|
 Dear
Saints:
A
member of our congregation recently passed on to me a magazine
article written by well-known Jewish rabbi, Harold Kushner, entitled The
Gift of Gratitude: Lessons from the 23rd Psalm.
He
asks, "Why do we love 'The Lord is My Shepherd' so much?"
He answered in part with this insightful observation: "In a mere
57 words of Hebrew and just twice that many in the English
translation, the author gives us and entire theology. He teaches us
to look at the world and see it as God would have us see it."
He
continues, "Reading between the lines, we can infer that the
author of the Twenty-third Psalm did not have a life free of pain and
problems. He has had to confront enemies. He has known the feeling of
finding himself in the valley of the shadow of death. He can praise
and thank God for all that God has done for him, not because his life
has been easy but precisely because his life has often been hard and
God has seen him through the hard times."
For
those of us who live in the South, this is about the time of year
when we notice that winter is just around the corner. As we observe
the changing of the seasons we are also reminded that life—our
life—is
transitory. Our lectionary readings remind us of this as well.
By focusing on this, the church doesn't wish be morbid, although, it
might be inclined to be so if it didn't already have a glimpse into
the future. And we do, don't we? For as sure as the seasons change
from fall to winter, so we confronted with the reality of sin and
death. Yet, because we know the rest of the story we can face this
reality with hope knowing that in Christ they have been defeated.
Because
Jesus came into this world, lived in it, and rose again we may have
thankful hearts even in the midst of those circumstances that
threaten to destroy us. For, as Kushner says, "Gratitude is
rooted in the sense that life is a gift." God the Father gave
the most wonderful of gifts when Jesus was conceived in and born of
the Virgin Mary. We celebrate this at Christmas. Christ himself, in
turn, has given us the even more precious gift of eternal life
through his death and resurrection, which we celebrate at Easter.
So,
yes, our life is transitory. And during this fleeing period of
existence it is further complicated by the recurring presence of sin.
But, when we, like the psalmist, are able to appreciate what God has
done for us, then, we (also like the palmist) will be grateful.
God
has given us so much to be thankful for in Christ, has he not? If
you find yourself answering this question with a vigorous
"yes", then you are ready to follow Rabbi Kushner's wise
counsel. The grateful person, he says, can express his or her
gratitude in three ways: 1) in reciprocating "God's generosity
by giving Him our thanks and trust," 2) in letting "others
benefit from our generosity, or more accurately from God's generosity
flowing through us," and 3) by getting "a bigger cup"
in which we will be able to receive more of God's blessings as he
gives them to us.
We
do, indeed, have much to be thankful for in this life—as
hard as it may be at times. In November we become more acutely aware
that Christmas—the
season of giving—is
quickly approaching. With this in mind, I would like to encourage
each of us to ponder the gifts we have been given by our loving
Father. With grateful hearts (and creative minds!) let us "look
at the world and see it as God would have us see it." And, once
we have done this, may we give generously after the same manner in
which God has given to us.
Grace
and peace,
Pastor
Larry |
