Thanksgiving message: Life of Gratitude

The late November weekend in New York is beautiful. It is my favorite time of the year and probably my favorite weekend of the year. The days are usually crisp, you feel the cold air, yet it is nice enough to walk in the park on a sunny day. As America celebrates Thanksgiving day, the joy of the season can be felt in the air. Christmas decorations are going up, leaves are flying all over, air is refreshing, crisp clear days, Christmas carols on the radio and the official start of the holiday season in New York and all over America. It is by far the best time of the year to be in NY. To me, Thanksgiving weekend is calm before the storm and it gives all of us a chance to reflect on life, to be with family and be thankful. You can imagine families gathered together around a dining table or in kitchen, talking, laughing, men lost in sports argument, kids running around, aroma of the fresh food, a football game on TV and generally all in good mood for time being. Most are thankful for various things in life and in America people have much to be thankful for.

As I paint a picture of the feast taking place on Thanksgiving day in an American home, I can’t help but reflect on another feast mentioned in Gospel of Luke 7:36-50. It is a passage that teaches us about true gratitude and how a born-again Christian ( there is no other kind of Christian)  should be thankful. Luke tells us about a feast in a home of Pharisee where Jesus was invited. His name was Simon and I can draw few conclusion regarding Simon from this story. He was a Pharisee therefore, he knew scripture, he was probably a teacher, he was a well-respected in the community and probably had a great reputation. He also invited Jesus to his home at the time when most religious leaders were against Jesus. I would have to assume despite his position, Simon knew who Jesus was and unlike others, he respected Jesus enough to invite him for dinner. No doubt, there were others in attendance but Luke tells us about a woman, who was a prostitute in a city and who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears. Here we have 2 people, both are at a feast, both know Jesus as the prophet but have a totally different heart. How many of us, especially those of us who are Christian from birth have the same heart as Simon? When we read this account of Luke, none of us identifies with Simon but our attitude is so much like his in real life. You see we invite Jesus to dine with us on special occasions, at weddings, exam time, sickness, financial troubles, on Sundays and we know who he is, we know his teaching is right but we refuse to accept him completely. Like Simon, we look for reasons not to believe or completely submit. Like Simon, many of us have doubt in our minds about Jesus and like him, we lack faith. Look what he says in Verse 39,  When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Please make a note, Simon did not say it out loud rather he was thinking it. In the same manner, the woman never says a word yet Jesus forgives her sins. She did not recite a certain prayer, nor did she take baptism, nor did she confess her many sins, yet Jesus first forgave her and then gave her salvation. Jesus is always looking at out HEART and he knows our every thought. How many times we have had the same thought as Simon? Our attitude is that of a Simon thus our gratitude is in the same measure. Many of us don’t realize how wretched our lives would be if we did not have Jesus. We do not recognize our sinfulness as Simon. And, therefore we are not as thankful as we should be. God sent his only begotten son so we may have life in him. We deserved the punishment but Jesus died on the cross for us, he shed his blood, he who was sinless became sinful for our salvation. Think about that. As a Christian, we should live a life of GRATITUDE not just be thankful for one day of the year. Many will say thank you for the food, home, job, kids, and all the otherworldly blessings. But let me ask you, doesn’t nonbeliever have those too and many times in more abundance than Christian?  How many of us thanked God for Jesus and for our salvation? How many of us are willing to express our gratitude like the woman in the story? she knew she was a sinner, she knew Jesus was her only hope, She repented with tears and her action: brothers and sisters, are your actions bear witness to Jesus? do you have the heart of repentance? That day in that house a sinful woman was saved by faith in Jesus and Pharisee, who had the knowledge of scripture, who knew the law was not justified. I urge you all, learn from Simon, do not try to justify yourself by your works but rather like the sinful woman, repent and SHOW your gratitude by action. Are you living a life of GRATITUDE? If not, this Thanksgiving make a decision to be grateful for the spiritual blessing we have in Christ. If you only know Jesus as Prophet ( like Simon), make him your savior and those who are born again, live a life of GRATITUDE. May God add His blessing to His words. Amen