I cannot remember ever preaching on Leviticus, so it was probably time (after 25 years of ordained ministry). I had a great time digging through the information on the thank offering as mentioned in the Leviticus text. I discovered multiple stewardship themes, so I will probably be back in Leviticus in a future year.
The sermon might have worked better on a communion Sunday, but I really wanted to make the point about Jesus being grateful to God and what that means for us.
“Giving Thanks” September 30, 2018, SAPC, Denton; Leviticus 7; Luke 22 Richard B. Culp
Luke 22: 14-20 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it[c] until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Introduction: Frederick Buechner: “A Christian is one who is on the way, though not necessarily very far along it, and who has at least some dim and half-baked notion of whom to thank.”
Last with Lisa kicked off the this year’s stewardship sermon series reflecting on God’s grace as one of the foundations of our stewardship response.
4 Gs - grace, gratitude, giving, and generosity
This week we reflect on gratitude as one of the foundation of stewardship.
Giving back to God is not about buying God off or giving to create some future opportunity or reward for ourselves.
Giving back to God is not about superstition, as in we could ward off bad things from happening by giving.
Fundamentally, giving back to God is a thankful response — that “half-baked notion we know whom to thank,” so we respond by giving.
This morning, we are going to look at a passage about the thank offering in Leviticus and then see how Jesus gives thanks at an important moment in his story.
Move 1: First of all, the thank offering in Leviticus
a. Sometimes we think Leviticus is in the Bible to read when we have trouble sleeping (it works by the way)
1. Lots of rules.
2. Lots of situations in which we barely understand and find no corollary in our own context.
3. But the rules reflect important core values of God’s people.
b. Thank offering
1. Part of the peace offerings.
2. Only offering in which the people who are not priests are allowed to eat.
3. Over time, the thank offering morphed into the traditional Jewish blessing prayed before each meal.
3. Literally, the “give thanks” ritual.
4. In the New Testament, when this ritual is described as “give thanks,” the Greek word used to describe this prayer is literally, “give thanks,” or in the Greek “eucharisteo.”
4. As you hear that, you may recall that in some traditions the Lord’s Supper is called the eucharist, which is literally “give thanks.”
5. Back in the time of the Israelites, this pre-cursor to the eucharist was the thank offering, a ritual that reinforces the belief that we should be thankful to God in all things and in all places.
c. Calls on the person to “remember from the past when God intervened and thus provided an opportunity for the offerer to be grateful and to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord” and then give thanks(New INterpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1 1051).
1. Not just thanks for blessings.
2. Thanks for times God has intervened and showed God’s saving grace.
3. Thanksgiving gatherings - in settings at church, peoples homes, among family, friends often take a moment to give thanks to God.
Mostly what is shared is a recitation of the blessings as we see them - family, food, the good things we have in our lives.
But every once in a while, the thanks takes on greater meaning. I remember once standing in the circle as people lifted their usual thanks only to have a man share his poignant thanks for having survived a heart attack and giving thanks for the gift of his life.
That speaks to the heart of what the thank offering was. Giving thanks for the God who had acted to intervene and save.
4. As the thank offering great into a ritual practiced at meals, it grew to express gratitude for all that God provides.
d. By making this moment of thankfulness into a sacrifice, the Israelites emphasized the importance of response in our gratitude.
1. Not enough to say thanks, must respond, in this case with a sacrifice.
2. by being the only offering in which the people are allowed to eat, it also emphasizes that all of God’s people are called to respond.
3. Although not part of this sermon, I would also note that by making a rule that the offering must be eaten the same day it was sacrificed mean forced the one making the sacrifice to share with neighbors and those who might not be able to afford to make a sacrifice (gratitude to God that must be shared - pretty good stewardship sermon for another time!) [New INterpreter’s Bible, Vol. 1 1051].
e. the opposite of fear is not courage, but gratitude. We are most fully human when we are most deeply grateful. (Milton Brasher-Cunningham; Don’t Eat Alone blog; http://donteatalone.com/saying-thanks-in-the-dark/; 11/27/2008
Move 2: Jesus at what we know is the Last Supper.
a. Gathering with friends at Passover.
1. Does Jesus know that this is a moment that will be retold and laid claim to for generations to come?
2. maybe. he certainly sets it up as if he knows it will have a future context.
3. But, he also acts in the moment, doing the ritual that has been part of his tradition for generations.
4. He takes the cup and gives thanks to God for it, and then the bread and gives thanks to God for it.
2. “Give thanks” = eucharisteo, which is why it is called the eucharist.
3. Stop and notice. Jesus filled with gratitude.
4. There may be no greater point ever made about gratitude than this - Jesus, the Son of God, responding by giving thanks to God.
Move 3: But there is more - we also understand Jesus giving thanks for the bread and cup in a new way as we interpret his comments in light of his crucifixion and resurrection.
a. Like Jesus, like our Israelite forebears, we turn to God and give thanks.
1. We give thanks to God for being our creator.
2. We give thanks to God for choosing to be in relationship with us.
3. we give thanks for all the blessings we have in our lives.
4. We give thanks for the times God has intervened with saving grace.
b. In addition, we have the gift of Jesus Christ.
1. We now add to the list of our thanks the gift of his sacrifice on the cross for our sake.
2. We add to our list of thanks not only God’s power turn death into life, but God’s invitation for us to be new creations, to have new life and the hope of eternal life.
3. Our thanks overflow.
Conclusion: stewardship has many different aspects.
At the heart of stewardship is our gratitude to God and our grateful response.
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