The Way of Gratitude: Give Thanks In Every Situation

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18    (Common English Bible)

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

November 9th, 1985 is a day that I will always remember

Just like this year, it was a Saturday

I was a student at Duke Divinity School and serving two wonderful congregations in rural Western North Carolina --- Richfield and New Mt Tabor. 

Richfield was a town of 225 people, had a flashing light, gas station with a convenience store, post office, school and hardware store --- and two United Methodist congregations.

I was getting ready to have a lock-in for the youth of the two churches that evening at my house

          Games were planned

          Dinner and snacks were arraigned

          A hayride and bonfire were to be the highlight of the evening

I was anticipating a dozen or so youth and a couple of adults to help

Late that afternoon my phone rang

          Remember, there were no cell phones in those days

As I answered the phone, an operator on the other end said: "I have a collect call from Fred Conger, will you accept the charges?"

          That is a blast from the past

But a collect call from a father to his student son is not a good sign

          Of course, I said yes

As he came on the phone he said to me (and I will never forget these words):

"The doctor has said, that if you want to see Stewart before he dies, you need to head home."

What was I to do?

I had the youth coming to my house

And (I obviously was a lot younger back then) I had to preach at both churches the next morning.

I remember stammering and not knowing what to do or say

I remember nothing about the lock-in that night, except one thing

          During the hayride, as I stared up into the sky, I saw a shooting star

As a child, my mother would read to us, --- and at that moment I recalled the story of the Little Match Girl by Has Christian Anderson

Nancy and I were dating at the time, and her mother drove her to the Richfield Church that morning and after the service was over --- we got in my car and began the journey to Downers Grove, IL

After Stewart died, I have to admit I was in a funk

I finished Divinity School and began as the pastor of Pretty Lake Trinity UMC just outside Plymouth Indiana on January 1, 1986 with a heavy heart and plenty of doubts

During my devotions, I came across the little prophetic book of Habakkuk, and found myself drawn to Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians.

Paul writes to the community at Thessalonica probably toward the end of 51 CE, and is quite possibly his earliest letter.

Paul had left Thessalonica abruptly after a rather brief stay --- Luke tells us the story in Acts 17.

The community, of Thessalonica, was left with little external support in the midst of persecution.

·         Paul was wanting to encourage the new converts in their trials,

·         to give instruction concerning godly living and

·         to give assurance concerning the future of believers who die before the Christ returns. 

The letter ends with Paul offering instruction on how the community is to live.

And in that last section he writes:

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 

(1 Thes. 5:16-18   The Message)

or from the Common English Bible

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The devotion, I was reading, ended with Reinhold Niebuhr's prayer that many of us are familiar with:

God, give me grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Give me the grace to accept the things that I cannot change

I battled with that phrase --- because quite frankly --- I wasn't yet ready to accept the fact that Stewart was dead.

But slowly ---

Maybe because my older brother couldn't accept the reality of Stewart's death and went into hiding.

Maybe because the role of the eldest son was thrust on me at that moment, and my parents needed me to accept the reality that their youngest son had just died.

I really don't know --- but for whatever reason, I began to accept the reality that Stewart was dead --- and as I did --- Paul's words kept ringing in my heart

Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

How does one rejoice at a loss --- at a death?

          You have all been there

                   You have lost siblings, spouses, parents, friends, and yes children

And I remember --- as if it were yesterday --- when I read Habakkuk that it all clicked

I don't rejoice over a life that ended --- I rejoice over a life that was lived

Paul does not tell us to rejoice FOR every situation --- Paul tells us to rejoice IN every situation

God does not cause the bad things to happen in our lives

But what Paul is asking us --- is in the midst of the hard things --- what are we going to do with it? 

                   Are we going to let it make us bitter, or will it make us better?

And Paul is asking:

          What is it there in this situation for which you can give thanks to God?

Brittany Hughes tells the story of Martin Rinkart --- you probably have never heard of him.

Born to a poor coppersmith on April 23, 1586 in Eilenburg, Germany, Rinkart was determined to be a minister. He managed to scrape up enough money to put himself through the University of Leipzig, where he studied theology. After years of hard work, Rinkart was asked to return to his hometown as a Lutheran clergyman.

One year later, ignited by a religious conflict-turned-political feud, the Thirty Years’ War exploded across Europe.

A walled city, Eilenburg quickly became a place of refuge for thousands of frightened and displaced Germans fleeing the devastating conflict. The sudden overcrowding caused widespread food shortages, and starving residents soon began fighting in the streets for dead cats and birds.

On top of the famine, densely-packed humanity and filth soon led to an outbreak of plague. Rinkart and the three other town pastors began officiating ten or more funerals a day -- each. One overwhelmed pastor eventually fled and two others died, leaving Rinkart the sole minister in the desperate and overpopulated city.

Alone, Rinkart was tasked with burying up to 50 people a day, including his own wife. By the end of the ordeal, he’d conducted nearly 4,500 funerals. The dead eventually became so numerous they had to be buried in mass trenches without services.

In the face of overwhelming pressure, constant risk and horrendous conditions, Rinkart never stopped ministering to the people of his city. He gave away nearly everything he owned to the poor and needy, though he could barely clothe and feed his own children.

After nearly thirty years of ceaseless struggles, it began to look like peace was within grasp. Wanting to give his children a song to sing to God in thanks at the dinner table, Rinkart sat down and composed what would become one of the most well known Thanksgiving hymns of all time.

Now thank we all our God

With hearts and hands and voices;

Who wondrous things hath done,

In whom this world rejoices.

Who, from our mother's arms,

Hath led us on our way,

With countless gifts of love,

And still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God

through all our life be near us,

with ever joyful hearts

and blessed peace to cheer us,

to keep us in his grace,

and guide us when perplexed,

and free us from all ills

of this world in the next.

All praise and thanks to God

the Father now be given,

the Son and Spirit blest,

who reign in highest heaven

the one eternal God,

whom heaven and earth adore;

for thus it was, is now,

and shall be evermore.

My experience has taught me that the very act of praising and thanking God in the midst of suffering helps to lift us out of the pit of misery and into the loving embrace of God.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death --- You are with me"

God's love for us is unconditional

          How many times have I said that over these last three years?

But just in case you didn't hear me, let me say it again        

God's love for us is unconditional --- that is the love that Jesus demonstrated in his life.

God never said --- I will love you IF . . .

                             I will love you WHEN . . .

God says: I LOVE YOU

I am convinced that one of the goals of the Christian life is to get to the point where we can give God thanks and praise in every situation --- despite whatever pain and suffering we might be going through.

However, while God's love for us is unconditional

Our love and gratitude back toward God is often very conditional

          We bargain with God --- I will love you IF . . .

                                                I will love you WHEN . . .

Our love and gratitude to God is frequently conditioned on how things are going in our lives.

When things are good --- with our families, our business, our relationships, our church community, etc. we are eager to give God our thanks and praise

But when the storms of life rage --- when things don't go like we planned --- we often find little reason to give God our thanks and praise.

Paul want to teach us that we must practice unconditional gratitude --- and give God thanks and praise in every situation of life.

In a few minutes --- we are going to remember the lives of the saints of Meridian Street United Methodist Church, who have gone on to their eternal home.  And I am sure you have many other people on your minds and hearts today --- I know I do.

I want you to take a moment, and offer God thanks

          thanks for them and their lives

                   for how they intersected with yours

and for how God is making you a better person because you knew them

Silence

We give thanks O God, for those who have blessed our lives.  May we see the blessing and be thankful.  Teach us unconditional gratitude so that we might give thanks IN every situation.  Amen.