Community Thanksgiving Service – “Do You Have a Tongue of Thanksgiving?”

Sermon Title: Watch Your Tongue – Speak with Thanksgiving

Good News Statement: God provides us with thanksgiving

Preached: Sunday, November 16, 2023 at Berlin Congregational Christian Church

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): Psalm 100:  This evening’s scripture reading comes from Psalm chapter one-hundred. In a season of Thanksgiving, it’s important to pause and reflect upon what God invites us to do when it comes time to offer thanks. Listen to the words of the Psalmist:

Psalm 100

All Lands Summoned to Praise God

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

¹ Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.
²     Worship the Lord with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.

³ Know that the Lord is God.
It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him, bless his name.

⁵ For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Ephesians 5:1-4

¹ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, ² and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ But sexual immorality and impurity of any kind or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. ⁴ Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving.

 

 

Introduction:

Can I ask you a few questions?

-Why did Mom’s turkey seasoning taste a little off last year? She ran out of thyme.

-What’s the official dance of Thanksgiving called? The turkey trot.

-What’s a running turkey called? Fast food.

 

Thanksgiving, a holiday with such a powerful meaning, but yet is slowly being covered up by the decorating, shopping, and sounds of Christmas. I don’t know about you, but for me Christmas doesn’t officially begin until after Thanksgiving. For me, Thanksgiving is that time of year when we give thanks for what God has done, is doing, and will do in our life without being distracted by blinking lights and Bing Crosby singing, “I’m dreaming of a white a Christmas.” Thanksgiving is that time of year to prepare our hearts for the advent season—the period of waiting for the birth of Christ by giving thanks. Thanksgiving is more than a few days in November: it is a lifelong practice by which comes to fruition when we find ourselves with the Shepherds in the fields and then as we kneel with Mary and John at the foot of the cross giving thanks for Jesus being with us. Thanksgiving is so important that you all have chosen to be here this evening! Thanksgiving is not just important to us, it is important to the history of our nation.

As a matter of fact, it is recorded in most, if not all, history textbooks, that the very first Thanksgiving meal took place in December of 1621 in the Plymouth Colony of present day Massachusetts. While it’s not known whether the Plymouth colonists repeated the 1621 celebration in subsequent years, the tradition of giving thanks to God merged with celebrations of the harvest to become a fall tradition. As a matter of fact, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the final Thursday in November as a national Thanksgiving holiday for the first time (www.history.com).

From its roots in the Plymouth harvest celebration to Lincoln recognizing Thanksgiving as a national holiday, we can trace the origins of the annual celebration of family, food and gratitude we know today; and in doing so, we find that the ultimate root of our ability and willingness to give thanks rests in the hands of our Creator. Because of God’s work of bringing people together in 1621, we, today, are called to give thanks to God for all that He has done, is doing, and will do in our life. The time has come, as the Psalmist proclaims, to give thanks to our LORD eternally (Psalm 30:12). But what are we actually saying when we give thanks? What does the word “thanks” mean in “thanksgiving” and what are you giving?

 

Opening Prayer:

Let us pray… Dear Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for the opportunity to gather together to give thanks to you. Lord, help us to understand what it means to give thanks in our life so that we will be eternally blessed in your kingdom. I pray that my words fall to the ground as your words settle in the hearts of all those before me. In your name we pray, Amen.

 

Body:

Have you ever thought about what you might be saying when say thank you? According to the New York Daily News, “New research reveals [that the average person will] say thank you 2,000 times a year…but more than half of the time [they] don’t actually mean it.” If I did my math correctly, this equates to having the average person saying thank you 5.5 times a day but only meaning it about 2.75 times per day. Now that’s a pretty small amount when considering that the average person will speak anywhere from 7,000 to 20,000 words per day.

Again according to the New York Daily News, “Merci Chocolates polled 2,000 Americans to better understand what “thank you” really means and the ways in which we show gratitude in our fast-moving modern lives. Results showed that “40% of those questioned said they often don’t show any gratitude at all for things they know they are actually thankful for.” Another spokesperson noted, “We move so fast today and sometimes we’re on autopilot, saying things out of habit without properly conveying our gratitude.” The survey concluded by pointing out that nearly half (49%) of those surveyed believed saying “thanks” or “thank you” has lost its true meaning. Why do you all think that is? So I ask again, have you ever thought about what you might be saying when you say thank you? And when you do, are you saying it out of habit or are you being sincere?

The other day I was listening to a podcast titled “Do you have a tongue of thanksgiving?” If you stuck your tongue out at your neighbor, would they find a “tongue of thanksgiving”? (Or would they find something else…?) The broadcaster of this particular podcast, used Ephesians 5:1-4 to prove his point. The Apostle Paul, after describing to the people of Ephesus what is needed to become the unified body of Christ by shedding away the old and establishing new rules of life, mentions two kingdoms by which the people can choose to live by. Paul wrote, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and impurity of any kind or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving (Ephesians 5:1-4). “But instead, let there be thanksgiving.”

Paul talks about a kingdom filled with darkness; a kingdom filled with lust; and a kingdom filled with obscene, silly, and vulgar talk. This kingdom is filled with striving to fulfill our needs, our wants, our desires: things that draw us away from God, saying things that we don’t really mean. In this kingdom, our language reflects the tone and demeanor of that famous donkey from Winnie the Pooh named Eeyore. Eeyore has this calm, depressed quality about him. One of his famous lines is “Thanks for noticin’ me.” and “Don’t blame me if it rains.” He often saw the downside of things rather than the upside of things. He had a tongue of darkness, not so much a tongue of thanksgiving.

And Paul reminds us on several accounts throughout his epistles of this kingdom: he reminds us of this in Galatians 5:19-22 when he talks about the works of the flesh; and in Romans 1:28-32 when he warns the people of Rome to avoid filling their hearts with wickedness; and then, when writing to the people of Colossae, Paul states, “but now you must put them [spiritual failures] all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). Paul, like Christ, knows we are going to have a tongue of darkness at some point in our life: it’s inevitable. However, now is the time step away from the kingdom and tongue of darkness and lean into having a tongue of thanksgiving.

On the other hand, Paul talks about another kingdom; a kingdom of light; a kingdom of love; a kingdom where we are imitators of God, beloved children of God, who walk in the love of Jesus Christ. In this kingdom, we put ourselves to the side and help others, serve others, are there for others, and speak with a tongue of thanksgiving: a tongue by which speaks with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and even grace (Galatians 5:22-23). In this kingdom, we take to heart what James writes in his first and third chapters. James 1:26 reminds us, “If any think they are religious and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless” and James 3:3-5 notes, “If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.” The Apostle Matthew tells us, “ You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure.” And 1 Peter 3:10 , in quoting Psalm 34, shares, “Those who desire to love life and to see good days let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit…”

Simply put, God does not want us to have a tongue of darkness. God wants us to have tongue of love: a tongue that is directive, guiding, nurturing, and speaks of good things, speaks from the heart, and speaks in mighty and uplifting ways. With this tongue of love, we must be reminded that although it is small it has a great impact. And that we must think before we speak. (How many of you like to blurt things out before you give time to think about things? That’s what happens around the table during the holiday seasons with my extended family!) Keep in mind your tongue reveals the secrets of your heart, as Matthew noted in the above scripture reference; what you say reveals what you are experiencing on the inside. We have a tongue of two kingdoms. However, God wants us to have a tongue of love and with this tongue we learn what it means to say and live out the idea of giving thanks.

Depending on the translation that you read from, the word “thanks” appears approximately 143 times in the Bible. And of those 143 times, the word “thanks” appears in the Psalms 55 times. The Psalmist, like we read earlier, is trying to tell us something. He is trying to tell us that it’s time to mean what we say because God deserves to hear our thanks. Before we can understand the Psalmist, we first must understand what we are saying when we say “thank you.”

In the Hebrew language, “thanks” is often translated as ‘toda’ (toe-dah) which means confession or blessing. When we confess something, more often than not, we are either publically or privately acknowledging that something in our life deserves attention. For example, Psalm 95:2 states, “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” In this verse, the Psalmist is confessing that we are to enter into the presence of the LORD with a “cheerful heart” to use the words of King Solomon. We need to enter his presence so that we may be pardoned, forgiven. Psalm 92:1 states, “It is good to give thanks to the LORD….” It is good to confess to the LORD that we need Him in our life. I don’t know about you, but I certainly need God in my life. I don’t want to imagine a life without Him. When we say thank you, we are confessing that we want to be forgiven, that we seek to speak in such a way that God needs us to speak, and that what the other person has done for us to help us out deserves to be blessed.

Just think about the moments in your life when you were approaching any door, with arms full of groceries, and someone opened the door for you. The person just made your life a little easier. For those who have siblings that stood up for you, which might have been a very rare occasion, they made your life a little easier because you avoided getting in trouble. Every day, whether it’s you or someone else, there are moments that make life a little easier; but have you confessed and sincerely said thank you in those moments. So thank you is another way of confessing that you are grateful for those moments in your life that either God or someone else has helped you out. I invite you to turn to your neighbor and say, “Thank you.”

Now in Greek, the word “thanks” is more involved. In Greek, “thank you” is pronounced eucharisto  which is often translated as pardon. The idea of pardon is associated with celebrating the Eucharist or Holy Communion—a sacrament in the church where the people gather before God to remember the sacrifice that Jesus paid on the cross, his new covenant and presence in our life—where we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. “Eucharisto” is a pardon—a thank you—to God for the blessings in our life that we have failed to be grateful for. Furthermore, the root word of eucharisto  is the word charis . Charis  has several meanings: grace, favor, and kindness, all of which define “thank you” in their own right.

Charis as grace is by far the most common interpretation. The Apostle Paul is said to be the main contributor to guiding people towards grace through his epistles. Grace is often defined as something by which is given to us by God as a gift. Paul writes in Romans 3:24, “[They] are now justified by his grace as a gift…” Saying thank you or giving thanks should not be something we force ourselves to say. It should not be said between clenched teeth—something that may happen when we gather with friends and family whom we don’t necessarily agree with. (Remember what Solomon said in Proverbs 17:28, “Even fools who keep silent are considered wise; when they close their lips, they are deemed intelligent.” Just think about that come Thanksgiving.) Rather, saying thank you should be a gift that comes from our heart and enters into the hearts of those around us. This was John Wesley’s understanding of grace: grace that is gifted by God for all God’s people.

Similar to what John Wesley—the founding father of Methodism—said about grace, Rebekah Miles highlights in the book Where Do We Go From Here. She articulates God’s grace as something that “leads people toward greater love of God and neighbor, toward holiness of heart and life, and toward forming and reforming each other” (Kevin Slimp, 149). Simply by saying thank you, you are inviting others to know God because we are reflecting God’s nature and God’s habits, and you are offering grace and letting them know how important they are in your life. By saying thank you, you are not only leading others toward greater love, holiness, and togetherness, but you are leading yourself towards these things as well. Thanks is an act of grace, a confession of love, and a means to living out God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. I invite you to turn to your neighbor, with grace in your heart, and say “Thank you.”

Charis (cariV) is also translated as favor. What does it mean to favor someone or something? For me, it means that I have chosen that person or thing above everything else; I have a strong liking, approval, or preference. I often try to figure out who my parents favor more: do they favor my brother who drops his kids off at their house for the weekend, is it my other brother who does random projects for them, is it my sister who lives in North Carolina so my parents get to escape from their busy lives whenever they visit her; or is it me, the baby of the family. My mom would say she doesn’t have favorites. Now my dad would say Jackson is his favorite…Jackson is my parent’s dog. But what is it that makes someone or something your favorite?

You may have a favorite color.  You may have a favorite breed of dog or cat; you may even have a favorite shirt or place to go eat. You may even have a favorite aunt, uncle, cousin, brother, sister, or friend. Whether it’s a person or thing, you favor certain things in your life. But why? Because they bring you joy, you like them more than other things, they challenge you, and they remind you of you or they remind you have someone else in your life that has impacted your life, or quite possibly they bestow memories that you don’t want to forget. The list could go on and on and on. No matter the reason why you like something or someone, you show favoritism because that thing or person has impacted your life. What they did caused you to notice them. Like the person who held the door open for you when your hands were full of groceries, you said thank you because you noticed them and they impacted your life by making your life a little easier. When you say thank you, you provided favor because you took the time to notice and appreciate what the person or thing did in your life.

Psalm 100:2 states, “Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” The LORD is God and because we know this, we know that He has made us. If God was willing to take the time to make you and you and you and you, then we should be willing to show Him favor: we should be willing to give thanks to Him in “all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). The Lord noticed you, showed you favor. Do you favor the LORD? I invite you to turn to your neighbor and say, “Thank you.”

Lastly, charis means kindness. When looking up definitions of favor, kindness was mentioned. One definition read that favor is an “act of kindness beyond what is due or usual.” The Greek word for “kind” is chrestos  meaning ‘useful.’ To be kind is to act humbly in the presence of others. Kindness involves action: it involves a state of being useful for someone else. Kindness is that gentle reminder, like saying thank you, that let’s others know that they have been noticed and are appreciated for what they have done. When you say thank you, you are offering kindness where kindness is deserved. But you have to mean it.

What I appreciate about charis meaning kindness is the connection that it offers to the Fruit of the Spirit. Paul writes in his epistle to the Galatians, “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Isn’t that what we are offering and saying when we say thank you? I hope your answer is yes! When you take the time to truly and honestly say thank you, you are sharing with others what God has, is, and will give you. God will give you the Fruit of the Spirit when you take time to confess, to offer grace, to show favor towards, and to be kind toward others. When you say thank you, when you are giving thanks, you are showing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to the person who has made your life just a little bit easier. Giving thanks is an act of kindness that we should want to practice. I invite you to turn to your neighbor and say “Thank you.”

 

Conclusion:

Psalm 100:3 reads, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name.” When you enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise give thanks to him for everything that he has done, is doing, and will do in your life, remember that you are confessing to the one whom you favor and show kindness towards: God is the one who deserves our true thanksgiving. Because he brought together the people of 1621, we, today, are able to gather with family and friends around a common table where love and joy are shared in unison.  Saying thank you is more than something we say: it is an act of kindness that shows others that they are favored by and deserve God’s grace just as much as we do. When we demonstrate thanksgiving in our life, we are saying thank you with a heart full of pardon, grace, favor, and kindness, and these are the very things that we give to others when we say “thank you.”

I leave you with one analogy to keep in your back pockets for this Thanksgiving. The analogy that I leave with you is this: this thanksgiving put a small tube of toothpaste in your pocket. Every time the tongue of darkness wants to make its presence known, grasp that tube of toothpaste as a reminder that what comes out of that tube is tough or even impossible to put back in. What comes out of your mouth is impossible to put back in. Use that tube of toothpaste as reminder that God wants your tongue to speak from the kingdom of light, love, and thanksgiving.

It’s time to mean what we say. It’s time to say thank you in the way that God intended his people to do so—with praise, with thanksgiving, with love and adoration. It’s time to fully acknowledge as the Psalmist writes, “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever and his faithfulness to all generations” (Psalm 100:5). For this Thanksgiving I challenge you to mean what you say when you say thank you. Give thanks with a grateful heart to the hands that helped prepare the Thanksgiving meal. Give thanks with kindness, grace, and favor to all those whom you gather with. Give thanks knowing that God’s love endures forever. Give thanks for things you are thankful for. Give thanks because God is good. And give God the thanks that He deserves and that you mean. What if you woke up tomorrow with only what you thanked God for yesterday? What are you thankful for? So I ask you once again, “Do you have a tongue of thanksgiving?”

 

Closing Prayer:

Let us Pray…Dear Heavenly Father, help us to remember to give you praise and thanksgiving. It is because of you that we are here today, so let us be thankful for everything that you have done, are doing, and will do for us. Help us to confess and offer grace and kindness as we give you our favor. In your name we pray, Amen. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

 

Benediction:

As you celebrate Thanksgiving this week, really think about what you are thankful for and remember to give God praise for those showers of blessings in your life. May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; and May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit go forth living a life of thankfulness. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!