Let us be Grateful as well as Thankful

Today is Volunteer Appreciation Sunday so I’m going to focus my sermon on that, instead of the lectionary.

I am truly grateful to all those people that contribute to making this a vibrant and productive community.

I say “grateful” intentionally.

Because it is important to make a distinction between thankfulness and gratitude.

Gratitude is the realization that our lives—and every aspect of them—are a gift of God’s grace.

Etymologically, "gratitude" and "grace" have the same root.

It makes sense, doesn’t it?

Grace is the gift of forgiveness that we receive from God.

We cannot earn it.

It is the gift we receive because of God’s unconditional love for us.

Gratitude is the response that we are supposed to have to God’s grace.

In contrast, thankfulness is generally quid pro quo.

We usually say “thank you” for the things people do.

It is task-oriented.

I am thankful for whoever set up Communion for this morning.

Whereas gratitude is more of an attitude—it’s a way of thinking.

I am grateful for the dedication of the altar guild and the traditions at Emanuel that guide our worship.

I am grateful that people understand that, if I forget to break the big wafer, it is not the end of the world.

God is still present.

We are still beloved.

Our sins are still forgiven.

That is not to say that we shouldn’t be thankful for all the good work that is done here.

In the book of James we read, “My siblings, what good is it to profess faith without practicing it?

Such faith has no power to save.

If any are in need of clothes and have no food to live on, and one of you says to them, “Goodbye and good luck. Stay warm and well-fed,” without giving them the bare necessities of life, then what good is this?

So it is with faith.

If good deeds don’t go with it, faith is dead.

Some of you will say that you have faith, while I have deeds.

Fine: I’ll prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds.

Now you prove to me that you have faith without any good deeds to show.

You believe in the One God.

Fine.

But even the demons have the same belief, and they tremble with fear.

Don’t you realize, you idiots, that faith without good deeds is useless?

Be assured, then, that faith without works is as dead as a body without a spirit.

Good works are important.

They are a faith practice.

It is one of the ways that we put our faith in action.

I am thankful for all the donations of warm clothing that we have received.

But I am grateful that, as a congregation, we are lucky enough to have excess clothes that we can share.

I am grateful that we have partners at United Methodist Church and Elijah’s Promise that can distribute what we collect to those in need.

I am grateful that we have opportunities to be God’s hands and feet in the world.

To feed the hungry.

To clothe the naked.

To give comfort to those who feel forgotten or unloved.

To feed Jesus’ sheep as he asked us to do.

If you remember a couple of weeks ago, the gospel lesson talked about a Pharisee that said, “I give you thanks, O God, that I’m not like others—greedy, crooked, adulterous”.

He was thankful, but he was not grateful.

Theologian and author Marcus Borg wrote, “Gratitude is a virtue with ethical consequences. When we feel most grateful, it is impossible to be cruel or callous, brutal or indifferent. And gratitude as the awareness that life is a gift precludes the hard-heartedness that often accompanies the ideology of "the self-made person." The latter often leads to, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people."

That resonates.

Gratitude is deeper and more spiritual than simple thankfulness.

Gratitude is often transformational.

The experience of being deeply grateful can change us.

That is the message of A Christmas Carol.

Scrooge learns gratitude.

The spirits show him the things he should be grateful for.

They shift his thinking from transactional thankfulness to deep gratitude.

He is change—transformed.

He becomes a new man.

Sometimes gratitude is the product of transformation.

I’ve talked before about Richard Rohr’s two halves of life concept.

The first half is about “stuff”—relationships, job, security.

The second half is about meaning.

Often, the first half of life is centered around thankfulness.

But, age, wisdom, or some life event transforms us and we begin the second half of life.

We become more centered around gratitude.

Grateful people understand that our life is a gift.

It is not about holding on to what we have.

It’s not about seeking even more.

It is about living as grateful people.

It’s about being joyful about this gift of life.

Yesterday, a man named Joseman gave us a taste of Taizé.

He drove all the way from Williamstown to be here.

His van was loaded to the gills with all sorts of things to transform the sanctuary into a reflection of a monastery in central France.

It took us 2 hours to set up and another hour and a half to take down.

For 11 people.

Some would’ve been annoyed.

Some would’ve thought it was a waste of their time, energy, and money.

But Josemon only said, “when we do it next year, more will come”.

Because he lives in gratitude.

His faith is huge.

And he is grateful that he can share with others a style of worship that is deeply meaningful to him.

He is grateful for the opportunity to invite others to experience God in a new way.

Today, we recognize and celebrate all the people who contribute to the life of this church.

Let us be thankful for all that they do.

It is right that we should do so.

But let us also be grateful for this Body of Christ.

For this assembly of faithful people that do their best to heed those words of Jesus: Feed my sheep.

Let us be thankful for the time, talent, and treasure that people donate to our ministries.

But let us also be grateful for this family—imperfect though it may be.

For the myriad ways that we try to live out the gospel:

“For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink.

I was a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me.

I was ill and you comforted me; in prison and you came to visit me.”

May we always remember to be grateful as well as thankful because both are important.

It is important to recognize and lift up good deeds done.

But it is gratitude that changes us.

Makes us holier.

Not so we receive grace.

But because we already have it.

May this contemplation on God’s word keep our hearts and minds on Christ Jesus.

Amen.