"Thanks-Living"

Matthew 6:5-15

A sermon preached by the Rev. Douglas M. Donley

November 20, 2005

University Baptist Church

Minneapolis, MN

In a few days, most of us will gather around tables of abundance. We will go though the motions of stuffing ourselves more than we ought to, falling into a post meal nap before packing up all the leftovers to relive the meal again and again in the following days and weeks. Whether we are gathering at our own tables, with family, at the home of a friend, even at a restaurant or by ourselves, I bet we will pause at some point and reflect upon the past year, thinking about that for which we are thankful. Perhaps we will briefly relive a moment we have regretted, but at some point we will focus on thanking God for our safety, our food, the blessings that emerge amongst the tears and the hopes to which we aspire.

Because of my profession, I am often called upon to be the designated pray-er. I often feel that whatever I say will not be enough. You know, you have to make sure everything is given its fair attention and you need to get it done before the food gets cold and while the kids are between fidgets. St. Francis of Assisi was right when he said we should preach all the time, and only when necessary should we use words.

How can we live our lives in such a way that it is a prayer of thanks? That’s a tall order, but also the essence of this holiday. For true Thanksgiving is a commitment to thanks-living.

Jesus also had a hard time with overly pious religious folk who liked to heap up long prayers while the food got cold. He told the people to not be hypocrites and encouraged them to say what appears on the surface a simple prayer. We know it well, we say it by rote. But if we take it seriously enough we might find that it is a subversive, world-turning around snub at accepted religion. It is a proclamation of a different reality. It is a manifesto of a lifestyle that will make you suspect and dangerous in the eyes of the establishment. Think about that the next time you say this prayer. I think it is simple enough and profound enough to set the world on end. Committing to this kind of lifestyle would suffice as a standard for thanks living. Have you stopped to think about the anti-establishment proclamation we make each and every Sunday?

Here’s a bit of background for you:

The Roman Emperor was known by many titles, including, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, Father, Our Savior. When Jesus was asked whether it was ethical to pay taxes to Caesar or not, Jesus asked them to take out the coin in their pocket and tell him whose picture and inscription was on the coin. Archeologists have found such coins and they had a picture of Caesar and they said "Caesar, Son of God." When Jesus said "give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s", he was saying, "Caesar is not God."

When Jesus said for us to say "Our father who art in heaven," he was using intensely anti-imperial language. He was saying, God is the one who deserves our attention. The parent of the people does not reside in Rome, this God resides in heaven.

Now, in common vernacular, the use of "Our father" has been used to say that God is exclusively male. Here at UBC, we remember that God is beyond the gender categories of this world, so we say, "Our father/mother."

"Thy Kingdom come" means that God’s kingdom is the one in charge, not the emperor’s. And God’s kingdom, God’s commonwealth looks vastly different than Rome’s.

In God’s commonwealth, there is no disparity between rich and poor.

In God’s commonwealth there are no wars and rumors of wars.

In God’s commonwealth, there is no racism or sexism or phobias or prejudice.

In God’s commonwealth, the poor are lifted up and the rich are sent away empty.

In God’s commonwealth the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

If God’s commonwealth came, then a whole lot of those in power would not be in power anymore.

We can exchange the Roman empire with the US empire or the Chinese empire or the WTO empire or the IMF empire or the Wal-Mart empire or the Northwest Airlines empire or the energy empire or the water empire or the terrorist empire. None of these empires are God’s empires and if any of them claim to speak for God, then we ought to consider the source and be very suspicious. This was and is a dangerous prayer.

Those who say the Lord’s Prayer proclaim that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Marcus Borg says that heaven’s doing just fine. It’s earth that needs the work. When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we say that God’s will is to be done on earth. And it is to be done by those who say the prayer.

What does that mean? Let’s pray on. "Give us this day our daily bread". Our daily bread. Most people who heard this prayer did not have enough food to have bread each and every day. Daily bread is simple economic justice. It is saying that we are calling for everyone to get food. If God’s will is to be done one earth as it is in heaven, then there are to be no hungry people in this world. This might mean a vast reordering of the worldwide debt system. It might mean a re-organizing of the distribution of food. It might mean rethinking whether or not it makes sense to burn our grain as ethanol when over two thirds of the world is starving. Give us this day our daily bread is a proclamation that everyone needs to be fed.

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" is closely related to this. In his very first sermon, recorded in the 4^th chapter of Luke, Jesus quotes Isaiah 61 and says "the Spirit of God is upon me for God has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim the acceptable year of God."(Luke 4:18,19) Quoting this scripture and having the audacity to say that we ought to take it seriously got Jesus run out of town.

The acceptable year of God is the year of Jubilee. In the year of jubilee, which was supposed to happen once every 50 years, all land is returned to its former owners, all slaves are set free, and most importantly, all debts are canceled.

Even though this is Biblical, there is little evidence that it was ever implemented. It was too controversial. It would mean a radical re-ordering of society, which is exactly what God had in mind when it was spelled out in Leviticus 25. It was intended to level the playing field, to give the people a fresh new start. Until you deal with the system of debt, there is little possibility for real helpful change. One of the appeals of the Star Trek series is that by the 24^th century, they have evolved beyond the need for commerce. And with it they have eliminated the need for war and poverty.

"Forgive us our debts" alludes to the year of jubilee. I know Luke’s version of the same sermon uses "sins". Many of us are used to saying trespasses. But in the context of the sermon, it is not only an individual prayer, but a collective prayer. It does not say, "Forgive me my sins or trespasses or debts." It says forgive "us". This proclaims that we have a connection with those around us. We have a responsibility to those around us.

The couplet that follows also holds a collective commitment as well. "Lead US not into temptation, but deliver US from evil." Think about the temptations we have these days.

We are tempted to make religion a private matter.

We are tempted to make God into our own image.

We are tempted to ignore our brothers and our sisters.

We are tempted to think that might makes right.

We are tempted to look out for number one.

We are tempted to think there is nothing that we can do to change the state of the world.

But each and every time we pray the Lord’s prayer, we are making a commitment to change the world—we are making a commitment to changing ourselves. We are making a commitment to being better than others would have us be. We are making a commitment to being delivered from evil. The saying is true that the only thing that can let evil thrive is for good people to do nothing. When we say the Lord’s prayer, we are saying that we see the truth. We are committed to a different kind of truth and this truth may make us odd but it will also set us free. Thank God we say it together, knowing that we are not alone in our madness.

For the Commonwealth, the power and the glory are God’s forever and ever.

The real power does not come from military might.

Real power does not come from a terrorist’s action.

Real power does not come from economic superiority.

Real power does not come from feel-good religiosity with its empty words.

Real power comes from God.

Real power comes from people who act on God’s behalf with the ethics of the Sermon on the Mount.

Real power comes from people whose spirituality has been captured by the subversive message of the Lord’s prayer.

Sisters and brothers, claim the real power. Pray with thanks for God’s power in your life. Give thanks for the knowledge that we don’t pray this prayer alone, nor do we act alone. May this Thanksgiving be a time when we remember the power of the message of the Lord’s prayer. May your Thanksgiving prayers be as simple and as profound as that prayer. And once the people of God commit to living in this way, then God gives thanks. That’s the thanks we should strive for this Thanksgiving—that our living is a thanks to God.

Let’s close by saying this one more time and this time, saying it like we mean it and are absorbing its meaning. For when we do, the world will never look the same again.