When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you.  

Tonight, thanksgiving has nothing to do with Pilgrims, Indians, and Pumpkin Pie. Rather, our thanksgiving is all wrapped up in the gifts of our God. After all, true thanksgiving is nothing more than sincere gratitude for a gift. A gift, of course, is something that has been given to you. A gift is not earned or deserved. A gift does not have strings attached. Nor is a gift an entitlement. Rather, a gift is a gift. It is unmerited and unearned. Only when we understand the completely free and gracious nature of a gift will we truly be thankful. 

But Thanksgiving involves so much labor and hard work that the idea of gift is lost on us. Thus, our thankfulness threatens to be shallow and misguided. Consider how hectic the day is. We work to get to where we are going; packing up the kids and the food and the whatever. Or we labor to prepare for guests; raking, sweeping, cleaning, and setting up. And then there is the toil of the feast: cooking and baking; overeating, and doing dishes. Now we may pause briefly at some point in the day to reflect on how we are blessed to be with family and friends; to live in a nice home; to have money; to have good health; to live in this country; and, maybe, to know the salvation of Christ Jesus. But rarely do we acknowledge all such things to be true and pure gifts from God. 

Remember Luther’s Small Catechism? God has given you all that you have. Your spouse is a gift from God. Your children are gifts from God. Your fellow parishioners and your neighbors are gifts from God. The food on your table, your house and home, your body and reason and all your senses, your place in this world, and everything else are gifts from God. God has been at work in your life, providentially providing everything you need and even then some. He has gifted you with these people and all these things. Please do not live under the delusion that you have earned them solely by your efforts, good looks, or intelligence. Who gave you the mind and body to get you to this place? Do not think you are entitled to what is around you. Do not be proud as if all the accomplishments are yours and yours alone. You don’t deserve what you have—any jokes about your spouse would be inappropriate now—and you certainly don’t deserve more or better. No, God has given you untold gifts and all you have apart from any merit or worthiness in you.  

Consider the good land He has given you. Look again at your spouse as a gift. They may not be perfect, but neither are you. Receive them with thanksgiving. But do not tell them you are God’s gift to them. I tried it yesterday and it didn’t work so well. Look again at your children or parents as God’s gifts to you. They may not be perfect, but neither are you. Receive them with thanksgiving. Look all around you. Your fellow parishioners, the people in this neighborhood, the people in your life are all gifts from God you. Give thanks for them and love them as God’s gifts. This Church, your home, your job, your bank account, all you own, and life itself are gifts from God. But they need to be recognized as such. Otherwise, your thankfulness will be shallow, directed only toward your self, your good fortune, or your ability. Or you will not be thankful at all. You will remain discontent and hungry in the land of plenty, giving thanks only for the Pilgrims, Indians, and pumpkin pie.  

 God has given you everything, but there is more. God has given you a gift that will never pass away. He has given you the gift of His son, Jesus Christ, who overcame death and the grave, and by His glorious resurrection opened to you the way of everlasting life. We give thanks for this every time we gather here to receive the Lord’s Body and Blood. In Jesus Christ, you have been given the gift of the forgiveness of your sins. In Jesus Christ, you have been given the gift of everlasting life and eternal salvation. God has given you the good land of the new Jerusalem, heaven forever. You did not deserve this gift. You did not earn this gift. You did not merit this gift and you are not entitled to it. But God has given Jesus to you; and Jesus gives Himself to you in the gifts of Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion.  

The problem for us is that God gives us so many gifts and gives them to us so often that we treat them as commonplace and ordinary, not receiving them with gratitude and thanksgiving. Please do not treat these gifts of our Lord as if they are commonplace or ordinary. There is nothing common or ordinary about God’s love and grace for you in Christ Jesus. There is nothing ordinary about your Baptism, the forgiveness of your sins, or the Holy Supper. So receive God’s gifts with gratitude. Be thankful for sins freely forgiven. Tonight, when you have feasted on God’s grace and forgiveness in the Body and Blood of Jesus, give Him thanks and praise for the eternity he has given you. And tomorrow, when you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the gifts both of this life and the next that he has given you freely in Jesus Christ. XINJX