AN AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
(Written by The Rev. Dennis Posno)
On this day, with a grateful heart,
I stand in this sacred place to express my faith.
I believe in God who loves me
and who loves the world created from a loving heart;
I believe in Jesus, who is “God with us,”
whose life, in word and deed,
gave expression to God’s love.
I believe in the Spirit, God’s loving presence
nurturing and inspiring my spirit.
On this day, with a grateful heart,
I commit myself anew in my love for God, in following Jesus,
and in being open to the leading of God’s gracious Spirit.
On this day, and every day, as an expression of my gratitude,
may my life become my song of praise
for the goodness and greatness of God.
AMEN.

THE READING OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
Psalm 100 from “The Message”
On your feet now—applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into God’s presence.

Know this: God is God, and God, God.   God made us; we didn't make God.
We're God’s people, God’s well-tended sheep.

Enter with the password: "Thank you!"
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.  Thank him. Worship God.

For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.

 

Four brothers left home for college, 
and became successful doctors and lawyers. 
 
One evening, they chatted after having dinner together.
They discussed the Christmas gifts
they were able to give their elderly mother who moved to Florida .

The first said, "You know I had a big house built for Mama."

The second said, “And I had a large theatre built in the house." 

The third said, "And I had my Mercedes dealer deliver an SL600 to her." 

The fourth said,
"You know how Mama loved reading the Bible
and you know she can't read anymore because she can't see very well.
I met this preacher who told me about a parrot
that can recite the entire Bible.
It took ten preachers almost 8 years to teach him.
I had to pledge to contribute $50,000 a year for five years to the church,
but it was worth it.
Mama only has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it."
 
The other brothers were impressed.
After the holidays their mother sent out her Thank You notes.
 
She wrote:
“Milton , the house you built is so huge that I live in only one room,
but I have to clean the whole house.
Thanks anyway."

"Michael, you gave me an expensive theatre with Dolby sound
and it can hold 50 people,
but all of my friends are dead,
I've lost my hearing and I'm nearly blind.
I'll never use it.
Thank you for the gesture just the same."

"Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home;
 I have my groceries delivered, so never use the Mercedes.
The thought was good. Thanks." 
 
 "Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense
to give a little thought to your gift.
Thank you so much.  The chicken was delicious."
 
Love,  Mom

Well, whether its the big house ... or the home theatre ...
or the Mercedes ... or the chicken, aka the parrot ...
what are you thankful for today?
What is it that fills your heart to overflowing?
What is it that makes your heart sing?

Last week, I invited you to remember these words;
but not just to remember them: to write them on your hearts.
These were the words:
“God appears to a hungry person in the form of a loaf of bread.”

Today, I want you to write other words on your hearts:
“Gratitude is the heart’s memory.”

Before you answer that “What are you thankful for today ?” question
let me recall a moment from the life of Jesus.

Jesus was walking with His disciples toward Jerusalem
          for the Passover celebrations.
                   They came to a small village on the border between Galilee and Samaria.
                             As they approached,
                                      Jesus could see a group of men
                                                huddled outside the village walls.

As it turned out there were ten men:
nine of them of the Jewish faith
and one of them a Samaritan, a traditional enemy of the Jews.

Now circumstances make strange bedfellows,
          and whatever their political
                   or social
                             or racial
                                      or religious differences,
                                                these ten men had something that superseded those differences;
                                                          they had something in common:
                                                                   they were lepers.

As lepers they were outcasts.
They were worse than second-class citizens.
They were shut out of the village.
They were cut off from social contact.
They were exiles in their own land.
They were miserable, and misery loves company.
All they had was each other.

Leprosy was then and is still a cruel disease.
          It ravages the body.
                   Hands and feet are eaten away.
                             Faces are marred and disfigured by what is called “the gray death.”
                                      Bodies fairly reek of disease.

These were the men that Jesus approached.
This was the circumstance of their lives.

As He approached, they saw Him
and they must have recognized Him
for in a chorus, as with one voice, they shouted,
“Jesus, Master, have pity on us.”
The longing, the prayer in their hearts found a voice.  Hope stirred.

And what did Jesus do?
This one who came to preach the message of good news to the poor ...
who came to announce pardon to prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind ...
who came to set the burdened and battered free ...
who said that this was God’s year to act?

He looked at the men and saw beyond the disfigured surface into their hearts,
          and in pity and compassion and authority said to them,
                   “’Go, show yourselves to the priests.’
                             And as they went they were cleansed.”

It was like Easter morning after Good Friday
          but the resurrection was theirs:
                   from death to life.
                             It was a hallelujah moment …
                                      a born again moment …
                                                an “I have my life back” moment.

You’d think they’d shout it from the mountain top and thank God for the miracle.

But that wasn’t the way it was.
          When they saw they were healed,
only one of the ten returned, the Samaritan.
              He came back praising God
                       and “he threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him.”

Only one returned.
Only one had a heart whose pulse beat God’s praise.
Only one turned his thoughts towards heaven.
Nine walked away.
And Jesus said to this one grateful man:
“Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

That man, however, had more than a whole body …
more than a miracle of healing …
for the other nine had that too.
                            
He had remembered what he was
and now looked at hands that could embrace another without fear
and was overwhelmed.

If “Gratitude is the heart’s memory”
what he gained and what the others lost
was the wholeness, the completeness,
that comes from a grateful heart …
a life responsive to the kindness of God.

Let me share with you some thanksgiving moments ...

The other day I met a man on the street.
          I had met him a few times before, at church.
                             It wasn’t on a Sunday morning I met him but during the week.
                                      He had come in on occasion seeking help
                                                and I was able to provide it through our Benevolent Fund.

This was the man who approached me.
This was the circumstance of his life.

I met him again on the street.
He stopped me.
After a cordial greeting
he pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket and pressed it in my hand.

“Thank you for helping me,” he said.
“Thank you.
I’m in a better place now.
I’d like you to take this money and use it to help someone as you helped me.”

“Gratitude is the heart’s memory.”
I suspect he didn’t have much to spare
and this was no spare change for him.
This was generosity.
He had not forgotten our kindness to him.
Someone, because of him, will be helped as he was helped.

We have many people lovingly involved in the life of our congregation ...
people whose faith has transformed them in such a way
that we would not be who we are as a church without them.
Let me tell you about two.

They are involved in our Friend to Friend program.
They bring people to church who would otherwise have no way of getting here.
They visit regularly at the nursing and retirement homes.
They help with the quarterly Shut-in Luncheons and Communions.
They are here almost every Sunday and are involved in other areas as well.

Why would they do all of this for people, once strangers, who are now friends?
Why, in their busy lives, when many make busyness an excuse for non-involvement, do they make the time, take the time, for this kind of caring?

The husband of this remarkable couple
acknowledging that both had been without a church for some time
wrote these words ...

“The memory of how the Elders and United Church Women
supported my parents in their senior years,
redirected us towards regular church attendance.

“When my elderly parents needed a ride to church,
it was always provided. 
When my elderly mother was a shut-in in a nursing home,
the ladies from the church were frequent visitors
and never forgot a special occasion.

“Coupled with this memory, and the sincere warm welcome
we received from members of this congregation,
we were encouraged to learn more about this church. 
And the more often we attended church,
the greater the realization that the loving messages that our souls needed
was being delivered every week from this location ...”  

This is a man who with his wife made our church their church.
This was the circumstance of their lives.

Let me tell you something singularly wonderful.
Like the man who gratefully gave me the twenty dollar bill
because along the way we had helped him,
this couple are giving themselves away
to a ministry with the seniors of our congregation and community
because his elderly parents were cared for by their church.

If “Gratitude is the heart’s memory”
they have not forgotten the kindness shown to their late parents
and are continuing to say thank you for them, and for themselves.

Yesterday was a wonderful day at our church.
We had a clothing give away and a community thanksgiving dinner.

Many were welcomed in ...
many, like the lepers who were the outcasts,
marginalized, and living on the tattered edge of society.

We didn’t do very much, really.
It cost us a bit of money and we invested a bit of time.
There were preparations, to be sure.
But it was one day out of our lifetimes.

But that one day made a difference.
For one day, many were made to feel that they mattered.
For one day, many saw that someone cared.
For one day, many received winter clothing
to warm them on the cold days that are coming.
For one day, many had a wonderful meal with all of the trimmings,
the kind of meal most of us often have and most of them rarely do.
For one day.

And the most frequent word heard yesterday was “Thank you.”
The little that we were able to do wasn’t little to them.
The time we took to talk, and listen, and laugh, and cry with them
was time well spent ...
it was food for their souls.

I wish it could be every day. 
I wish, truly, that we didn’t have to do it at all.
I wish that collectively  -  personally and governmentally –
we cared enough to ensure that every man and woman and child, every person,
had a decent place to live ...
and food on the table ...
and clothes on their backs ...
and health issues dealt with ...
and educational opportunities ...
and work to do.

That’s something, if we care enough,
that we can engage in and advocate for
for those who have no voice.

These were the people that were welcomed yesterday
These are the circumstance of their lives.

Gratitude, it seems to me, isn’t just the heart’s memory.
It is a heart giving itself away in loving ways
that make a transforming difference in the lives of others.

And so I come to you.
What are you grateful for today?
What memory of your heart makes you want to sing?
Whatever it is, do something wonderful because of it.
If gratitude has transformed you, let it transform the world around you.

Give yourself away as your way of saying “Thank you”
for the blessings of God that have come your way.
Create a grateful heart memory for someone.

It is never the wrong time  -
          and none of us, hopefully,
                   is that busy, or that forgetful -
                             to do the loving, generous thing.

SOLI  DEO  GLORIA
To God Alone The Glory