The Church, Food, Prayer and Thankfulness

November 22, 2012 Joel 2:21-27 Psalm 126 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Matthew 6:25-33 Year B Connection between food and Christian living You know, as I have been reflecting on Thanksgiving this year, there seems to be this very clear connection between the Christian life and food. Everything that we do in the church seems to resolve around food. It goes even broader than that. We are a community love to eat. Whenever we get excited about something – we celebrate by eating. We might judge our wealth in life by what we have in our bank account, but when it comes down to it, we judge our happiness by how much food we have in our pantry. The book of Joel talks about how the Israelites will be repaid for all of their pain. God will restore their happiness, and they will forget about all of the pain they had in exile, but how will they know that things have been restored? Verse 24 says that the threshing floors shall be full of grain and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. Now the church potluck is not a sacrament or even an official church duty – but it may as well be, because when we celebrate, what do we do? We eat. And as Christians when we eat – we pray. In one of his sermons, Dr. Harry Ironside tells of the occasion when, as a young man, he went into a cafeteria to eat. The tables were crowded and the only place he could find to sit down was at a table across from another man. So he sat down and as was his habit, Dr. Ironside bowed his head and gave thanks. The other man glowered while he did so and as soon as Dr. Ironside had finished, the man looked at him and said, “What’s the matter with you. Is something wrong with your food?” He looked down at it and said, “No, it looks fine to me.” The fellow said, “Have you got something in your eye? Do you have a headache?” Dr. Ironside said, “No, I’m feeling fine.” The fellow said, “What are you doing then? Why did you bow your head?” Dr., Ironside said, “Well, I was just giving thanks to God for the food I was about to eat.” The man looked at him and said, “You believe that stuff, do you? That’s crazy.” Dr. Ironside said, “Sir, don’t you give thanks for your food?” The man said, “I never give thanks. I just jump right in.” Dr. Ironside looked at him and said, “Well, you’re just like my dog then. He doesn’t give thanks either. He just jumps right in.” The lesson is not about praying before a meal. The lesson is about being truly grateful to God for all of his blessings. There are basically two ways you can live your life. You can live your life with a big M and a little G or a big G and a little m. The first step to daily bread living is to get on the big G and the little m side. That’s gratitude to God for all his blessings. Someone said that often times thanksgiving is the only time that some families take the time to pray before a meal. When there should be something about food and sitting down and being thankful to God that should be automatic. Food is a part of our prayer life. Grace before meals I have heard it said that people started saying grace before meals, because there was no refrigeration, so you never knew what bacteria was in the food. But actually, grace is an important part of the Christian prayer life, because it was custom in Jewish life to say a prayer over the bread. When Jesus taught us to say the Lord’s prayer, the first point of the prayer is to give honor to God. The first prayer request of God that we have is to ask God to give us this day our daily bread. In a world were we have refrigerators, and ovens, and canned food that can last for ages, why would do we still ask God for our daily bread? It reminds us that everything we have comes from God. Everything that we have comes from God The story is told of a poor man who was given a loaf of bread. He thanked the baker, but the baker said, “Don’t thank me. Thank the miller who made the flour.” So he thanked the miller, but the miller said, “Don’t thank me. Thank the farmer who planted the wheat.” So he thanked the farmer. But the farmer said, “Don’t thank me. Thank the Lord. He gave the sunshine & rain & fertility to the soil, & that’s why you have bread to eat.” The challenge for us in life can be to be able to find God in everything in our lives. No matter how hard we work for the harvest, it is always God who plants the seeds. Bread is more than foo But Jesus reminds us that bread, is not just about what we put in our stomaches, bread is the essence of life. it is what we drink, it is the clothes we wear, the shelter we have, the education we have, it is our family, it is our wellbeing. Bread is what keeps us alive, and yet we say thank you for bread – because without enough to eat – our lives would be nothing. We could accomplish nothing else. Our response to God’s presence in our lives is always thank you. Eucharist As a matter of fact, one of the most important rituals of the church is communion. Eucharist. Eucharist literally means thank you in Greek. In greek you would say – F Harry Stowe. In modern Greek, ch is pronounced f. Say it, at least you can say you know one greek word. The most important word. If I break it down a little more – eu charist – good character. In response to what God has done for me, I wont just say thank you, I will live thank you. When I take the eucharist, I pledge that I will not just say words of gratitude, but I will be gratitude. It is not so much about thanksgiving – as much as it is thanksliving. The message of Matthew 6 is not to worry about what God will provide, but to do the will of God in your life. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you. In a sense, gratitude is an expression of modesty. In Hebrew, the word for gratitude - hoda’ah - is the same as the word for confession. To offer thanks is to confess dependence, to acknowledgment that others have the power to benefit you, to admit that your life is better because of their efforts. That frame of mind is indispensable to civilized society. I can be thankful for everything in life… ....the taxes I pay ....because it means I’m employed. ....the clothes that fit a little too snug ....because it means I have enough to eat. ....my shadow who watches me work ....because it means I am out in the sunshine. ....a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and ....gutters that need fixing ....because it means I have a home. ....the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot ....because it means I am capable of walking. ....my huge heating bill ....because it means I am warm. ....all the complaining I hear about our government ....because it means we have freedom of speech. ....the lady behind me in church who sings off key. ....because it means that I can hear. ....the piles of laundry and ironing ....because it means my loved ones are nearby. ....the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours ....because it means that I’m alive. ....weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day ....because it means I have been productive. The art of thanksliving. It is gratitude in action. It is thanking God for the gift of life by living it triumphantly. I am going to let you go, it is getting time for us to eat – to celebrate. But let it also be a day of thankfulness of all God is doing in your life and in the life of those around you…let us pray… It is thanking God for your talents and abilities by accepting them as obligations to be invested for the common good. It is thanking God for all that men and women have done for you by doing things for others. It is thanking God for happiness by striving to make others happy. It is thanking God for beauty by helping to make the world more beautiful. It is thanking God for inspiration by trying to be an inspiration to others. Principle 1: Everything you have comes from God. Principle 2: Everything that is given to you is given in trust to you. Principle 3: The blessings that you have are not given to you for your own personal benefit. Principle 4: What is given to you in trust is given that you might share it with others.