Dear friends:
For years, as the Thanksgiving holiday approached, I entertained myself with the thought of a sermon entitled “Here Comes the Family!” I never did it, and probably won’t, mostly because last year drove home just how grateful I am that family can gather safely around any table, never mind one so fraught with tradition and meaning.
Jesus taught that the practice of giving thanks is intrinsic to healthy living. C.S Lewis thought and wrote a lot about the subject and suggests that to not praise and thank God was to miss something essential, and furthermore, that there is a connection between expressions of gratitude and personal happiness. He wrote what are perhaps my favorite sentences on the subject:
"I noticed how the humblest and at the same time most balanced minds praised most; while the cranks, misfits, and malcontents praised least. Praise almost seems to be inner health made audible." (Reflections on the Psalms, pp. 78-81).
We’ll explore it in depth in all four worship services this week. I’ll be preaching in the Sanctuary, and Molly Smerko, our Pastoral Resident for Education, will bring her insights to the 8:45 service. You can read this passage in preparation. Join us and bring a friend.
