Thanksgiving

  "O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good and God's steadfast love endures forever" 1Chronicles 16:34

        One of the things I remember from growing up was that Dad beeped the horn a lot. It always seemed to take a lot to get the family ready and out the door. With seven kids, the older ones had to help or at least motivate the younger ones to get a move on and hurry and get out the door. Dad was waiting and it was getting late – we could tell because we could hear the car honking. Dad did not like to be kept waiting.
        It didn’t matter if we were at home, getting ready for church or if Mom was shopping, there would come a point where you just knew where Dad would be – unhappy, sitting in the car and honking the horn. I don’t know if it was because he was an only child and never had to wait for other people or if it was because as an officer in the Air Force, you just weren’t late. Either way, one sure way to get in trouble was to dawdle or take your time when we were trying to leave.
        That’s why it was such a surprise later on in years when he offered to give up his spot and wait for other people to go first.
        My sister and I had taken him to his appointment at the VA in Minneapolis. It was for a check-up after his heart surgery. After driving more than an hour to get there, and sitting in the waiting room for hours, we were afraid he was going to get angry. Instead, he told the nurse to let the other guys go next, he could wait. I’m sure my jaw dropped open. Was this my Dad?
        Later on, I asked him about it.
        “I’m fine. I’ve got time to wait. Some of the guys in wheelchairs -you have no idea what those guys went through in the war. I have nothing to complain about. I’ve been blessed. They should go first. I’m thankful I can wait.”
        All the years of waiting for my Mom and the “discussions” they had; all of the time spent waiting while raising seven kids – none of that had taught my dad patience. But he had discovered something that had made him thankful. The dual experience of surviving his heart surgery combined with being around people who were dealing with circumstances worse than his own had made him thankful. And his gratitude enabled him to be both patient and gracious.
        It is often in contrast that we learn to be thankful.
         In the Gospel of Mark (5:1-20) Jesus healed a man who was possessed by demons. The man had been so ill for so long that he lived among the tombs, most often naked and often in chains and shackles that he would break apart. Jesus calls the demons out of him and into a herd of pigs, leaving the man healed and in his right mind. (The pigs throw themselves over a cliff and die, however).
        The man, now clothed and healed wants to get into the boat with Jesus, leave with him and follow him.
        Jesus tells him no. “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.”
        Why does Jesus tell this man no when he calls others to follow him? Jesus is sad over the rich young man who refuses to leave everything behind and follow him. But this man, Jesus sends back home. Why would Jesus do that?
         First of all, this man has more healing to do. He has been living in terrible conditions, in a way that made it unsafe and impossible for him to be with his family and friends. This had to have been hard and painful to both him and his family. Part of his healing is to be with them – to learn again how to be with them and to have those relationships restored. He may have done things when he was sick that hurt people and there needs to be forgiving, and restoration if possible.
         And there is something else as well. If he followed Jesus, his story of thanksgiving would fall flat. It would sound like a tale of make-believe. His tale of living among the tombs, breaking shackles and chains, and the demons that were driven out would sound unbelievable. The now sane, clean young man would just look like another follower of this itinerant teacher, this Jesus.
         But at home, where people had seen him and had perhaps been afraid of him, for them to see him healed and to hear his story of God’s grace and mercy --- this would be a story of great power and witness to the gospel.
         What about us? Are we willing to share with others all that God has done for us? Are we ready to give thanks? Read Mark 5:18-20