The Thank You Card

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever.
² O give thanks to the God of gods,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever.
³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;
⁴ to him who alone does great wonders,
    for his steadfast love endures for ever;   Psalm 136:1-4

Throughout the course of our lives, we have received gifts from family and friends.  Whether at Christmastime or our birthday or a special occasion, we found treasures lying on our desks, under evergreen trees or next to the birthday cake.  But while we as a community love to dote on our associates, we also place an emphasis on the “Thank You” given back.  How many thank you cards have been written by a newly married couple for every wedding gift?  How many thank you hugs were given to those who surprised you during a party at work?  How many appreciative notes were given to loved ones for the flowers or candy on Valentine’s Day?  We give and do things for those we love and we give back gratitude for the gifts given.

The Psalmist also knows the gifts that have been given and chooses to sing the “Thank You,” O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.  To be good in English implies a state of passiveness, being good, but in Hebrew it means to make good.  The Psalmist ever in a state of stress or crisis crying out for rescues or well-being has been met by God and God’s goodness has rescued and restored as a gift from God and the Psalmist sings back gratitude.  Having been given to, the Psalmist chooses to give back a gift of song in gratitude and thanksgiving for what God has done.  Giving to results in giving back.

As I sit here at my desk almost exactly four years from when I started as the Installed Teaching Elder at East Side, I reflect on all that God has done and God has given to me and to us.  From the tentative steps in yoking together and having two services, to the suggestion to try a summer worshiping together bouncing around sanctuaries.  From meshing a couple of committees together to dinners and picnics.  From the decision to merge to the process of discerning which building best suits our needs.  From the revising of the by-laws and Manual of Operations to the closing and opening services.  From our beginning to our time now, God has been very good to us.  God has renewed and restored us giving us a new energy and excitement over these last few years.

Maybe now is the time for us to give back to God our “Thank You.”  We have had the gifts and the mighty wonders of God, now is the time for us to give thanks the LORD.  With gratitude and thanksgiving, we gather to sing God’s praises not just for what God did at the Red Sea or on Calvary, but what God has done here among us.  The very story of God’s love and faithfulness has become incarnate in our time and in our history.  God has and is loving and faithful to us and we have seen and experienced it.  This is and will be our motivation for our worship and work.  We now have something to sing about in gratitude, and we now have a blessing to bless others with.  God has been good to us, now let us come sing the LORD.

My friends, I know we are not yet finished, not that we ever will be finished, we do have some material things to work out.  But while we have reached the end of one stage in our journey together, we cannot let this be the end of our engagement or commitment.  We can pause and reflect but not end our worship and work.  We can rejoice and give thanks but not cease our discernment and forward movement.  We can take a rest and sabbath, (I know I need to), but we know that another stage of our Exodus begins ahead of us.  Let us give thanks for the LORD is good but also realize that goodness presses us forward.  Let us send God our “Thank You” for all that God has done to get us here and let us press forward to what God has next.  Amen.