Bible Text: Luke 17:11-19 | Preacher: Pastor Christian Preus | It seems 2020 has given us more reason to complain than give thanks. The prayer of most is that God mercifully end this year as quickly as possible. We should be careful what we ask for. There’s no promise that 2021 won’t be worse than 2020. What is there to complain about in 2020? A disease that’s killed some two hundred thousand in our country, the shut-down of the economy, the loss of jobs (including many of our brothers here in this congregation), the riots, the unprecedented intrusion of the government into home and church, tens of millions of Americans losing confidence in the election process, the election of a president who openly advocates for partial birth abortion, the disruption of daily life caused by Corona restrictions. And on top of all this the daily pains and temptations that beset us in this sinful life, husbands and wives fighting, men and women lonely and unable to find Christian spouses, temptations to lust, to hate, to doubt God, pain in our bodies, cares in our minds. The complaint of the Psalmist fits our times, “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul is also greatly troubled. But you, O Lord – how long?”
But this is all the more reason for us to give thanks. We’re Christians, children of God in Christ Jesus. Thank God you know the Son of your Father who has told you, “In this world you will have trouble, but be of good courage, I have overcome the world.” Thank God that you have not put your hope in this world, in the success of the economy, in the money you make, in perfect domestic tranquility. Thank God you put your trust not in princes, but in the King of glory who reigns with all our enemies under His feet. Thank God you have the Gospel, the good news of Christ, shining into your heart a peace that passes all understanding, that God Himself, your God, the eternal Son, would come down to bear your woes, dirty Himself with your sin, suffer the corruption and pain that belonged to you, and with you in mind, your eternal dwelling in view, go to the cross and pour out his life-blood to win for Himself brothers and sisters, who through His resurrection find heaven opened, peace with God, and an eternal life to live, washed clean in Baptism, feeding on the holy body and blood of your Lord, zealous for good works, and looking for the resurrection of the body and the life of the world to come! We have this, we have Christ and His Spirit and His Father, and so we have everything, we have the answer to everything. There is literally no pain, no disaster, no danger, no disease, no government restrictions, no loss of wealth, no temptation, that we cannot meet with the certainty that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. So long as we have Him, we are conquerors, no matter how the world rage around us. So give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.
But this does not mean that we simply abandon the world or care nothing about the direction of our country, our state, or our community. Luther condemned in the strongest language this monkish delusion that to be a good Christian we should run away from government and family and economy and everything. That’s to give up on the second table of the law. You can’t love your neighbor if you run away from him. Jesus’ Kingdom is not of this world, but we live it in this world. We live it in our families and our churches and our communities and in our state and in our country. God gives us three estates, three order for our life – the church, the family, and the state, to work together for our good. So we thank God for the Gospel, but through the Gospel, we give thanks also for our country and we pray for it.
Thanksgiving is an American holiday, a state holiday. It was declared so by George Washington 231 years ago, for the express purpose of giving thanks to God for this country, and asking Him to preserve it for us, so that we can live in peace and prosperity and worship our God without fear. Washington understood, when he declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, that no nation can possibly survive without the favor of God. He understood that nations too need forgiveness from God, and he said, and I quote, that we need to “beseech God to pardon our national and other transgressions.” It’s not the rioters and the LGBTQ lobbyists and the Black Lives Matter communists, or the countless poor souls in the suburbs or in the slums who don’t know Christ, it’s not these who will be offering these prayers for pardon. This belongs to us. It’s what Washington called our sacred duty. He learned that from the Bible. St. Paul says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”
God has preserved our nation for so long because of the prayers of Christians, and He will, according to His will, preserve it among us today, by answering our prayers and pardoning this nation’s sins. We have the example of righteous Abraham, who pleaded with God to spare Sodom if there were only ten righteous. God answers the prayers of His saints. Remember the words of James, “You have not because you ask not.” Do not grow weary of praying. It is for your sake and the sake of your prayers that God will bless our nation. Our fathers in this country knew that, they insisted this country could only stand and flourish if it were inhabited by Christians. So let’s not think of Thanksgiving as a mere national observance or value it only as some sentimental observance. No it’s become for us a Christian holy day. Our nation needs our prayers.
In fact, Christians are the only ones who know how to thank God. And this is for three reasons.
First, we’re the only ones who know who God is. Our Lord Jesus has taught us. We approach our Father through His Son, as He says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” We know God, we know His character. He is the God who so loved us that He sent His only Son to die for us. We know His justice, that He will come to the rescue of the poor in distress, will bless those who live righteously and keep his commandments, and will punish evil with a rod of iron. And we know His kindness, that He provides for all that He made.
And this means that we know what to pray for. St. James says, “You ask and you do not receive, because you ask amiss.” And St. Paul tells us, “If we have food and clothing we are content with these,” And again, “I have learned to be content in every situation.” We don’t ask for riches or fame or selfish fulfillment of our own desires, because we know the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. We pray for our country, not simply for a stock market or an economy or for health, but for good homes and strong families, for fatherhood and motherhood, for faithful churches, faithful schools, pious children, the things that make good countries, for peace and moral laws and honest leaders. And that all these things would work to build up God’s Kingdom among us, that more people would hear His Word and live by it, since our God wishes all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. This is what we pray for in our country, as our Lord commands. And He will bless us with it, even if only among us, He will bless us with it, and give us far more than we have deserved, so gracious and good He is to us.
Finally, only Christians can pray because only Christians have learned to humble themselves under God. There is only one time, as far as I know, that Jesus speaks thanks to God the Father, and this should be significant enough to capture our attention. He says, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” The things of God are revealed to babes, to little children. Unless you repent and become like one of these, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. It is those weary with their own sin and unworthiness, those laden with guilt, who find rest in Jesus, and then take His yoke upon ourselves, which is easy and light, and pray for ourselves, our families, our church, and our country. We pray as citizens, but also as foreigners and sojourners in this world, whose homes are in heaven. Like that Samaritan, that foreigner, who was not content being healed of leprosy, not content having house and home and family restored to him, not content merely with material blessings from God, but wanted and needed from the God he recognized in human flesh, before whom he bowed in humility and thanks, and from whom he heard the words of eternal life, “Rise and go your way, your faith has saved you,” we come in humility before our God, as thankful children, and bow before Him whose blood was shed for us, and receive in faith not only our house and home, family, nation, and everything we need to support this body and life, but peace with God, a good conscience, and salvation of our souls.
God has blessed us beyond compare. Thanksgiving 2020 is no time to complain. Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time to mourn and a time to rejoice. But St. Paul tells us to rejoice always. Mourn for a time at the loss of material things, if you must. But rejoice always and forever that you have everything in Christ, whether material or spiritual, because the Creator of all things is your Brother. You have bread and clothes, a roof over your head, and so much more. Give thanks above all that God has shown you the one thing needful and that no one will ever take it from you. It’s in this confidence that we thank God for our country and pray that He would preserve it for us and our children, that we may worship Him here on earth and forever in eternity. Amen.