“Give Thanks to the Lord”

We are approaching the end of my reflections on “God’s Vision for the Future of the Church.”  Over the past several weeks, we have discussed how the future Church must shift from an “attractional” model of ministry to a “missional” approach.  And, we have focused on visioning a new future for the Church.  There are two remaining topics which I would like to discuss, before bringing this series to a close:  (1) gratitude towards God and (2) the destructive role of negativity in undermining our capacity for vision and faithfulness.

As we approach Thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to reflect on gratitude this Sunday, November 19th, while deferring negativity to the following Sunday.  To guide our reflections on gratitude, I have chosen two passages of scripture.  The first is from 1 Chronicles 16: 23-36.  This passage occurs after King David has successfully moved the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite to Jerusalem. 

In Jerusalem, King David has set up a tent to house the Ark of the Covenant.  Ultimately, the Jerusalem Temple will be constructed as a permanent home for the Ark.  After the Ark of the Covenant has safely arrived in Jerusalem and been placed in the tent, King David holds an exuberant religious celebration for the safe arrival of the Ark.  Our scriptural passage in verses 23-26 contains part of the thanksgiving poem offered up that day.

Biblical scholars remind us that this thanksgiving poem draws elements and inferences from Psalms 105, 96, and 106.  The poem has four stanzas:[i]

1.      A call to Israel to praise God (verses 8-22)

2.      A call to praise God throughout the earth (verses 23-30)

3.      A call for cosmic praise (verses 31-33)

4.      A call for Israel to not only praise but also pray to God (verses 34-36)

In what follows, I will focus on the last three stanzas. 

In our passage, the chronicler begins by calling on all peoples from all over the earth to praise God.  He says: 

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Tell of his salvation from day to day. 

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. 

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised…” (verses 23-25a). 

In the chronicler’s perspective, God is the Creator of all the world.  Therefore, it follows that God is God for all people on earth.  So, the poem continues with a comparison of God with all of the other gods and idols which other people worship.  At this point, the chronicler observes, “the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place” (verses 26b-27).

In the next stanza (verses 31-33), the chronicler broadens his scope beyond humankind to include all of Creation.  This scope includes not only living organisms—all plants and animals—but also nonliving creation as well, such as rock formations and seas.  He writes: 

“Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,

and let them say among the nations, “The Lord is king!” 

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

let the field exult, and everything in it. 

Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord,

for he comes to judge the earth.” (verses 31-33)

In the final stanza, the chronicler calls not only for praise of God, but he also prays that God will continue to look after the people and that the people will always be grateful to God, giving thanks for all of God’s blessings.  He writes, “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever” (verse 34).

I really appreciate this poem because I believe that the chronicler very skillfully interweaves the themes of gratitude, praise, and service, or faithfulness, to God.  In the chronicler’s perspective, we begin by simply pausing and counting all of the blessings and gifts, which we have received from God.  These gifts include even life itself.  In response to God’s love and generosity, we praise God.  Our praise is free and genuinely given.  Then, in response to God’s love for us, we commit ourselves to working for God, to help further and eventually establish God’s Reign on Earth, recognizing that God loves all peoples and, indeed, all of Creation.  That is, God’s Reign is identifiable because it promotes peace, justice, and love for all peoples—and, indeed, all of Creation.

Our second scripture from Colossians 3: 16-17 extends these themes suggested by the chronicler.  Our passage from Colossians is provided below:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Again, the themes of gratitude, praise, and faithfulness are interwoven.  The writer begins by encouraging the Colossians to be guided and sustained by the teachings of Christ.  Further, they are to teach and admonish one another.  The teachings of Christ are to transform the Colossian Christians into different persons, with a different world view and lifestyle that is much better than their previous lives.  Out of gratitude for Christ, they worship and praise God.  The writer summarizes by encouraging the Colossians to do everything “in word or deed” in Christ’s name.  And, in everything—“in word or deed”—they are to give thanks to God through Christ. 

            Taken together, these two scriptural guides lift up two important forms of thanksgiving and gratitude to God.  We begin by simply acknowledging how generous and gracious God has been to each of us.  Then, first, our gratitude should be expressed in our worship, as we praise God.  In fact, these two passages assert that thanksgiving should be a major, integral part of all true worship of God.  Then, secondly, our thanksgiving towards God should be expressed in a different worldview and lifestyle.  We lift up thanksgiving to God in all of our “words and deeds,” which are done in faithfulness to God, as we seek to help build the Kingdom of God on Earth.

      If you live in the Lincoln, Nebraska area and do not have a place of worship, then I invite you to come and join us at Christ United Methodist Church this Sunday, November 19th.  Join us as we explore what it means to be fully thankful to God through our worship and our everyday life.  Christ UMC is located at 4530 “A” Street in Lincoln, Nebraska.  Our two traditional Worship Services are at 8:30 and 11:00 on Sunday morning. 

Come, join us.  Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.

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[i] Leslie C. Allen commentary on “The First Book of Chronicles,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible, volume 3 (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2002), CD-ROM version.