. In one of those letters, he wrote to his best friend the following words,

“Please don’t ever get anxious or worried about me, but don’t forget to pray for me—I’m sure you don’t! I am so sure of God’s guiding hand that I hope I shall always be kept in that certainty. You must never doubt that I’m traveling with gratitude and cheerfulness along the road where I’m being led. My past life is brimful of God’s goodness, and my sins are covered by the forgiving love of Christ crucified. I’m most thankful for the people I have met, and I only hope that they never have to grieve about me, but that they, too, will always be certain of, and thankful for, God’s mercy and forgiveness…”

Bonhoeffer died one week before the Allies arrived at Flossenburg camp. But, he gave the gift of abundant life to many who were still alive, who went on to live the Christian faith filled with thanksgiving. I believe Dietrich Bonhoeffer understood Thanksgiving Peace very well. I believe he learned what Paul learned, that we can find so many ways to be filled with thanksgiving for God and all the pilgrims God has brought into our lives. When we find ourselves in difficult, even horrible situations we must learn to give thanks. We are not giving thanks for the bad situation we are in, but we are giving thanks because we believe that God will do great things when others come to see God’s power at work in us.

Thanksgiving Day is just 4 days away – I hope that you will do some eating and some visiting and some watching of parades (and maybe football). And, I hope that you will also take a little time to think about the faith of all those pilgrims who have gone before us. I hope you will consider how to give thanks in a deeper and more profound way. I pray that you find true Thanksgiving Peace not only on Thursday, but in all the days that follow – when things don’t go as you planned, when you have to look for God in the new way, when life if challenging.

Always remember Paul’s words… “The Lord is Near” and “the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God’s presence and God’s peace --- If you have those two things as your travel along your own pilgrim journey, then every day is Thanksgiving Day!!