Harvest Festival (11.27.2013)
St Luke 12:13-21/2 Corinthians 9:6-15/Deuteronomy 26:1-11
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Thanksgiving is the exhaling of the Body of Christ in joyful praise for all that the Father has done for us in and through Jesus Christ, His Son our Lord. The words and exchange of the Divine Liturgy come trumpeting forth:
Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is meet and right so to do.
Pastor: It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Thus do we confess that thanksgiving to God is not to be the activity of only one day a year, but it is to fill every day and every moment of our lives, everywhere. There is never a time, never a place, where thanksgiving is inappropriate or out of order. Rather it is always inappropriate and our of order not to be thanking God. This is the emphasis of St Peter, who says, As you come to Him, a living Stone rejected by men in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Pt 2:4-5).
This is the purpose of the Divine Liturgy of the Holy Church. Christ, your Cornerstone, is here to serve you. He is bringing you into a good land. For He came to find you and met you in a foreign land, on the outskirts, separated from Him and from others. Sinful and unclean, you have been subject to death and to every sickness and sorrow of heart and mind, body and soul. You could not cleanse or heal yourself, nor can you feed and clothe and shelter yourself. It is the Lord your God who gives you all that you need to support this body and life.
He defends you against all danger, guards and protects you from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in you. For all this it is your duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.
He has come to provide you with all good things, and above all, to raise you up and bring you in and with Himself into the good land He has promised, a place of perfect peace and rest; the home where righteousness abides; to the heavenly and holy city, New Jerusalem, and into the Temple made without hands, eternal in the heavens; into the very holy of holies, the inner sanctum of the Blessed Holy Trinity.
Here His meal of thanksgiving, the in-gathering of His harvest, which is the Sacrament of the Altar, His Holy Eucharist, is given for your healing in soul and body. He satisfies your mouth with good things - not only with the bread of the earth, but with the Living Bread from heaven. For Christ is the Seed who was buried in the tomb of a certain rich man. He was cast into the earth, dead and buried, producing a limitless harvest of the finest wheat - the Bread of Life of which one may eat and live forever. From and through Christ your cup of blessing overflows; you are forgiven twice over. For it is written, You have received from the Lord’s hand double for all your sins.
Thus you are not autonomous, existing only unto yourself. He who showers His grace down upon you wills that His mercy received in heart and mind be extended to your neighbor in hand and help. His Eucharist flows downward and outward from His Cross and Passion, through His Paten and Chalice to you. It does not stop there, but continues in charity to those in your midst. To covet and horde His blessings, in both body and soul, is miserly and petty.
Hence He warns you in compassion to be on your guard against all kinds of covetousness. Your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions. You know not the night your soul is demanded of you. Rather you are to fear, love, and trust in Him who is for you a Living Sacrifice, an offering of Atonement, by which you are reconciled to the One who made you in His image and breathed the breath of life into you.
He is greater than Moses and Jacob, more than Joshua and Aaron. He is more than you could ever have asked or imagined. He gives and you receive. You live by faith in His Word and walk according to His commandments.
Thus St Paul: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. This is your liturgy, your divine service to your neighbor in love. This is your priestly service offered to one another for the sake of Him who gave Himself for you. Beloved this is your vocation as baptized priests unto God our Father in Jesus Christ our Lord. Here you render the sacrifice of thanksgiving in the confession of His holy Name, as the Israelite spoke before the altar of the Lord. Here you speak and act as a beggar, living from the generosity and love of your Benefactor.
But your service does not end at the benediction. It begins. Out there you behave as a kings and princes, giving lavishly, in Christian charity and love to any who are in need, especially your Christian family. This is what St Paul refers to as the ministry of this service in his letter to the Corinthians. Literally, the diakonia of this liturgy. The merciful liturgy of you, His saints, in service to one another, overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
Our greatest treasure, then for which we give thanks not only tonight, tomorrow, but each day, is not a full barn or a full bank account or a full house for the holiday, but Christ Himself. He is your inheritance, your goal, your life. By His poverty you are made rich. He is David’s Son and David’s Lord, but He is not Solomon. He is not a Arbitrator of Judge, a minister of fairness, but a Servant of Mercy, through whom you have received mercy and life and salvation.
“Open our eyes to see Your love’s intent, To know with minds and hearts its depth and height. May thankfulness be days in service spent, reflection of Christ’s life and love and light.” (LSB 788:6)
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
St Luke 12:13-21/2 Corinthians 9:6-15/Deuteronomy 26:1-11
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Thanksgiving is the exhaling of the Body of Christ in joyful praise for all that the Father has done for us in and through Jesus Christ, His Son our Lord. The words and exchange of the Divine Liturgy come trumpeting forth:
Pastor: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is meet and right so to do.
Pastor: It is truly meet, right, and salutary, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Thus do we confess that thanksgiving to God is not to be the activity of only one day a year, but it is to fill every day and every moment of our lives, everywhere. There is never a time, never a place, where thanksgiving is inappropriate or out of order. Rather it is always inappropriate and our of order not to be thanking God. This is the emphasis of St Peter, who says, As you come to Him, a living Stone rejected by men in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Pt 2:4-5).
This is the purpose of the Divine Liturgy of the Holy Church. Christ, your Cornerstone, is here to serve you. He is bringing you into a good land. For He came to find you and met you in a foreign land, on the outskirts, separated from Him and from others. Sinful and unclean, you have been subject to death and to every sickness and sorrow of heart and mind, body and soul. You could not cleanse or heal yourself, nor can you feed and clothe and shelter yourself. It is the Lord your God who gives you all that you need to support this body and life.
He defends you against all danger, guards and protects you from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in you. For all this it is your duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.
He has come to provide you with all good things, and above all, to raise you up and bring you in and with Himself into the good land He has promised, a place of perfect peace and rest; the home where righteousness abides; to the heavenly and holy city, New Jerusalem, and into the Temple made without hands, eternal in the heavens; into the very holy of holies, the inner sanctum of the Blessed Holy Trinity.
Here His meal of thanksgiving, the in-gathering of His harvest, which is the Sacrament of the Altar, His Holy Eucharist, is given for your healing in soul and body. He satisfies your mouth with good things - not only with the bread of the earth, but with the Living Bread from heaven. For Christ is the Seed who was buried in the tomb of a certain rich man. He was cast into the earth, dead and buried, producing a limitless harvest of the finest wheat - the Bread of Life of which one may eat and live forever. From and through Christ your cup of blessing overflows; you are forgiven twice over. For it is written, You have received from the Lord’s hand double for all your sins.
Thus you are not autonomous, existing only unto yourself. He who showers His grace down upon you wills that His mercy received in heart and mind be extended to your neighbor in hand and help. His Eucharist flows downward and outward from His Cross and Passion, through His Paten and Chalice to you. It does not stop there, but continues in charity to those in your midst. To covet and horde His blessings, in both body and soul, is miserly and petty.
Hence He warns you in compassion to be on your guard against all kinds of covetousness. Your life does not consist in the abundance of your possessions. You know not the night your soul is demanded of you. Rather you are to fear, love, and trust in Him who is for you a Living Sacrifice, an offering of Atonement, by which you are reconciled to the One who made you in His image and breathed the breath of life into you.
He is greater than Moses and Jacob, more than Joshua and Aaron. He is more than you could ever have asked or imagined. He gives and you receive. You live by faith in His Word and walk according to His commandments.
Thus St Paul: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. This is your liturgy, your divine service to your neighbor in love. This is your priestly service offered to one another for the sake of Him who gave Himself for you. Beloved this is your vocation as baptized priests unto God our Father in Jesus Christ our Lord. Here you render the sacrifice of thanksgiving in the confession of His holy Name, as the Israelite spoke before the altar of the Lord. Here you speak and act as a beggar, living from the generosity and love of your Benefactor.
But your service does not end at the benediction. It begins. Out there you behave as a kings and princes, giving lavishly, in Christian charity and love to any who are in need, especially your Christian family. This is what St Paul refers to as the ministry of this service in his letter to the Corinthians. Literally, the diakonia of this liturgy. The merciful liturgy of you, His saints, in service to one another, overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.
Our greatest treasure, then for which we give thanks not only tonight, tomorrow, but each day, is not a full barn or a full bank account or a full house for the holiday, but Christ Himself. He is your inheritance, your goal, your life. By His poverty you are made rich. He is David’s Son and David’s Lord, but He is not Solomon. He is not a Arbitrator of Judge, a minister of fairness, but a Servant of Mercy, through whom you have received mercy and life and salvation.
“Open our eyes to see Your love’s intent, To know with minds and hearts its depth and height. May thankfulness be days in service spent, reflection of Christ’s life and love and light.” (LSB 788:6)
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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