Abundant Living in God’s Abundant World (Thanksgiving Sunday)

Luke 17: 11-19

Roger Lynn

November 24, 2019

Thanksgiving Sunday

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

This is the week when we in this country pull out all the stops and offer expressions of thanks amidst rituals of family, friends, and food. At least on this one day of the year we pause to pay attention to that in our lives for which we can be grateful. And we celebrate with almost reckless abandon. The fact is that we live in an abundant world – God’s abundant world. I cannot prove it, but I firmly believe it to be true. There is abundance all around us. Sometimes we experience it. Sometimes we don’t. But it is always true. I am convinced that one of the primary differences between experiencing it and not experiencing it has to do with paying attention. Do we notice? Do we watch for it? Are we in the habit of being aware? The Buddhists have a practice known as mindfulness. I don’t pretend to fully understand all of what that entails, but I know that it has to do with paying attention.

The trick, of course, is to notice more often. Once a year on the fourth Thursday in November is, perhaps, not the most effective way to actually experience life’s full potential. In the book of Deuteronomy, the Hebrew people, who are about to enter the “Promised Land” receive instructions on how to make the most of the life which lays before them. They are told to eat, drink, enjoy – and remember God. It is not enough to simply enjoy the abundance which is theirs. To fully participate in the experience requires the added step of being aware of both the abundance and the source of that abundance. At one level, reality remains the same whether we pay attention or not. As the ancient Celtic saying puts it, “Bidden or unbidden, God is present.” Saint Catherine of Siena put it this way, “All the way to heaven is heaven.” Where there is God, there is abundance – and God is everywhere. But at another level, paying attention makes all the difference in the world. Or at least all the difference in how we experience the world. 

In the story from Luke about the healing of the ten lepers we find a clue about all of this. Leprosy in the ancient world was some sort of skin disease. We aren’t sure whether it was what we now know as Hanson’s Disease, or some other affliction. What we do know is that, at least for the Hebrew people at the time of Jesus, it rendered the victim ritually unclean. Which meant that you were cut off from all real contact with the rest of your community. You had to isolate yourself – keep your distance. It would have been a truly horrible existence. In the story Luke tells, ten such individuals approach Jesus, no doubt having heard rumors that he was some sort of miracle worker. They were desperate. They would try anything. So, keeping their distance, they cry out for mercy. And Jesus responds – in an almost matter-of-fact sort of way. “Go and show yourselves to the priest.” Showing yourself to the priest is what you do to get official verification and certification of being healed. Jesus is saying, in essence, it is already done. And that is that. All ten of them have been healed. But only one of them takes the next step. Only one of them pays enough attention to remember to offer thanks. And to this one Jesus says, “Your faith has made you whole.” They were all healed, but only through thanksgiving was there true wholeness.

We live in a world of God’s abundance. It’s all around us. Will we notice? Will we connect ourselves to it? Or will we live less than whole lives? Listen to a few lines from Psalm 65. They reflect the experience of someone who notices. They offer us a glimpse into what life can be like when we remember to truly say thanks. “You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.” (Psalm 65:9-13) What an amazing experience to live in that kind of world!

There is real scarcity in the world. There are people who genuinely do not have enough to survive. But I am convinced that is a problem of distribution rather than a lack of abundance. When we remember that we have enough, when we remember that we live in a world of abundance, when we remember that we have been truly and deeply blessed, then we are freed to truly and deeply share so that others also can be blessed. And, even in the midst of an experience of genuine scarcity, an attitude of gratitude is possible and makes an amazing difference. I once watched a video that highlighted various approaches to spirituality. In a segment about gratitude there was a brief interview with a woman who was living in a cardboard box on the sidewalk. She was missing all of her front teeth. Everything she owned was kept in a shopping cart. And she was in touch with the presence of the sacred all around her. “All of life is a blessing,” she said with a genuine smile. “Taking a breath is a blessing. Getting up in the morning is a blessing. Whether it’s hard or easy, life is a blessing.” Being in touch with the fundamental abundance of God’s world can make an enormous difference in how we experience life in this world. Will we notice?

I invite you to close your eyes and spend the next few moments noticing. Pay attention to the abundance right here in this room. Pay attention to the abundance in your life. Pay attention to the abundance in your own body. Open yourself to God’s abundance.

** pause **

This week, may we be truly thankful. May we be truly mindful of God’s abundance. May we experience truly abundant living.