Stumpy, serving the Dellville United Methodist Church in Perry County, PA
"We've Only Just Begun"
Internet Address: bob.stump@ecunet.org
Dellville UM Church Webpage: http://www.gbgm-umc.org/dellville
(written on Wed, Nov 24, 1999, at 11:44 am)

The Danger of Prosperity
Deuteronomy 8:7-18; Psalm 65; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; Luke 17:11-19
THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE A


My Uncle Philip is from Holland. When I was fourteen, my Aunt Mary Kay
met him on a romantic Caribbean Cruise. During the years of their
courtship, my Uncle became acquainted with USA culture. Some of his
observations about our culture and customs are quite enlightening. Some
of our customs were more difficult for him to get used to then others.
Our customs about holidays were particularly troubling to him. He had
been courting Aunt Mary Kay just a little over a year. He was at my
Grammie's for Thanksgiving Day. The whole concept of Thanksgiving Day was
puzzling to him. Of course, it didn't help that we sometimes refer to
Thanksgiving Day as "Turkey Day". Half disgusted and half in an effort to
understand his fiancee's family and the culture of her country, he
commented, "I don't understand you Americans! Christmas time, you bake a
big turkey and all the trimmings and you eat. Easter time, you bake a big
ham and all the trimmings and you eat. Memorial day, you have a picnic.
Independence Day, you have a picnic. Labor Day, you have a picnic. Your
birthday, you have some cake. Thanksgiving time, you bake a big turkey and
all the trimmings and you eat. You Americans are all the time eating. No
wonder so many of you are over weight!"
I thinking referring to Thanksgiving Day as "Turkey Day" really threw
him off. The thought of a special Holiday for focusing on eating turkey,
stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, gravy, and pumpkin pie was
a big mystery to him.
My Uncle is very wise and I don't say that just because he is my Uncle.
If Thanksgiving were just turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet
potatoes, corn, gravy, and pumpkin pie, it would be very shallow indeed.
Thanksgiving is so much more then the traditional meal we share.
Thanksgiving Day is a uniquely Christian day. It makes absolutely no
sense outside the context of faith. In the context of faith, however, it
has great meaning.
In Deuteronomy chapter eight, the people of Israel are about to enter
into the Promised Land. Moses noted how the people would prosper on this
land. It was a land flowing with milk and honey. It was a land on which
they would experience many, many blessings from the Lord.
There is a danger in prosperity. It is the danger of forgetfulness.
It is the danger of thinking that somehow you reached prosperity all on
your own.
We make much of being self - made people. Rugged individualism is the
foundation of our country. It is part of what makes us great.
There is much positive in being self - made. You are not a burden to
anybody. What you have is the result of the labor of your hands and the
creativity of your mind.
But there is one danger: Pride. The thought that we made it all on
our own.
Moses noted this danger in prosperity as he spoke to the people of
Israel as they were about to enter the land God had given them, "Do not say
to yourself, 'My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this
wealth.' But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power
to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your
ancestors, as he is doing today." -- Deuteronomy 8:17-18.
Only in the power and strength that God gives us, do we prosper. A
Christian believer can not affirm him or her self as self - made. The
Christian knows that it is God who make us what we are, it is God who
provides us the power, the strength, and the wisdom to obtain a living for
ourselves, it is God, ultimately, who makes us prosper.
As Christians, daily, our lives are a celebration of Thanksgiving for
what God has done for us. Thanksgiving is a constant part of our lives
together in the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanksgiving is the most important
characteristic of our lives in Christ. As we live and move and have our
being in our world, thanksgiving flows out of us. Our lives are a constant
affirmation that "the Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad."
At least a few of you are fans of the TV series Star Trek: The Next
Generation. Star Trek does not often mention God or the life of faith.
However, they do occasionally make reference to the thanksgiving ritual of
a certain race called the "Betazoids". They give thanks for the gift of
food by playing a certain musical instrument throughout their meal.
It is interesting that this should be one of the few references to the
life of faith on this TV series. I think it to be very fitting. For what
else better characterizes the life of faith then our need as people of
faith to offer thanks for the blessings that we receive? It is no
coincidence that the very first prayer I learned as a child was a table
grace. Mother taught us a Catholic table grace she probably learned as a
little girl. The grace went like this: "Bless us, O Lord, and these thy
gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our
Lord. Amen." It is no coincidence that the very first prayer we taught
our children is "God is great. God is good. Let us thank him for our
food. By his hands we all are fed. Give us, Lord, our daily bread.
Amen." Thanksgiving is the chief characteristic of the life of faith.
For us as Christians, Thanksgiving is far more than "Turkey Day". It
is a reminder that thanksgiving is a way of life for the believer. It is a
reminder that all we are and all we have comes from God, for God is the
source of every good gift. The Lord has done great things for us, and we
are glad. Rejoice! Give thanks! And sing! Amen!

Stumpy, serving the Dellville United Methodist Church in Perry County, PA
"We've Only Just Begun"
Internet Address: bob.stump@ecunet.org
Dellville UM Church Webpage: http://www.gbgm-umc.org/dellville
(written on Wed, Nov 24, 1999, at 11:44 am)