THANKFUL -- ON SUCH A DAY AS THIS

                After all night in the ER I had surgery on Thanksgiving morning. Late that night I reviewed the day and asked myself, is there anything I can be thankful for on such a day as this? Immediately I thought of my wife and daughter, my brother, the neighbors, and of course our church family that I knew would provide great support.

Then, it occurred to me that this experience drove me to thanksgiving for the fundamentals of living. For example, I couldn’t eat the thanksgiving noon meal because it was too soon after surgery,  but that night when I lifted the lid on the tray I was struck by the beautiful sight of green, orange, white, and brown foods, and then savored the taste and texture of the food. It brought me joy. I remembered that C S Lewis had said that such moments of joy, or bliss, or ecstasy, whether it’s the food we eat, a striking sunset, or a thrilling symphony, our senses give us moments of joy that are pointers to God, the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17).

                Then I remembered the primary gift that I had received that day. A powerful, deadly enemy had captured my body and there was nothing that I could do to get rid of it. I could not repent of my illness, or confess it, and remove it. I needed help, not from just anyone, but from someone capable of dealing with this enemy. And I gave thanks for a highly skilled surgeon and his team.

                As I continued to reflect on my experience, some of our study of Romans in the Senior Group came to mind. Paul spent the first three chapters of Romans pounding home the fact that we have all been captured by a powerful enemy, an enemy he calls sin, that intends death for us, and we have no way of dealing with it. We have been captured and we cannot repent of our captivity and by this escape. We need help. Realizing this, Paul cried out, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” And the answer came, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 7:24).

                God sent the Great Physician who did what no one else could do. Paul put it this way: “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. . . . God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6, 8).

                For this reason, the Lord’s Supper, which reminds us of this, has traditionally been called, “The Great Thanksgiving.” God has given us life through the gift of his one and only son and at this table, now, we can say “Thank You.”