TAKING FAITH FOR GRANTED

Luke 10:21-24

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.  For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

As I have stated before, probably in another newsletter, I do not find Thanksgiving to be at the top of my holiday list. I have tried to change that attitude in recent years as I realized I am too young to be this cynical (I’ll wait ‘till I’m 30 next year.) I also do know the Christian roots of the holiday and the tradition of national thanksgivings that stretches far back into the Christian past. If Paul can be thankful in the face of persecution, then I can certainly be thankful in the face of mediocre food like pies (sorry not sorry.) This attempted change of heart came about after some pondering on how unthankful we are. We take so much for granted in this world that we should not, and as I was thinking about this I came across these verses from Luke and Jesus gives us an eternal perspective on giving thanks that I think is important to share.

These verses follow a section of the Gospel where Jesus has sent out seventy-two of his disciples to go and bring his message to the towns surrounding his ministry. This missionary endeavor ends up being a massive success. Jesus’ followers bring back news of how they were filled with  so much spiritual power that even demons submitted to them in the name of Jesus. Jesus then tells them not to be thankful to God for the spiritual power that they have, but instead to be thankful that their names are written in heaven. For it is their election as sons of God that gives them any of this power. All is well that ends well, but that is not where Jesus leaves it. What follows is our passage.

Jesus responds in immediate thanksgiving, and what he is thankful for seems odd to us on the surface. His ministry has just been given a tremendous blessing and what is his response? His response is not to thank God for the miracles that his disciples performed, but to instead thank God for hiding the truth about who he is from those who would normally understand and instead have given this knowledge to “little children.” The little children here are his followers, that also is you and me and every other Christian. We understand these things as well. Now, this is knowledge that I believe a lot of us take for granted. We live in a culture that prizes the individual and our talents. That is not entirely a bad thing, but it can lead us to think that we have earned everything we have been given. “I understand who Jesus is because I have done the hard thinking (or working, or praying, or voting, etc.)” But that is not what Jesus says at all. What does he say?

“No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” The only reason that we know who Jesus is, is because of God’s divine love and mercy and he has elected us to know. Think about that. There are those who are so intelligent: physicists who have measured the size of the universe, businessmen and entrepreneurs who have created amazing products that have changed the world, theologians who have plumbed the depths of the Bible and the soul to change how we relate to God, all of these and more are incredibly intelligent and talented people. If anyone “deserves” to know who God is they do. But that is not what Jesus says, instead he is thankful that God has revealed this to those who aren’t the “great,” but to the average Joes and Janes. We have been given the eyes to see and the ears to hear.

Now I take that as a bedrock thanksgiving and I work upwards. I take my faith for granted. I shouldn’t. I can be thankful for that. I take my breath for granted. I shouldn’t. I can be thankful for that, and I continue to work my way upwards on the thankful ladder. During this Thanksgiving season we should remember God’s mercy and love that he has chosen us, and that alone is enough to have Thanksgiving every day of the year.

Pastor George