Thanksgiving and Faith

Sermon for Thanksgiving Eve

November 26th, 2025

And so it begins. The great holiday push into the new year. Excitement, anticipation. A bit of anxiety and dread. Some sadness as you reminisce the good ole days and what used to be. Faces no longer at the table. But also unexpected surprises with new faces as the family grows. Exciting things on the horizon.

The emotions are all over the place as you begin the holiday season. The buildup is greater and the expectations higher than what usually plays out. But it’s all a blessing in its own special way. The good the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. Memories made.

Thanks given to God for another holiday season of gathering together with family and friends as the temperatures plummet, the winds howl and maybe even a bit of snow to whiten the landscape. All God’s blessings. Even the simple things.

But first we must survive Thanksgiving. I am never sure how I feel on the eve before tomorrow - Thanksgiving, other than I am glad it’s not at our house. Excitement or just survival. Turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy. Sweet potatoes with those tiny marshmallows and maple syrup. Creamed or scalloped corn, and green bean casserole with those crunchy noodles on top.

And that broccoli and rice cheese thing. And great grandma’s day old warm dinner rolls with lots of butter. And of course my wife’s perfect deviled eggs and my mom’s homemade sweet pickles and green punch.

And then the great debate: No mom, the gravy was not too salty, the mashed potatoes were just perfect, and the turkey was the best it’s ever been. The dressing was a little dry though and needed a bit more salt, but it’s all good; all of it in its own special way good. Even if an hour or two later you’re not feeling so good and uncle you know who had one more glass of wine than he needed and now he’s getting a bit loud and bringing up all the things we don’t need to talk about at Thanksgiving. You’ve all been there.

A year ago at my parents we started that cheesy Thanksgiving tradition where you go around the table while everyone is eating all the turkey and starchy goodness, and tells something you are thankful for. I can’t believe we actually started that, but we did. Some of us make a good attempt at being serious, but most are pretty cheesy and yet kinda funny. I am mostly just lame in an attempt to be funny. And it always seems to be a bit of a competition. And uncle you know who always says something a bit inappropriate and then the tiny humans in the room have questions.

By the end of the day you aren’t thinking too much about being thankful. Your just exhausted and wondering if you want to do this again next year. Maybe that’s just our Thanksgiving and I’ve said too much. But deep inside we do love it and look forward to it.

So what’s this have to do with Jesus healing of the ten lepers? Good question. Jesus healing of the Ten Lepers is the Gospel reading chosen for Thanksgiving every year. Thanksgiving is not part of the liturgical church year. Thanksgiving is a secular holiday in the United States. But we’ve chosen to observe it because being thankful is a good thing. Especially this time of the year as the harvest season has come to an end and we are heading into the big holiday season. It’s a good time to reflect on the many blessing God has given us over the past year. The big things and the little things.

On a basic level the healing of the ten lepers is about being thankful because the one Samaritan leper comes back to Jesus and thanks him. The other nine didn’t return and give thanks. It’s good and right to be thankful for everything God has given us. But that’s really not what the healing of the ten lepers is about. It’s part of it, but it’s not the main thing we should learn from this one leper that returns to Jesus.

The most important thing is faith. Faith that believe Jesus is God in the flesh who came into this world to save us. That Samaritan believed that. Faith believes and faith receives the gift of Jesus which heals the sinner dead in trespasses and sins. It’s then that true thanksgiving flows from that faith that receives the good eternal things found only in Jesus.

Faith all by itself is pointless. Faith doesn’t save apart from its object – Jesus. True faith clings to Jesus, abides in Jesus, feeds on Jesus. If faith doesn’t return again and again to Jesus – then it isn’t true faith.

Faith believes there is more to life than pain and suffering, heartache, and regret, sickness, and death. Faith sees hope in the midst of despair, joy in the midst of sorrow, and life in the midst of death. Faith endures and perseveres even when we give up. Because true faith always sees Jesus, even when we feel lost and in the dark. Faith doesn’t give up because Jesus doesn’t give up. He died that we might live and then rose again.

The one Samaritan leper that came back believes Jesus is more than He appears. His returning to thank Jesus was true worship. It was faith in action that went back to the source of the gift. Jesus is the gift. And faith always wants more. It’s never fully satisfied in this life. It must keep receiving the goods. And then after receiving the goods, faith always cries out in worship and praise because faith sees that where there was once only sin, corruption and death, now there is eternal healing, forgiveness, and salvation.

We have the faith of the one Samaritan leper that returned to Jesus. Through eyes of faith we see the condition that corrupted our whole existence and threatened to separate us from God for eternity. But Jesus met us on His Way and spoke His life into us and turned us back to Him. Pulling us from the domain of darkness into His kingdom where we have redemption and forgiveness - eternal life. That’s a reason to be truly thankful and to fall on our knees in right worship and praise for the gift received through faith.

There is no greater gift than the healing of Jesus death and resurrection that’s redeemed our bodies and souls. That eternal healing is yours through faith in Christ alone. No one can take it from you. That gift is the reason to be truly thankful tomorrow for all the good things in this life. Even the simplest of things, like grandma’s pumpkin pie or Uncle David’s homemade wine. So give thanks and enjoy tomorrow.

Yes, the turkey may be a little dry, the gravy a bit bland, and the dressing missing a little something. And the siblings will fight, and that one uncle will try his best to make it a day to remember. You will leave tired and wishing you hadn’t eaten so much. But you will thank the good Lord for another year, another Thanksgiving day to gather with those people you love.

And if you don’t have people to gather with tomorrow, you do tonight. So rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks always in all circumstances and for everything; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Thanks be to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.