Based on Luke 21:25-36
'Ah Thanksgiving,' quipped a comedian named Johnny Carson, 'That time of year when people travel thousands of miles to be with those they only see one a year - only to discover that once a year is way too much.'
It could be argued that there's as much social anxiety at this time of year as there is turkey on the Thanksgiving table, as a Covid-resurgent holiday season amps up our already rising stress levels. Will the food, decorations, presents, clothing, and conversations be ok? Will I get everything done properly and on time? What about all these rising prices? Will this actually be an occasion of holiday joy, for giving thanks?
And what of our national anxiety? With Kyle Rittenhouse found not guilty, sure he may have been defending himself, but is vigilantism now condoned? Then there are the guilty verdicts in the Ahmaud Arbery case - and an illuminating statement from one of the defendant’s lawyers: Did you hear what Jason Sheffield said: “This is a very difficult day for the McMichaels ,” adding that they “honestly believe what they were doing was the right thing to do.”
And how peaceful can we sleep at night, especially people of color, knowing that some people don’t see anything wrong with how Ahmaud Arbery died?
Amidst this personal and communal uneasiness, you and I come to church this morning, on this first Sunday of the liturgical year, to hear a Gospel that is no less alarming - about a distressed earth, confused nation, and calamitous creation.
Yet amidst all this - Jesus is not going to just leave us with dire predictions and horrendous consequences -
No, here’s what Jesus tells us to do in this situation:
‘Be on guard!’ he says, ’so that your hearts are not weighed down’ - as if his advice for the tumult all around him that he was seeing, his disciples were seeing - and you and I are seeing all around us - is, ‘Take a step back; Chill out; God has not left the building; be patient.’
Patience, of course, is that desert - wrote Henri Nouwen - between where we are - and where we want to be.
It’s a long and lonely desert -
As musician Tom Petty put it, ’The waiting is the hardest part.'
And while we usually don’t have a choice, but to wait -
We do have a choice over the manner in which we wait.
We can stew, sulk, and simmer - grow anxious, stressed and depressed
Or we can do our best to let it got, leave it be, and have faith, trusting that God is near and things will somehow work out.
So the word for today is ‘Patience’ -
We see it here in the Gospel-
But I think needs to be coupled with the word from 1 Thessalonians in our Second Lesson, which is ‘Give thanks to God; be thankful; harbor gratitude.’
So our word for the day is actually two words:
Patience and Gratitude.
These are two very helpful words for getting through this holiday season - and this tense season in our national and international life.
Patience and Gratitude, Gratitude and Patience - because the practice of one leads to the other:
Be patient, and while you’re waiting, count your blessings -
Be grateful, and as we spend time counting our blessings, we find that the time in the waiting room goes right by.
Close your eyes right now, and humor me - and think of one thing right now, in your life, that needs your patience.
Maybe you’re fighting a sickness that you wish was over.
Maybe you’re waiting for a check that’s taking its time coming.
Maybe you’re stuck in a job and you see no way out.
Yes, you’re in the desert - that space between where you are and where you want to be.
Now begin to list the blessings you have in your life.
Certainly there are relationships - people who love and care about you.
Certainly there are books, classes, or some way we’ve grown in knowledge - yes we do grow in knowledge and awareness.
And certainly there are experiences, from childbirth to vacations to birthdays or anniversaries.
Imagine spanning the long, hot, and lonely Desert of Waiting with these blessings beside us - as they help us get from where we are to where we want to be.
Go ahead and open your eyes.
Gratitude and Patience - as Jesus suggests, we can grow in them.
To help us do that we have two things for you today - and throughout this Advent season.
The first is this booklet: it’s called ‘Living Well Through Advent - Practicing Patience’
It’s put together by a friend of mine named Scott Stoner and every day in Advent - starting today - we go ahead and read a page in the morning or evening - and our prayer is that as we learn, more and more, how to practice patience, how to trust God who gives us the way out, the way around, or the way through - and to be patient for God to do God’s work.
A little girl and her father went to visit Grandma over the holiday.
They went to the train station where dad bought the tickets.
The little girl asked for hers.
Her dad told her he wasn’t going to give it to her right away, because the train was not yet here - and being a little girl, she might misplace it.
Sure enough, a half hour later, the train pulled up.
The little girl and her father got in line to board.
And right before the conductor asked for the tickets, the father handed the little girl her ticket.
God doesn’t always give us everything we need way ahead of time -
But God usually gives us what we need, just in time.
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Our second word is Gratitude - not just for today or this season, but in 2022 we are going to be encouraging one another to be especially thankful:
2022 is our year of Gratitude.
We are going to be encouraging one another to look for God's blessings all around us - to stop, look, and discover - by pondering reflectively the events in our lives, the people, and the circumstances - knowing that sometimes things happen for which we may not initially be thankful, but may later discover something positive.
After all, psychological study after study shows us that grateful people are healthier, cope better with adversity, and actually live longer than people who are not intentionally grateful. Because when we’re grateful we’re more present - we’re more alive.
This is what Christianity is about - making us alive to the glorious experience of living!
It’s about discovering the abundance all around us - of relationships, experiences, possessions - both material and spiritual.
To do that we have a rather kitchy challenge for you: we have a whole bunch of these blue ‘Gratitude’ wristbands here at church. We invite you to put it on your right wrist or in your right pocket and wear it for 21 days straight.
However, during that time we want to reward gratitude - so you can’t complain.
If you do complain, you have to say 2 ‘gratitudes’ (things for which you are grateful), and then transfer the wristband to the left wrist or your left pocket. You get to start all over again the next day - and try to do this for 21 days straight.
Don’t look glum - you have all year -
And I know some of you are already going to ask for two wristbands, one for each wrist, so you won't have to keep transferring it back and forth...
And while this, admittedly, sounds rather hokey, forming a more grateful heart is not.
Finding ways to be less complaining is not.
Working to be people who lift up and not tear down, is not.
We all know how divisive, angry, and rude the world around us has become - and we Christians are called to be the solution not the problem. And we do this by growing in gratitude.
After all, we know that everything is a gift.
And the degree to which we are aware of this is a measure of our gratitude, as our gratitude is a measure of our aliveness.
Again, the journey with Jesus is one of aliveness - increased awareness, joyful awareness, of who we are and why we’re here. ------------
Two policemen are on patrol in their squad car when they smash into a tree.
After a long pause, one officer says, ‘Wow. That’s the fastest I’ve ever arrived at an accident scene.’
When you and I hear that word ‘accident’ this is often where our minds go - we usually think of accidents as bad things - it’s when we smashed the car, tripped and skinned our knee, or dropped a wine glass while emptying the dishwasher.
These are negative accidents.
But there are positive accidents as well.
In fact, we’re surrounded by them, too many to mention.
And often, we forget to mention them.
It’s a happy accident that we were born who, when, and where we were born.
It’s a happy accident:
To have the best friends we have
To have the families we have
To have the jobs we have
To have a chance to read and speak and connect
To be surrounded by opportunities that so many others can only dream of.
I know many of us heard the story of Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench.
6 years ago Wanda, a white grandmother, texted her grandson to invite him to Thanksgiving dinner. However, Wanda’s grandson had changed phone numbers without telling her, and Wanda ended up texting a total stranger, a young African American man named Jamal.
After they figured out the mistake, Jamal asked if her invitation to Thanksgiving dinner was still open.
She said yes.
He said great.
Three days ago Wanda had Jamal over and Jamal’s girlfriend for the 6th consecutive Thanksgiving they’ve celebrated.
That’s a happy accident.
It’s a way to remind us that we have so much in life for which to give thanks - and by busying ourselves with the many, many things for which we rightly give thanks - we find that the desert between where we are and where we want to be - is much easier to cross than we thought.
Amen.