Begin

11/25/2012

Thanksgiving

Opening Prayer

Lord, as we join together reflecting on Thanksgiving, we thank you for all of the many blessing in our lives. We thank you for family, friends and all the various communities of which we are part. We thank you for life and the lives of those we love. We thank you for this community of Naked Sunday, and ask for your blessing upon each person that joins us here through your Spirit. Most of all Lord, we thank you for your love, your mercy and your grace. 
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit   

Amen

Song

As we do each week, let us begin by joining  together in worshiping God through music and song!

Click on the “Listen” tab for music selections that will help your community enter into God’s presence.

Message

There is an interesting dichotomy in Thanksgiving. We join together with family and friends, enjoying relationships and giving thanks for the many blessings in our lives. We reflect on how fortunate we are and take pause to relax and for one day out of the year, we feel contentment. We rest in the reality that all we really need is right before us and the sometimes burdensome weight of materialism is lifted from our shoulders. We are thankful.

And then just like that, the feelings of contentment vanish and the dark cloud of Black Friday sets in. In the shadow of giving thanks for what we have, we run out to passionately consume that which we don't. What a contrast to what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about.    

  

Click on  "Read" and take a look at what Proverbs 30:8 says.  

 When you think about it, that's a pretty counter-cultural statement, isn't it? Doesn't sound a lot like the aspiring and successful philosophy that our culture so often embraces. It doesn't exactly resemble someone climbing the ladder of success, and it doesn't seem like someone who thinks they will be financially blessed by God because their faith is greater than the next guy. It doesn't sound like someone who read the latest Christian self-help book, and it doesn't sound very American for that matter. In fact, some might argue that it doesn't sound very "Christian".     

Contentment is not an easy thing to embrace this time of year.  Contentment means empty stores and that's the antithesis of what the "Christmas" marketing focus is all about. The goal is to convince us that we're not content. When we lack contentment, we become  restless.  When we become restless, we become anxious. When we become anxious, we feel empty.  When we feel empty, we look for something to fill us up. When we look for something to fill us up, we fill it with whatever brings a quick fix of security. That's the essential motive of all Christmas advertising. Filling the void. Providing security. Companies rely on the restless discontented spirit of Americans and hone in on that one question that we all ask ourselves; "What do I want?" or even better, "What do I need?"

As we move into the Christmas Season, celebrating the first Sunday of Advent next Sunday, thanksgiving continues to remain one of the true primary themes of the season. But in order to remain thankful, a spirit of contentment must remain at the forefront of our minds. The question that we find ourselves asking is how to remain content while being inundated with the marketing onslaught. 

Click on "Read" tab and read Philippians 4:11-13     

As we read these words, we see that the apostle Paul understood the essential key to contentment. In his mind, circumstances made no difference in terms of his inner security. At this point in time, Paul had probably experienced both the best and worst of life. He had come to the conclusion that in realty, we have no real control over our circumstances, and just because circumstances may change from time to time, no real change in our emotional state is necessarily equated. Our present situations are the only ones that we really have any control over, and in those situations we can really only be content through a complete surrender to Christ. The secret to the contentment of which Paul speaks, lies in the last verse. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” That includes remaining content through the natural rhythms of life. 

Paul reaffirms this understanding in his first letter to Timothy. 

Click "Read" for the next reading: 1 Timothy 6:6-8 

Paul illustrates that physical possessions have nothing to do with contentment. Is this not the essence of being thankful? It's no wonder that advertisers don't want us to focus on Thanksgiving. In our thankfulness, we just might grasp the essential meaning of contentment and not spend as much. In many ways, true contentment comes from a sacrificial heart that denies itself for the benefit of the other. Is it a coincidence that the Greek word for "thanksgiving" is eucharistia? In the celebration of the Eucharist (the Lord's Supper), we give thanks and remember the ultimate sacrifice in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.     

 As we move toward the beginning of Advent, let us commit to live lives of contentment. Let us truly see our lives as blessed and realize that the more we spend does not necessarily make us more content. Let us actually give thanks for what God has done in our lives. Take some time to meditate on what it means to be thankful and who it is we are thankful to. Let us remember that contentment doesn't lie in all the "stuff" of life. Contentment lies in being "thankful" for what God has given us each day; whether good or bad; whether a lot or just a little.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 

 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Closing Prayer

Lord, as we come to the end of Thanksgiving weekend, may we go with thankful and content hearts. Let us prepare for the first week of Advent by giving you thanks for what you've given us, most of all the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Emmanuel, God with us.

Amen

As you go, go with peace and contentment of spirit. Reveal to the world around you that peace of mind and contentment can be found during this time of year through what we do and who we are; not by what we consume.   

May the Lord bless you, may he keep you, and may he give you peace!

Reflect

Click on the "Reflection" tab for a suggested prayer for your community and selected questions for discussion.

See you next Sunday for the first Sunday of Advent!