“Why Should I Be Thankful?” Ex. 3:7-8

S-1520 Thanksgiving Day 11/26/15 Hymns: 785; 805; (S) 895; L.S.#569; #637;(C) #892

Texts: Exodus 3:1-15; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Matthew 6:24-34

Theme: “Why Should I Be Thankful?” Ex. 3:7-8

Question: “Is Thanksgiving observed only today, or every day?” (10^th sermon at Trinity).

Blessed Thanksgiving Day to each and every one of you saints in Christ. The text for our homily today is from the O.T. lesson: “The LORD said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—’” (EX. 3:7-8).

In Nomine Iesu

Once again we find ourselves gathering together in God’s house to observe and celebrate Thanksgiving Day as a nation, as a family and as a family of believers. But why should I be thankful? Do I have any reasons to give thanks to the Lord this year?

We are told by the many cards, calendars, different companies and our country to celebrate it. And amazingly whether we are believers or unbelievers, in church or un-churched, most people do take time to celebrate Thanksgiving as a day of Turkey, football and family get together.

But would I be thankful to God if there was a fire, famine, and failures in my life? Would I be thankful to God if there was death, drought and disaster in my home? Would I be thankful to God if there were complications, conflicts or cancer in my family?

Before you answer, review your life and answer the question honestly. Isn’t true that most often than not, we thank God when He answers the prayers as we think He should, and when He doesn’t, we are not as thankful. Most of the time, we are forgetful of all of the blessings of physical and spiritual that the good and gracious Lord gives us.

Abraham Lincoln, president during the bloody Civil War, called for a National Day of Thanksgiving during a dark and dreary hour. He called upon the Citizens of the Nation to be thankful for the blessings of God, even during time of conflict.

And indeed we should. Even in the discourse that is before us today between God and Moses, we learn the reasons we should be thankful to the Lord. Listen once more to the voice of God as recorded by Moses: “The LORD said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—’”

These words of Moses remind us on this National Thanksgiving Day that our loving and caring God is still concerned about us as He was with the Israelite. This text has so much to offer us today: it describes the Judge of the world who was moved with compassion at what He saw and what He heard, that He rises from His Throne—not to issue a command to the armies of angels that surround Him to fly to the relief of His suffering children—but to come down from heaven, in His own person, in order to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians. Glory to God for this precious record of His power and goodness: “let all the nations of the earth praise Him” (Ps. 67:3, 5).

Isn’t amazing that God would hear the prayers of His sinful people? Isn’t amazing that He comes down to deliver them? Certainly not! For He is a caring and compassionate God and who loves His people very much.

Indeed, we have every reason to be thankful to the Lord even today. Today, years later we continue togather as a Nation to count the blessings of God upon our lives and thus it is a joy to thank Him for all He has done and continues to do.

Of all the blessings that we enjoy Scripture reminds us to be thankful for the Day of Resurrection.

As we remember just how far we have fallen from God’s grace and just how much that our Lord would do to cover that sin, we truly have the ultimate reason to be thankful. And again, it is not about what we have done. It is all about what God had done for you in Jesus Christ. Just as Israel was delivered from Egyptian slavery by the mighty hand and outstretched arm of the God who remembered them and acted, so are we just as miraculously delivered. Jesus Christ’s mighty hand was evident at the cross. There our Lord manifested His outstretched arm on the cross of Calvary. There He delivered you. Pierced Flesh. Blood Shed. A Life Sacrificed. All of these actions of our good and gracious Lord sets us free from the bondage to sin. This freedom is the greatest gift that we can remember on this National Day of Thanksgiving.

Why should I be thankful? Here are but few reasons. You may write them down in your bulletin:

1. Pardon for the past. On account of Christ’s suffering and death, all of our sins have been forgiven. For the sake of the Sin-bearer God has removed our sins from us as far as the East is from the West (Ps. 103:12).
2. Power for the present. The Lord God through His precious Word and Sacrament empowers us to meet the challenges of today. Scripture assures us that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. God’s power makes solid rocks of those who are by nature wobbly and flimsy.
3. Promise for the future. Through the One who has come down the Sin-Bearer, the heaven-sent Savior; God promises to be with us always, “to the very end of the age” (Mt. 28:20b). God’s promise of forgiveness and His outstretched hand of goodness and grace keep us mindful we are not going to dwell here for ever, but have the Promised Land awaiting us.
4. Peace forever. Because Christ Jesus stretched His mighty hands on the cross of Calvary, He restored the broken relationship between man and God and brought it back to the day it was before the fall in the Garden of Eden. For Christ’s sake we have peace with God and man.
5. Personal relationship with Jesus. And now we the recipients of God’s grace have a personal relationship with our blessed Savior.

Jesus is the reason we can give thanks as individuals, as a nation and as a church. Why should you give thanks? That is the wrong question. A better question is, “WHY SHOULDN’T YOU GIVE THANKS?”

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we join the throng and say, “Give thanks to the LORD, for H is good; His love endures forever” (Ps. 107:1) Amen.

Now the peace of God…

SOLI DEO GLORIA

“Thankful Yet Ungrateful” (Luke 17:17-19)

S-1457 FSIA/3B 11/27/2014 Hymns: (O) #568; (S) #574; L.S. #401; 535; 306; (C) # 36

Texts: Psalm 104; Deuteronomy 8:1-10; Philippians 4:6-20; Luke 17:11-17

Theme: “Thankful Yet Ungrateful” (Luke 17:17-19) Thanksgiving Day

Question: “What are you thankful for?”

Faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia. The text for Thanksgiving Day is from the Gospel Lesson: “Then Jesus answered, ‘Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him, ‘Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well’” (Luke 17:17-19).

In the name of Christ Happy Thanksgiving! Is it? Whether you are a pastor or people, standing in the pulpit or in the pew, young or old we have a hard time saying “Thank you!” It is not natural for us to say it. How many times have you said to your little ones “What do you say?” You are prodding them to say thank you. How about the teenagers? They get gifts for their confirmation, birthday, Christmas or graduation and mom and dad have to prod them to send a thank you. And for us adults lets us not just agree, that is what they need to do. How about you? How often do you say thank you or send a note?

You see it doesn’t make any difference what age you are or what is your position saying thank you is not something we do often. We have to be prodded. We have to be taught and we have to practice it—all because it is contrary to the fallen nature of man. We are so richly blessed yet ungrateful.

We see that in the text today. 10 lepers come to Jesus and plead with Him saying to Him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And the good news He did. He poured upon them His ointment of healing and restored their dead body. 9 out of 10 didn’t return, didn’t acknowledge and didn’t thank the Lord.

You might say, if I was one of these lepers I would have come and thanked my Lord and Savior, for His healing touch. But really! Have you said “Thank you Lord today?” Have you thanked Him for all of the blessings He has bestowed upon you today? Have acknowledged that everything you have is a gift from Him. You see when you thank the Lord that means you are thinking of Him. When we think of Him we thank Him because then we realize every good and perfect gift is from Him alone.

David, the Psalmist said this: “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!” (Ps. 118:1) Yes, indeed! His steadfast endures forever. If that is all you give us Lord Jesus that would have been enough for us. But you give us so much more. You give us air to breathe, clothes to wear, food to eat, family, friends, a church where the Word of the Lord is preached purely and the Sacraments administered and shared. How thankful we should be! PAUSE.

We are so blessed, yet very ungrateful. We are never content. We are never satisfied with what we have. If we would many of us would not be so consumed with being present at Black Friday. But let it be known that there is only one true Black Friday—the day Jesus died for you and was placed in a cold tomb for you. Yes, we should be thankful if only we think of what it is that we have from His gracious hands. PAUSE.

On November 17, 2013 in Minden, IL a tornado ripped through the town taking with it the home of Ray and Eunice Hausler. They lost everything they had. After the wreckage, they were going through the debris and they found something that made them stand and take notice. A picture remained on part of the wall intact. The picture had these words on it: “Trust in the Lord.” A year later Ray and Eunice sponsored KFUO program for a day in thanksgiving to the Lord for His kindness and mercy.

What is interested is that a year later they are still getting calls that people are finding their items and calling them to return their items. Their lives are like ours. Even if we lose everything as Luther says: “The Word they still remain Nor any thanks for it; He’s by our side upon the plain With His good gifts and Spirit. And take they our life, Goods, fame, child, and wife, let these all be gone, They yet have nothing won; The Kingdom ours remaineth. Amen” TLH 401)

“Giving Thanks to God” (Psalm 100)

S-1394 TD/C 11/28/2013 Hymns: (O) #568; (S) #36; L.S. #313; #572(C) #577

Texts: Deuteronomy 8:1-8; Philippians 4:6-20; Luke 17:11-19

Theme: “Giving Thanks to God” (Psalm 100)

Question: “Why Should You be Thankful?” Armour, SD

Blessed Thanksgiving Day to each and every one of you faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia! The text for this Thanksgiving Day is from Psalm 100: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100).

INTRODUCTION: In Nomine Iesu.

Most precious people of the Resurrection this past Sunday we were in Sioux Falls having supper at our oldest son’s (Tony) house. At the table my oldest grandson’s wanted me to sit by them, so I sat between them. As the food was dished, Myles asks his mother to help him cut the lasagna. I said, “Grandpa will cut it for you.” After I cut it Myles said, “Thank you grandpa!” I was impressed. He then wanted to have some Mozzarella cheese sprinkled on it. Again, I said, “Grandpa will help you.” He, again said, “Thanks grandpa!” I said to him, “Myles that is so nice of you to say thank you. You are so sweet! Then his mother (Jody) said, “At the daycare, they have been learning about manners. So Myles wanted to make a ‘politeness plan’ where we made a chart that listed manners and nice things to do, and then a chore or a consequence for not doing it.”

It is indeed beautiful to hear a young child who wants to have a politeness plan in place to learn the art of saying thank you and please. Out of the mouth of children the truth is told. Even from the mouth of a child, we are reminded that we need a plan to be polite towards God. And to help us with this plan, the author of the Psalm has the perfect plan in the words of the text for our celebration of Thanksgiving Day.

Did you know that in the Hebrew Scripture the title of this Psalm is “A Psalm of Thanksgiving”? In this Psalm, we truly have the perfect politeness plan. In the opening words we are exhorted and encouraged to: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing!” But why should we? Why does it matter? Because it is fitting for us who have been touched by the saving hands of God Almighty to thank Him, serve Him and sing His praises daily. PAUSE.

In a book titled Reading the Psalms with Luther, Luther states this regarding this Psalm: The 100^th psalm is a prophecy of Christ. It calls on the entire world to be joyful, to praise, and to give thanks, that is, to worship God and come to His throne and His courts, and to call on Him with all confidence. For His grace is an eternal kingdom, which truly remains forever and ever. Yes, indeed it is about our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. The whole wide world is called to be thankful for the mercy He gives undeservedly, for the love He pours unconditionally, the forgiveness He offers freely and the promised eternal life and salvation that is ours because of His Hesed—His grace..

We are taught and exhorted in the words of this Psalm to say thank You Lord for Your mercies which are new every morning. Every day we have opportunities and privileges to say thank You Lord for Your goodness to me a sinner who deserves nothing but wrath and punishment. Because of Your faithfulness towards me I have the blessings of knowing You intimately and bask in Your saving grace.

The Psalmist goes on to say: Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! That is part of the politeness plan to worship, pray and praise the Lord God Almighty. We are to make it a habit to enter His place of worship and give thanks to Him daily and praise Him for His goodness and faithfulness. For in this place we are constantly reminded of our need for a Savior and how the mercies of that Savior are delivered to us. In this place we are immersed with His goodness, faithfulness and love. In this place we get to dine not on turkey and stuffing, but on the precious Word and Life-Giving Sacrament. PAUSE.

But tragically, because of our sinful human nature we don’t worship our Savior often or give Him thanks always. We need to be taught as my grandson Myles was to be polite and say thank you. But that is not in our sinful and self-centered nature. We often think we are the ones who have it made. We think that by our own might and power, we make our own future plans and our dreams come true; but that is not the case. It is always a gift from the Lord Himself.

We are reminded of this truth in the Gospel lesson for Thanksgiving. One out of Ten lepers came back to say thank you to Jesus for being healed. But why was he the only one who said, “Thank you Lord!”? Because he knew what he needed and what was at stake for him without it. He needed the healing touch of the Savior to make him whole and let him live among his family and family of faith. This leper understood that before, he was head­ing for hell; afterward, he was readied for heaven. No wonder he knelt before Jesus with his humble thank you.

Why do we so often forget to say our thank-yous? Why do we have to be reminded to say thank you, just like we do for the little children? Could it be that, unlike that leper, we forget what we deserve and how much we’ve received? Thanksgiving is a time to remember that the only thing we deserve from God is damnation in hell. We don’t deserve the Savior He has sent or a bit of the forgiveness of sins He brings. Neither do we have the rights to the lesser gifts in life. We have a slice of bread to butter, a stitch of clothing to wear, fresh air to inhale, a loved one to enjoy, only because He is our merci­ful Father. Gratitude begins with remembering our unworthiness and His abundant HESED—His GRACE and mercy.

Genuine gratitude colors not only this Thanksgiving Day, but each day of our lives. The Psalmist reminds us of that with the words of the text. And even the Apostle Paul said it this way, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17).

Therefore, by the power of the Holy Spirit let us develop and execute today and everyday a politeness plan. In this plan let us review the blessings the Savior gives us daily. Let us sing, praise, pray and worship Him for being so faithful to us sinners. By the Spirit’s power as we are gathered in His house to hear His Word and receive His precious Sacrament, we know what precious gifts He gives us and are moved in humility and joy to say THANK YOU JESUS FOR LOVING ME A SINNER.

On this Thanksgiving Day, it is fitting for us, to say with Luther as he teaches us in the explanation of the First Article of the Creed saying: “for all which is my duty to thank and praise him, this is most certainly true!” Therefore, we boldly confess and say: “Thanks be to God for every blessed gift He bestows on us.” Amen.

Now the peace…

SOLI DEO GLORIA.

“It’s Not Like That” (Deut. 8:10‑11)

S-1344-Thanksgiving Day 2012 Hymns: #36; #134; (L.S. #568; #573); #574

Texts: Deuteronomy 8:10-20; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 17:11‑19

Theme: “It’s Not Like That” (Deut. 8:10‑11)

Question: “How Thankful Are You?” Armour, SD

EVERY PERSON WILL GET A PAPER SACK AS THEY COME TO CHURCH.

Blessed Thanksgiving Day to you in the name of Christ who is arisen from the grave. The text for our meditation is from the O.T. Lesson: “And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord Your God for the good land He has given you. Take care lest you forget the Lord Your God by not keeping His commandments and His rules and His statutes, which I command you today” (Deut. 8:10‑11).

INTRODUCTION.

Beloved in the Lord consider this scene: “Your wife has been in the hospital for 3 weeks battling cancer. The doctor’s, nurses and others have cared for her around the clock and now she gets to come home cancer free.” How do you feel? You are grateful and thankful and you make sure you tell them that. You go out of your way to let them know you appreciated all that they have done for your wife.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we, along with Christians all over the USA, pause from our busy schedules to give thanks to the Lord, not because it is a day that our nation has set aside to say thank you, but rather, because our hearts flow from the abundance of what our loving and gracious God has done and continues to do for us.

I. Why We Are Here today?

In the text before us today, Moses, the author of our text reminds the Israelites and us never to forget the goodness of the Lord. Never to forget what the Lord has done for them—He has brought them out with an outstretched hand and strong arm from the slavery of Egypt to the Promised Land. And He supplied them with every blessing to meet their needs of both body and soul.

Today, many have forgotten the reason the Pilgrims stopped so long ago to give thanks to the Lord for protecting them and providing for them through the harsh winter. Today, many think of Thanksgiving Day as a day off, or a day to eat Turkey and watch TV and some go so far to do the most stupid thing—pitch their tents for a week outside a Wal-Mart, or Best Buy until Black Friday rolls around; so they can buy another gadget that soon will be obsolete or breaks down. PAUSE.

It is not like that for us beloved in the Lord. Yes, we are here today because of another Black Friday. Not one where you have stood in line for hours or even days to purchase that coveted item. No, our Black Friday is a blessing from God Himself who sent His Only Son, Jesus Christ to Calvary to stand against all the evil forces of the world and deliver man from the slavery of the devil and the punishment of hell.

We are here today, in His house on Thanksgiving Day to be reminded again and again of the mercy and love of God and to thank Him for all He has done. We are here today, to receive from the abundance of His store houses all He has prepared for us. We are here today, to lift our hearts and voices to our God and say: “THANK YOU FOR LOVING ME AND CARING FOR MY NEEDS! THANK YOU FOR STANDING IN MY PLACE TO TAKE MY PUNISHMENT UPON YOU. THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME FROM THE ETERNAL DAMNATION!” Thanks, is a heavenly gift, it is the perspective to see beyond the circumstances of the moment and see that the Lord, He is here. “For us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man...” PAUSE.

II. Here He fills Your Sack With His Goods.

Faithful followers of the Savior, when you came into this house of worship you received a paper sack. I would like you to open it up and look inside (give them time) what do you see in it? NOTHING! That is right nothing. You came into God’s presence with an empty sack because you have nothing to offer Him. We have nothing in our sacks to cause our God to love us or honor us. On the contrary, all we have in our sack is our filth and sin.

But wait, look again please. Having confessed your sins, Your gracious Father forgives you and removes the sin from you. He fills your sack with forgiveness. Then you get to hear His Word read to encourage you and bless you in your walk of faith. Another item goes into your sack. Then He blesses you as you hear His Word preached, and yet another is dropped into your sack. Your sack is getting a little heavier, even without you buying anything. But He is not done. He reminds you of what His Son has done for you on Golgotha as He died and rose for you—and the whole world.

This same loving Savior invites you to come to His table. There He serves you the most delicious meal; tastier than any turkey, dressing, gravy and pumpkin pie that you could eat. And the sack is getting heavier. He hears and answers your prayers as He only can and another gift is dropped into your sack. Then as He sends you out into the world He blesses you with His grace and gives you His peace and reminds you that He will be with you wherever you go.

Look again, brothers and sisters in Christ into that sack and you will see, grace upon grace. You will see love, forgiveness, compassion, kindness, mercy, salvation and life eternal and these all are yours FREE.

Then as you leave the church, you put your sack on your back and walk out. Along the journey of life you meet people, you open your sack and begin to divvy out these gifts to others to bless them on their journey of life. And when your sack is empty you come back again and Your gracious Father, fills them up once more to the brim and sends you out in His name and by His command to be a blessing to others.

III. We Come on Thanksgiving Day to truly Thank Him.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we join the throng because it is fitting for us to thank our Lord and God. And just like the man in my opening story was thankful for the many who helped his wife get better and stronger; likewise, we, take the time to thank God and never forget His blessings—the blessings of making us His children. The blessings of filling our empty sacks with His goods. The blessings of realizing we have more than any department store, internet, TV program, or an event in history can fulfill the desires of our hearts—He gives Himself and for that we are indeed THANKFUL.

CONCLUSION:

Saints in Christ, today as you leave with your sacks laden with every heavenly gift, may I remind you of the joy of being called a child of the heavenly King and truly acknowledge that every good and perfect gift is from Him. May you know His constant love for you and devotion to redeem you through the gift of His Son on Calvary’s cross.

As you gather with family and friends kindly remind them that it is not like that for you. You know where your blessings come from—not in the gadgets you are buying on Black Friday, but from the Black Friday of long ago—from Him who loved you and died for you and rose again to give you life and salvation. Amen.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY TO YOU EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

Now the peace…

SOLI DEO GLORIA

REMEMBER Deut. 8:2

S‑1081 11/27/2008 Thanksgiving Day Hymns: (O)568; (S) 36; 54 S.O.D. 574; L.S. 313; #572; 577

Texts: Deuteronomy 8:1-10; Philippians 4:6-20; Luke 17:11-19

Theme: “REMEMBER” (Deut. 8:2).

Armour, SD. SOLI DEO GLORIA.

Question: “Remember when?”

Faithful followers of the Savior, Christ is Risen! He is Risen! Indeed! Alleluia! The text for our Thanksgiving Day is from the Old Testament Lesson: “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD Your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. (Deut. 8:1-2).

Saints in Christ, on this National Thanksgiving Day, we take time to be in the Lord’s house for one purpose and one purpose only—to give thanks to our Father, Creator and Provider for all of His blessings for us.

One of those blessings is the gift of memory. Oh how precious that gift is and what a tragedy when we loose our memories. Sometimes, we kid ourselves by saying: “I am having a senior moment—I forgot!” Memory is indeed a gift, and we don’t realize what a gift it is unless we loose it.

Perhaps you know a loved one—grandpa or grandma, father or mother who lost their memory to Alzheimer. You visit them in the hospital or the nursing home, but they don’t know you. It breaks your heart when that happens.

But as bad as that loss is, it is not as bad as when we choose not to remember the blessings from God. It is a sad day when the child of God forgets the commands of God to remember all of His goodness and graces to us. In the text before us today, Moses as God’s spokesperson speaks to the Israelites saying: And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD Your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” (Deut. 9:2).

Moses is asking the people of Israel to REMEMBER all along the way, how with a mighty arm and with an outstretched hand what the Lord of heaven and earth has done for them—delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh and the slavery in Egypt, and how He led them for 40 years in the wilderness. Remember His goodness to you and the promises He fulfilled in caring for all of your needs. Remember His loving-kindness to you by not keeping you where you were, but getting you out of that place. Remember! Don’t forget that you have a Father who loves you and cares for you. The more you remember, the more you are apt to give thanks for what has taken place.

Many parents teach their children to say “thank you” as they receive a gift from someone. Sometimes they also have to remind them to say thank you too. That is a good thing. When we do we acknowledge the giver of the gift.

Memory is a special gift from God. We often find ourselves saying to one, Remember when… “Remember when we went on this vacation? Remember when grandma came to visit? Remember when God answered our prayers? Remember when she said yes? Remember when our children were born?”

Oh, how thankful we are for our memories. They allow us to look back and give thanks to God. But they also allow us to look ahead realizing that God is continuing to lead us into the future. PAUSE.

We live in an electronic age that many people can’t live without, because of the many conveniences they provide us. Consider the computer. It has a memory chip that allows it to remember the last activity and store information. But sometimes the computer gets to much information and it needs a bigger memory chip to hold all of the information.

So it is with us the beloved saints of Christ. We have our memory also. The more we spend time around God’s Word and His Sacrament, the more we are filled with awe at God’s mercy and grace for all He does for us. And even though we don’t have a memory chip that you can add to because of the many information we have stored, we have a chip in someone who cares to remind us of the blessings of God—a brother or a sister in the Lord. For those who care enough to remind us of God’s goodness we should be thankful.

As sinners, sometimes we forget that we are God’s beloved children, that He provides for us all things, that He cares for us in all situations, and that He wants us to remember His love and compassion always. PAUSE.

It is gratitude that prompted an old man to visit an old broken pier on the eastern seacoast of Florida. Every Friday night, until his death in 1973, he would return, walking slowly and slightly stooped with a large bucket of shrimp. The sea gulls would flock to this old man, and he would feed them from his bucket. Many years before, in October, 1942, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was on a mission in a B-17 to deliver an important message to General Douglas MacArthur in New Guinea. But there was an unexpected detour which would hurl Captain Eddie into the most harrowing adventure of his life.

Somewhere over the South Pacific the Flying Fortress became lost beyond the reach of radio. Fuel ran dangerously low, so the men ditched their plane in the ocean... For nearly a month Captain Eddie and his companions would fight the water, and the weather, and the scorching sun. They spent many sleepless nights recoiling as giant sharks rammed their rafts. The largest raft was nine by five. The biggest shark...ten feet long. 

But of all their enemies at sea, one proved most formidable: starvation. Eight days out, their rations were long gone or destroyed by the salt water. It would take a miracle to sustain them. And a miracle occurred. In Captain Eddie's own words, “Cherry,” that was the B- 17 pilot, Captain William Cherry, “read the service that afternoon, and we finished with a prayer for deliverance and a hymn of praise. There was some talk, but it tapered off in the oppressive heat. With my hat pulled down over my eyes to keep out some of the glare, I dozed off.”

“Something landed on my head. I knew that it was a sea gull. I don’t know how I knew, I just knew. Everyone else knew too. No one said a word, but peering out from under my hat brim without moving my head, I could see the expression on their faces. They were staring at that gull. The gull meant food...if I could catch it.” And the rest, as they say, is history. Captain Eddie caught the gull. Its flesh was eaten. Its intestines were used for bait to catch fish. The survivors were sustained and their hopes renewed because a lone sea gull, uncharacteristically hundreds of miles from land, offered itself as a sacrifice. You know that Captain Eddie made it.  And now you also know...that he never forgot. Because every Friday evening, about sunset...on a lonely stretch along the eastern Florida seacoast...you could see an old man walking...white-haired, bushy-eye browed, slightly bent. His bucket filled with shrimp was to feed the gulls...to remember that one which, on a day long past, gave itself without a struggle...like manna in the wilderness. 

We, today, gather in this place to remember a great deliverance that took place. Not of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt, not the deliverance of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker from the sea by a sea gull, but the living Christ who gave His life as ransom for all. We remember our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ on Thanksgiving Day and every day for all of His abundant and undeserved blessings for us. We remember as we gather in His presence around His Word and precious Sacrament. In gratitude we remember His goodness always. We remember His suffering at the hands of the Romans. Remember the crown of thorns. Remember the pierced hands. Remember the parched lips. Remember His death. And rejoice in His resurrection. Jesus even exhorts us as we gather around His table to do it all in remembrance of Him. PAUSE.

Beloved in Christ today in gratitude to the Savior’s gift to us, we are in His house. And we remember the many blessings. Therefore remember your baptism. It is your greatest Treasure! It is a ship that shall never be wrecked, which leads you into a heavenly harbor. Remember the Sacrament of the Altar it is your heavenly manna along the way to eternity. Remember that your sins are forgiven. Remember that you are blood-bought and heaven-bound. Remember this day, because today in gratitude to the God of all grace; you and I lift our eyes heaven-ward and declare all that we have is but a gift from the merciful Father of all grace.

Please, Lord, never let me forget the basis for such a blessed hope. Jesus died in payment for my sins. He rose again to show sin’s payment was complete. Those of us who remember this wonderful and blessed news and by faith live and die in Him shall stand at His side in heaven forever.

Thank God for your memory today. Blessed Thanksgiving Day. Amen.

Now the peace…