Blessed Thanksgiving to you in Jesus Christ!
A couple of weeks ago before our Sunday Bible Class we recited the 4th petition, and I thought, this would be good to review for Thanksgiving…so let’s do that. Please open your hymnals to page 324 or go by memory and you can follow along.
Give us this day, our daily bread.
What does this mean? God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people, but we pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
What is meant by daily bread?
Daily Bread includes everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house home, land, animals, money, goods, a devout husband or wife, devout children, devout workers, devout and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, ser-control, good reputation, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like…. Of course, this list of earthly needs and wants which God provides of His bounty could go on and on.
And speaking of lists that is one of our Thanksgiving Traditions is to go around the table and each one of us in our family is to speak a short list of things that they are thankful to God for. Of course, it is not exhaustive, because if we had to, we probably could never list everything that God provides because there is always more that we are not even aware of. That is kind of what the explanation of the 4th petition is: a reminder that God is the source of All the good in this world. The list is humungous as to what He provides for our earthly needs…not only to you and me and all believers, but He even provides it to evil people, to unbelievers. He is just that generous and loving even to His creatures who won’t acknowledge Him!
But what else is the point of this prayer and explanation? It is to not only to be overwhelmed at God’s generosity and say: “wow!” The point is not to think that the point of the 4th petition is that we can or should ask for anything and everything from God as though we would encourage covetousness or envy. As though it is ok to make another kind of list: a list of what “I wish you would give me God”, this is what I want, what I think I need, what would help me believe in you.
As we ready to celebrate this National Day of Thanksgiving, where hopefully we acknowledge and give thanks to God for all His blessings, we all know that the world has been and will increase its encouragement toward covetousness and envy. What do you want for Christmas? Look at these sales! Here are some things that you don’t have, that you didn’t even know you wanted until these sales, but you want them now, right? We only have so many or there is a time limit. So start planning during Thanksgiving or earlier, or earlier, for all the black Friday sales going on throughout November and beyond!
The church makes a list of what God has provided, the world makes a list of what you must provide for yourself. The church assures you that you are not defined by your material ownership, the world says that you are defined by what you own or do not own, that you are missing out unless you pursue what everyone wants. God through His church declares that you are His treasure and He desires that you be grateful and desire His gifts and His love. And with salvation in Christ along with simple food and raiment, we can be therewith content, the world declares that you can and should never be content with what you have; that greater treasures must be pursued, worked for, stolen, grabbed, and there is no end to the madness.
Why is there this madness? Unbelief. A loss of humanity and perspective comes with a lack of faith in the true loving God. Unkindness, bitterness, greed, envy, covetousness, wrath, lust, and all the cardinal evils of the original fallen flesh will be the ultimate motivation of humanity, without God’s love in Christ. Unbelievers have no hope beyond this world, so they madly pursue what they can here. They do not believe in a God who provides, but that they must provide for themselves or they will be victimized by “missing out”.
Then we too, are tempted, What do you have to be thankful for? Things are hard. Look at what God “hasn’t” provided. Why kid yourself? Live for the now. Challenge God, make that list of “gimme or else I won’t believe”. Or ok, just this one day, be thankful, while keeping one eye on the advertisements. Get busy, working, planning, rushing, stressing, the other 364 days of the year. Oh dear friends, brothers and sisters, this is the handiwork of Satan whispering madness to the flesh.
The 4th petition points out that God is generous according to His will and mercy. We should give thanks tonight and tomorrow, but not only then. “We pray in this petition that God would lead us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.” We can and should be “Thanksgiving” every day. Not only for our daily bread which provides only for our bodies. But we can and should be thanking God because He has provided that which gives true life to these bodies now and forevermore. We need this grace more than any other gift. Though we do not probably give thanks daily for all these daily spiritual and material gifts, we certainly “daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment”.
So we rejoice that God provides even physical gifts even for unbelievers, and those unworthy, because we too, are unworthy and all to often live and believe as those who have no hope beyond this life. But we do.
God in His infinite mercy has provided a sacrifice, so that we may be pardoned. This is of course, God giving of Himself, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, was sent to live in complete trust, faith, and obedience during His earthly life. Giving thanks always to His Father before His feeding miracles, Yes even when instituting the greatest and most important Thanksgiving meal: the Eucharist. He who was going to be treated most unfairly, gave thanks to His Father. He who was to be crucified as the innocent Lamb of God, gives thanks that He can and would redeem the world by His flesh given as in the bread, and the pouring forth of His flesh as given in wine. This meal which brings us the very gift of Christ’s all atoning sacrifice which is forgiveness of sins, life and salvation, is rightly called the Eucharist. Which is the giving of thanks for God’s good gift. God has provided a Savior, and now He spreads a meal for us to give thanks to Him approaching as forgiven ones for the sake of the server and the one served Jesus Christ.
We indeed have so much to be thankful for. Through Jesus Christ, death is overcome, our sins are forgiven, we have life in His name. We have been washed in Holy Baptism and given His righteousness to celebrate His victory for you and me. And yes, He also provides all the other things that our bodies need and usually many of our wants too. Let us daily and many times throughout the day, return to Christ in prayer and thanksgiving praising God for all His benefits: His gifts of daily bread and the bread which comes down from heaven so that we may have eternal life in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.
Pr. Aaron Kangas