Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
Happy Thanksgiving! This evening we have gathered in God’s house to give thanks to Him for all He has done for us!
Thanksgiving is a day with many traditions, especially with family, food, and football. Among these traditions, comes travel, since most families live states apart, but on Thanksgiving families re-unite. In recent years, the days around Thanksgiving have been among the busiest travel days of the year, and the Sunday following Thanksgiving has consistently been the busiest travel day of the year. So, we certainly desire to be with family to celebrate this national holiday.
As the family re-unites, we come together around food, especially turkey and all the fixings – the cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, casseroles, and the dinner rolls. We come together at the dining room table and share stories.
Then for many, there is football. Either sitting together watching it on television or tossing the football in the backyard, or both.
But most importantly, we come together to give thanks.
Tomorrow is the National Day of Thanksgiving, and that day is a very specific day about giving thanks. But you may not know that the National Day of Thanksgiving has only been a fixed holiday on our calendars since 1941. But this holiday is deeply rooted in America. One could say, this is the one holiday that is uniquely American.
We celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. Its original observance was in 1621 as a harvest festival held at the Plymouth Colony. It was observed by the pilgrims – those puritans who emigrated from Europe – and the Native Americans who helped them plant and harvest.
During the colonial period, there were many observances of thanksgiving.
After the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress recommended a day of thanksgiving for the return of peace in 1784. Then in 1789, President George Washington issued the first National Day of Thanksgiving for the establishment of this new republic. After the War of 1812, President James Madison called for a day of thanksgiving. But national interest began to wane as various cities and states picked random days for thanksgiving.
But what we think of the National Day of Thanksgiving today began under President Abraham Lincoln. In Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation, he noted that the nation had need for community prayer and thanksgiving to God.
Today, the National Day of Thanksgiving may have lost its former focus as a day of prayer. Instead, we often have this day focus upon ourselves. I’m sure we have all grown up with the question we hear so often this time of year: “What are you thankful for?” That is a good question, but what about this question: “Who are you thankful for?”
When you first heard today’s epistle read, you may wonder, what does this have to do with the Day of Thanksgiving? Well, it has everything to do with Thanksgiving!
Abraham Lincoln was on to something. Thanksgiving is all about prayer. In fact, this is exactly what the Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul. He wrote: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (1 Timothy 2:1). For Paul, this is a matter of first importance. He says: “Pray, pray, and keep on praying for all people.” Here, Paul uses four synonyms for prayer, but they each have a particular nuance.
First “supplications.” So, what are supplications? Well, they are what we individually say to God when we approach Him with our needs. They are a call for help from God. “Lord, please heal my ailment.” “Lord, please help me with my finances.” But always, when we approach Him with our needs, we always end our prayer with “Your will be done.” No matter what, God knows our individual needs, but by our going to Him with our supplications we acknowledge Him as the only source who alone will satisfy our needs.
Second, we hear Paul using the general word “prayer” in our English text. But the nuance in the original Greek [προσευχὰς (“pro-se-uch-as”)] is that of devotion and reverence as Christians approach their Lord. We acknowledge that He is the giver of all things as He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Third, Paul urges “intercessions.” So, what makes this form a prayer different? Intercessions are prayers on behalf of someone else. Here, we petition and appeal to God about the concerns we have for others. In fact, the Prayer of the Church is an intercession prayer. Through the Prayer of the Church, we pray boldly and confidently as we bring our petitions for all people according to their needs before God’s throne of grace.
Lastly, Paul urges “thanksgivings.” Thanksgivings are expressions of gratitude for past mercies received. Thanksgivings are always appropriate, even when earthly circumstances are difficult. Wemay be prone to say: “What am I thankful for?” “Do I really feel grateful?” Often, we like to focus upon our emotions, how we feel. But thankfulness is not an emotional response, but a spiritual discipline. If we feel that things don’t seem to be going your way, we are to always give thanks, because we are never separated from God’s love and mercy in Christ.
You see, thanksgiving is a response. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Why do we love God? We love Him, because “[He] sent His only Son in the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). You see, while we were still enemies of God, Jesus suffered and died in our place. Again, the Lord initiates and He leads us to acknowledge it, so we then give thanks for it.
We give thanks for the gift of Christ, as our one and only Savior from the power of sin, so that through Him, we have life!
For Paul, these four terms for prayer are aspects of first importance for our prayer life. We make requests for specific needs. We bring those in view before God always knowing that His will is done. We appeal boldly on behalf of others. And we give thankfulness to God for them.
Just imagine this. As Paul urges us to pray, he doesn’t just urge us to pray for ourselves and fellow Christians to God, but he urges us to pray for all people, including “kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Timothy 2:2a). And who was the earthly ruler of Paul’s day? Caesar Nero. During Nero’s reign Christians were persecuted because they refused to worship him, and Paul himself suffered martyrdom. Despite this, heathen rulers are among those who need our prayers for even their authority was established by God (Romans 13:1). So, all earthly authorities need our prayer, especially those who may seek to harm the church.
Prayer for our nation and her leaders has an important purpose: that we might freely confess Christ as Savior. Rather than becoming a part of today’s culture, we are set apart by God as the “communion of saints.” Therefore, we pray for those in authority “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life” (1 Timothy 2:2). The Church then - can freely carry out the Lord’s work and nourish her people by Word and Sacraments.
As Christians, the National Day of Thanksgiving has a greater meaning for us than just one day on the calendar to give thanks. Again, the word “thanksgiving” means “grateful acknowledgment for the past mercies of God.” This leads us to come to God in prayer.
We have so much to be thankful for:
§ He gives us His Word, which is the living voice of our Lord.
§ Through water and the Word of God, we are brought into His kingdom in Holy Baptism.
§ In the Lord’s Supper, we receive Christ’s Body and Blood, which is the spiritual nourishment that gives us forgiveness of sins and renewed strength for the daily tasks of this life.
Throughout all of our days, the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – provides for all of our needs of body and soul.
As we gather at each Divine Service, we come together in prayer. We ask God to continue to bestow His grace on us, as we pray for the church, other people, and our leaders, since “[He] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). We pray before God’s throne of grace the needs of the people of God.
Hearing the truth of God’s Word, we are confident in prayer. We know that God promises to hear and answer our prayers.
On this National Day of Thanksgiving, we confess Jesus Christ as Savior and the giver of all good gifts. We give thanks in our worship and in our prayers. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
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