Gratitude Sunday

“At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.]  [Jesus then said]  “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus expresses gratitude toward God, and then invites others to express their trust in God by laying their burdens down.  Jesus says that God will accept our burdens, making our burdens light and the yoke of our life easy.  We combine this teaching with an ancient song quoted in First Chronicles where the congregation raises gratitude and thanksgiving to God.  In both scriptures, gratitude is the beginning of faith; from gratitude flows abundance, praise and worship.  Will you pray with me?

“Great Gracious God of abundance, we thank you for everything we have.  Teach us to practice lives of gratitude as we learn to be your people forever.  Amen.”

Have you ever known someone who had a great mental attitude and always seemed to be full of life and gratitude?  One of these people was Albert Einstein, a great man of science, but also a great man of human wisdom.  Einstein said there were only two ways to live life, one as if nothing is a miracle, and the other as if everything is a miracle.  I like this thinking because greeting all of life as if it is a miracle begins to transform even the ordinary into a miraculous world of gratitude.  Einstein was grateful for his imagination, which he said was much more important than his mathematical skills—which we all know were prodigious. 

Gratitude.  If we are grateful, as Jesus and Einstein were, then everyday stuff becomes an ever-flowing gift.  An everyday paycheck becomes a precious gift from of God.  Gratitude turns the ordinary into a world filled with child-like wonder and joy, something that Jesus reminds us is essential to enter into this heaven on earth.  If we live lives of gratitude, then everything is an opportunity to be thankful, to worship the Creator of life, and to respond to our world in grace and with hearts of abundance.  Gratitude takes the hard yoke of our lives and transforms it into the light burden of rest in God’s grace.  Remember when you last tackled a hard task with joy and gratitude—and it became light work because you engaged it with passion and gratitude?  Gratitude transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, the heavy into the light, and the normal into the miraculous. 

So, to celebrate gratitude in my life, I made a list of the things I am grateful for as your pastor.  And I dedicate these things to our Gratitude Sunday, or Stewardship Sunday.  I will form these into an acrostic, or alphabetical list, with a gratitude for each letter of the alphabet.  As we work through the alphabet, I invite you to first say aloud something you are grateful for—then write it down to bring up when we bring our pledges forward.  Pledges and gratitudes.   By these we declare our lives living miracles as we worship our living God.
[walk down to the center aisle]  So together, let’s name the things we are grateful for.  Lay your burdens down, and be grateful to God.  What are you grateful for that begins with the letter A?

A  Authenticity, where we can be ourselves just as God loves us
B  Benevolence is 15% of everything   Where else can you be a part of a group of 250 families that raises $75000 each and every year for charity?
C Courage to pledge in an uncertain economy, Cottage Meetings
D Doubt, Questions, Inquiry, willing to think things through
E  Everlasting love of God—the rock of our trust and confidence
F  Fun, Friendship & Fellowship
G Grace that reminds me that even when I fail, God loves me.
H  Hope that comes from God walking with us
I  Inspiration coming from everyday folks doing everyday things = extraordinary saints!
J  Justice seeking church where you are not afraid to take a stand
K  Kitchen helpers—it takes a village to run a church community, all kinds of helpers and workers, each doing a small part for the benefit of the whole
L  Lay leaders that are the best there is—we need more lay leaders folks!
M  Miracles—everyday miracles
N  New Beginnings together
O  Old Friends reminding us of the wonderful foundations around here
P  Peace beyond understanding—Spring Glen is more than just our heads
Q  Questions, Quandaries, Quirks and Quagmires that we work through together
R  Reign of Christ!  Here!  Now!
S  Stewards = being the hands and feet of God in the world
T  Teachers of Sunday School and youth
U  Unity in Diversity, that we may all be One
V  Vulnerable and emotionally present in a safe place
W  Wholeness: head+heart+soul+body = whole incarnated Christian
X  Xtraordinary community, living the body of Christ into our world
Y  Youth and Children
Z  Zest for life, where a community is excited about the future together

God, we offer our deepest gratitude as we thank you for all of our everyday miracles.  May God bless Spring Glen Church.  And the people all said, Amen.