Good morning! Good morning indeed, on this national day of thanksgiving, and on this HOLY DAY in the Episcopal Church. Today we, as the body of Christ, gather in THANKSGIVING to offer prayers and to worship God. And to hear a sermon.

To give an introduction to that sermon, I pose this question. For what do we give thanks? For what do we give thanks?

At first blush... it is for the harvested fruits of the earth in their season, and the labor of those who harvested them... as we hear in the collect for the service this morning. I suggest that we also have much, much more to give thanks for -- to God. In the catechism, in the Book of Common Prayer (page 857) is found the answer to the question I just posed ... For what do we give thanks ? The catechism says this: that when we pray and worship we offer thanksgiving to God for three reasons: 1. for all the blessings of this life, 2. for our redemption, and 3. for whatever draws us closer to God....

1. As for the first ( all the blessings of this life ), how is it possible to explain or even begin to understand All the Blessings of This Life ? In trying to get a handle on an understanding of all the blessings of this life, I began by looking in a dictionary for the definition of blessing, and found in The Random House, College Dictionary, several meanings. The one that seemed relevant to prayer and worship is this : Blessings are a gift from GOD. So, I asked, what are all the gifts from God for which we give thanks today ?

I began to wonder where to begin, and then I recalled what I wanted to share with you. And it happened like this: last year on November 19th in fact, at about 6:30 PM, Patti ( my wife ) and I arrived at All Saints’ for a Wednesday night meal. As we walked across the parking lot we saw several parishioners on the curb looking up into the evening sky. I asked , “ are you looking for a satellite ? “ Patti and I joined them because they told us that at any minute the space station would appear crossing the evening sky. Then shortly thereafter Patti proclaimed “There it is ! “ Looking up into the evening sky that was clear of clouds I first saw two bright stars, actually planets: one Venus and the other Jupiter, and many lesser stars in the background. I saw too the vastness of space and even the universe beyond, and for that brief moment I sensed interstellar space and galaxies, and even the sun and the planets in their courses.....all of which, at the command of God, came into being, including earth, our island home. Then suddenly, I was brought back to earth, if you will. I saw the space station. It was made visible by the light of our sun reflecting on it as it moved across the evening sky. I saw man traveling beyond planet Earth moving across all of God’s creation. I felt that I had experienced the immensity of God’s creation. And at the same time, for me to try and understand who God is, is beyond my comprehension. One thing is certain, that all of creation is from God and it is a gift, a blessing if you will. The significance of all creation, seems to me, to encompass All The Blessings of This Life, and for that we offer thanksgiving to God today in our prayers and worship.

2. Then there is the second reason for offering thanksgiving from the quote from the catechism: we give thanks to God for our redemption.

This morning We give thanks to God for our redemption in this place, a community that Jesus established and called it His church. AND TO, for the comforting words from the Gospel lesson-- that we are not to worry about life, or what we will eat, drink or wear. Rather than worry about these things, Jesus, in his straight forward manner, tells us to strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness , and all these things, including a life - full of meaning and joy, will be given to you. That is straight forward, and yet I sense there are other truths to be found in this passage. What those truths are is for another sermon. Now onward for the rest of this sermon. I am getting hungry, and I know we will not worry about where our next meal will come from, thanks to the men and women of this blessed community of faithful people, who brought the food we are about to eat. Your kindness in providing us with a Thanksgiving meal, gives meaning to today’s Gospel.

3. And last but not least, the third reason for offering thanksgiving is “ FOR WHATEVER DRAWS US CLOSER TO GOD.” And, it seems to me, that there is no greater reason for offering thanks than this: that our Lord Jesus, by his words and teachings, draws us into a realization that GOD’s Kingdom, the God who created all things, is not beyond human understanding. How is this possible ? I believe it is this. God who created the vast expanse of interstellar space, the galaxies, the suns, this fragile earth and all human beings is also OUR FATHER. Just as we have fathers that are our flesh and blood, we know that we have a spiritual FATHER , who loves us so dearly, that He sent his son to us to redeem us to a right relation with God, when we stray like lost sheep. And Jesus wants us to know - by his teachings, and his example, and especially by the prayer that he taught us that God is OUR FATHER . And that my brothers and sisters in Christ, is indeed a PERSONAL relationship with God, the creator of all things, who is also our Father, who art in heaven, and holy is His name. AMEN

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