Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Praise the Lord, all you
nations. Praise him, all you people of
the earth. For his unfailing love for us
is powerful; the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever. Praise the Lord! Psalm 117:1-2(NLT)
“In that day,” says the Lord,
“I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people. This
is what the Lord says: “Those
who survive the coming destruction will find blessings even in the barren land,
for I will give rest to the people of Israel.” Long ago the Lord said
to Israel: “I have loved you, my people,
with an everlasting love. With unfailing
love I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you, my virgin
Israel. You will again be happy and
dance merrily with your tambourines. Again you will plant
your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there.
The day will come when watchmen
will shout from the hill country of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Jerusalem to
worship the Lord our God.’” Jeremiah
31:1-6(NLT)
Jeremiah’s
Israel was decimated by conquering enemies.
His prophetic message was one of looking forward to the future with hope
that God would once again bring blessing to His covenant people. The Psalmist hits this hopefulness in the
center of the target by encouraging the whole earth to thank God for his unfailing
love. That love is powerful
and never-ending.
How different
are these two thoughts than a Thursday off so you can gather for a killer-meal with
friends so you’ll have stamina to last through the Black Friday
sales.
I have enough
love for America that I want to pray for our country like Jeremiah and praise
God for his goodness like the Psalmist.
But sometimes,
as we make comparisons of ancient Israel with current-day America, we come dangerously
close to reading-into Scripture’s metaphors and analogies our American pessimism
or pride; either one shows our arrogance, assuming we are the center of the
universe, and, yes, even the center of God’s attention.
We take for
ourselves too much.
And, taking
too much for us is truly the rub.
A gluttonous
day of feasting without so much as a nod in the direction of heaven serves as a
stark reminder how we miss the mark when it comes to giving thanks to God. I’ve been warned before to keep
the prayer short because everyone’s hungry.
But here, on
the verge of Advent, when we celebrate how God brought the centerpiece of his
lovingkindness to earth, isn’t it rather fitting (in a Bohemian sort of style) to
satisfy every appetite at the table while keeping the giving of thanks to God Spartan
and short?
That’s sort
of what happens around the Christmas tree next month, isn’t it? Got a baby Jesus in the manger to keep
Christ in Christmas, but the real deal is how high the presents
pile is piled.
But, now on
Thanksgiving Eve, allow me a moment of preacher-madness. What if, while the turkey, veggies and
stuffing are being consumed the conversation around the table this year is a
little less on which team will win the Super bowl, and more around how God’s
goodness and everlasting kindness have made the feast we enjoy a reality. What if we turned our hearts towards God
instead of the stores?
Just a little
madness from the back of my mind.
For You Today
I wouldn’t spring all that on
the family just as you’re sitting down to the table tomorrow. That would only bring indigestion and a
possible lynching – yours!
Talk about it tonight. Prepare to give thanks.
NOTES
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