Deuteronomy 8:1–2 — November 24, 2011

Thanksgiving

Sermon

The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. (Deut 8:1–2)

If New Year's is about making resolutions and the future, then Thanksgiving is about remembering and the past. Turkey, stuffing, and stories get handed from person to person. While the platters and gravy boats empty, the stories get filled out with new details and embellishments. Some of the stories are as old as the pilgrims; others might've happened just last week. You can relive the past year simply by looking down the dining room table. Where grandma or a cousin once sat, there's now an empty chair; or perhaps where there was just one chair, now there are two or three and the dining room's bursting at the seams with new members. The gray hairs, the lined faces, the round cheeks—all tell the story in their own way.

You Can Sum Up the Day like This:

Thanksgiving Is about Remembering.

The person who has no memory, who doesn't know where he or she comes from, can't really give thanks. That person doesn't know what to be thankful for or whom to thank.

So Moses sets out to remind you who you are and where you come from, to help you remember. It's a short sermon, but he repeats it many times: "Remember the Lord"; "Remember and do not forget." I wonder if the children of Israel ever got tired of hearing that sermon time after time. Did they tune Moses out after a few minutes? "There he goes again. Hey, Moses, we already heard that one." Today is like a family gathering where Moses tells the old stories again, your stories. You hear him speak today, long dead but still speaking in Holy Scripture: "Remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you" (v 2). You belong to the Lord. This is what the Lord has done for you: He sent you a prophet greater than Moses—Jesus Christ, his Son—to deliver you by his death and resurrection. He brought you out of slavery to sin. He rescued you from the reign of death and the devil. He drowned your enemies in baptismal water and called you to be his people. He has led you year after year through the wilderness of this life, a land in which you are a pilgrim and a stranger. Remember.

But Thanksgiving isn't simply about remembering facts. The mental exercise of recalling names and dates might be good enough to pass a university exam, but it certainly won't do for Thanksgiving. I might know all about 1621, Plymouth Plantation, Squanto, and William Bradford, but no one would say that I've therefore remembered Thanksgiving, at least not until I've made a Pilgrim hat out of construction paper, enjoyed a forkful of turkey and pumpkin pie, and loosened my belt a notch or two. A proper remembrance of Thanksgiving involves the whole person, not only the mind. The same goes for a wedding anniversary. There's more to remembering an anniversary than knowing the date. Dinner and flowers are a good start.

So when Moses says, "Remember," he isn't reciting a set of historical facts for you to know. He wants your entire life to be one of remembrance, for you to remember the Lord with your heads, your hearts, and your hands. Through Holy Baptism, you are a member of the heavenly Father's family, and you now remember the Lord your God by living as his child.

To be a child means first that you receive what your parents give. You live in their house, you eat at their table, you call to them when you're in need, and you enjoy their goods and belongings. So also for you who are children of the heavenly Father through adoption into Christ Jesus. In this place you remember who you are. This is your Father's house. This altar is his table. You call him "Father," and his ears hear your cries for mercy. This isn't a onetime thing; it's your life as a child. You remember the Lord by receiving more from him: more forgiveness and more salvation. His delight is to give to you, to provide for you, to answer you. He does this not only here but in your own home as well. Your roof, your bed, and your table are his gifts too. The turkey and stuffing and sweet potatoes all come from his hands.

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. (vv 7–10)

He gives; you receive. And in receiving, you remember who you are: his beloved child.

At present, however, you are living in a wilderness, which means that there may be hunger and sickness and tears along the way. Some tables may have less this year than they did last year; some belts might be pulled a little tighter. That's not a sign that the Lord has forsaken you, but it does test you.

And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. (vv 2–5)

Will you still live as his child though the way gets rough? Do you see that even the little you do have is a gift from him? Will you fear, love, and trust in him as your good and gracious God? Know this: you don't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from his mouth. You haven't starved and you have clothes on your back. The Lord provides.

The best remembrance that a child gives to his father is to do what his father does, to walk in his ways. "So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him" (v 6). To be a child of the heavenly Father means to imitate him: to forgive as he forgives and to love as he loves. You demonstrate that you remember the Lord by loving and serving your neighbor. So also today, we remember the Lord by receiving his gifts and by offering our lives and our goods to those in need. We copy the Father's actions and thereby show that we are his children.

We are always in danger of forgetting who we are. In spiritual matters, as in the rest of life, we are prone to be forgetful and have a selective memory. But Thanksgiving makes us remember, and Moses jogs our memories. He reminds us who we are: the Lord's people, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. Remember this by receiving his gifts. Listen to his Word preached. Come often to this Table to eat and drink the body and blood of your Lord Jesus Christ. Remember who you are by living as one who has been redeemed by Christ the crucified. Remember it with your heads, hands, hearts, ears, and mouths. With such remembrance and thanksgiving, go forth, pick up the platter, tell your stories, pass the gravy, and enjoy all that the Lord has given you. Amen.