Rachael writes: We’ve thought a lot over the last few weeks about the wonder of this beautiful planet earth and we’ve thought about its struggle, particularly at the hands of human beings. Despite that struggle, God continues to give us what we need through all that the earth produces.
Sometimes, maybe very often, it is easy to take all those gifts for granted and forget how amazing everything that we have is!
In our story from Luke 17.11-19 this morning, were a group of men who were ill with leprosy. They may have had numbness, sores, welts and ulcers all over their bodies. They would have had to stay away from people, no-one would have wanted to touch or talk to them. Once Jesus had spoken to them though, they were healed! They were made completely better! No more pain and no more being left out.
Did you notice how many of them thought to come back and thank Jesus? Ten were healed but only one thought to come and thank Jesus. Only one thought to praise God for what had happened.
Sometimes we can become so used to all the incredible gifts that God gives us through the earth that we forget to say thank you, like the nine other men who just walked away. And other times we do say thank you but we’re just going through the motions.
Like when my little brother and I had to write thank you letters after birthdays and Christmases as children. For a long time, we wrote them all out by hand but when we got a bit older we were allowed to use the computer. My brother was always much better at using computers than me and he quickly figured out that there was a programme he could use to create a template with most of the text of the letter, then he’d input his list of names and gifts, and they would automatically be put into the letter for him. So, a few taps on his keyboard and just like that, there were all his letters!
Sometimes our thanks to God can become like that too. We go through the motions to say what we know we ought to say but without much meaning behind it. Without the genuine, heartfelt, sincere thanks of the man who was healed and came back to Jesus.
Of course, we can thank God at any time but today we set aside as a special day to really think about all that God provides through the earth and to give God our heartfelt thanks and praise.
We think about all of the fruits and vegetables, cereals and grains, the animals, the trees, the rocks, metals and minerals, the flowers and honey and seeds, the rain, the sun, the wind and the cold, that make it possible for us to live. I wonder what part of creation you are particularly thankful for at this time?
In church we will be bringing many gifts to the altar as symbols of all that we are thankful for.
Do join with us in this prayer:
We bring forward symbols of the harvest, gifts that God has created, and has nurtured by sun and rain.
The land has yielded its harvest; thanks be to God.
We bring forward the harvest of the cornfields,
the oats and the wheat, the rye and the barley.
The land has yielded its harvest; thanks be to God.
We bring forward the harvest of vegetables,
pumpkin, kales, potatoes, and vegetables.
The land has yielded its harvest; thanks be to God.
We bring forward the harvest of fruit,
pears and apples, berries and herbs.
The land has yielded its harvest; thanks be to God.
We bring forward the harvest of flowers,
the finest blooms from our gardens and our fields.
The land has yielded its harvest; thanks be to God.
We bring forward the harvest of honey, a gift from the bees.
The land has yielded its harvest; thanks be to God.
We bring forward the harvest of seeds for next year’s crops, for cereals, vegetables, and flowers.
The land has yielded its harvest; thanks be to God.
We bring the shepherd’s crook, a symbol of the flocks and herds of animals and birds that have given us meat.
The land has yielded its harvest; thanks be to God.
We bring forward an empty bowl, as symbol of harvests that fail and of those around the world who suffer from hunger and starvation. Keep us mindful of their needs and may your goodness towards us bear fruits of compassion and generosity.
The land does not always yield harvest; help us, O God.
We bring forward the grain and the grape, for our Saviour took bread and wine to feed us with his body and his blood, given and shed for the life of the world. Let us feed on him by faith with thanksgiving.
The land has yielded its harvest; Thanks be to God.
