Giving Thanks during a Pandemic

"Giving Thanks during a Pandemic"

Pastor Jerry

Luke 17:11-19

 

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This is the year of the coronavirus pandemic. Do you think we are living in unprecedented times? The answer is actually “NO!” no we are not. The world was going through this same kind of experience 100 years ago with the so called “Spanish flu.” On Thanksgiving more than a century ago, many Americans were living under quarantines, and officials were warning people to stay home for the holiday. Dozens of cities across the U.S. implemented mandatory face mask orders and curfews and locked down. A newspaper ran an article that said, “Thousands dead since March. Cities in lockdown. Vaccine trials underway.” You see more than a hundred years ago Americans found themselves in a similar predicament as do the millions today. So, how are we going to celebrate Thanksgiving this year? Celebrating during a pandemic is weird. And I know there’s a lot of people like me who are going to be so grateful for 2020 to be over. It is easy for people to become bitter and frightened in these circumstances, and many will question God. But as much as this year has been challenging, it’s also can teach us how we can be a lot better. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–17) God’s Word tells us of a better way: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” These verses give us actions that will enable us to overcome the worst circumstances. There’s a lot to give thanks for, too, even when we’re going through difficult times. God is with us, and He is in control. Each and every day, we have the opportunity to turn to God in His Word to be uplifted and refreshed even when the world around us seems to be closing down. Through the faith that God gives us, we know it is God’s will that we rejoice in Him and seek His peace in the midst of this virus pandemic. Thankfulness is so much more than a comparison of our own situation to someone else’s. Thankfulness is a state of being and a way of life, and we usually fail to live in a state of thankfulness because we take it for granted. In this morning’s Gospel reading, Luke shares with us the account of one leper who did not take his blessing for granted. First of all, being thankful is not only expressed through prayer and public proclamation, but through your attitude in living life. I doubt this leper had a great deal of joy in having leprosy. Now, I’m not suggesting that we thank God for this pandemic, or for crises or pain; but what I am suggesting is that thank God for the strength and growth that we experience during crises. If this was your situation, I wonder how much joy and thankfulness would exist in your life? I believe this leper, had a spirit of hope, which enabled him to more fully appreciate what Christ had done for him. We have all experienced a kind of “leprosy” during this pandemic; a time where we felt separated and alone. This feeling of aloneness can also be felt during the death of a spouse, or the loss of a job, or the dissolving of a marriage, or the stress of emotional pain. We’ve all have experienced circumstances in life where we’ve asked, “God, what did I do to deserve this?” My understanding and my relationship with God tells me that the leper didn’t deserve it, and the same can be said for each of our own bouts with “aloneness.” But do we share something else in common with the leper; do we also share his thankful attitude? Does your life, represent a spirit of thankfulness? Being thankful is so much more than a comparison of circumstances. Being thankful is so much more than a private prayer or public proclamation. Being thankful is expressed through your attitude in living life. The leper also teaches us that thankfulness completes healing. Healing means to be made whole, and while all ten of the lepers found physical healing, only one found wholeness, healing of the soul. There’s a lot to give thanks for, even during this pandemic, even when we’re going through difficult times. I believe the leper maintained a spirit of hope and thankfulness throughout his battle with leprosy. He indicated that God has heard his pleadings and prayers; his heart trusts in God and that God is his saving grace. Thankfulness is an attitude. Thankfulness is a way of life. Thankfulness enables healing to bring wholeness. And finally, those who receive life as a gift to be lived in dependence upon God will be characterized by gratitude that drives them into the community of God’s people. To live under God’s teachings, to live as God intends, is to live as part of God’s people, and God’s people live in dependence upon God rather than upon self. When we live life with a spirit of thankfulness, we realize that life is a gift…a gift from God, and in gratitude for that gift, we are driven into the community of God’s people. The Presidential election process this year has been so distressing as it has revealed the division and unkindness toward one another who have opposite ideologies. And, even though thanksgiving is a national holiday originally sanctioned by the federal government, it was set aside to offer thanks to God. Hear the words of George Washington in proclaiming the first Thanksgiving Holiday: “Whereas, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; Whereas, both the houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me “to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness!” Now therefore, I do recommend next, to be devoted by the people of the states to the service of that great and glorious being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be, that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks…” Let’s not lose sight of what this week is about: Being thankful is an attitude for living life, thankfulness is a part of being made whole, and thankfulness is recognizing life as a gift from God that drives us into the community of God’s people.