Dear Friends in Christ,<\/p>\n
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Families all across our nation are gathering together this weekend to join in a spirit of family unity and thanksgiving. God has called us into His family, and so it is appropriate for us to also gather together as His family to sing His praises and give thanks for His rich and undeserved blessings that we receive every day. What a blessing it is to have the kind of attitude that recognizes that all we are and all we have is a gift we have not deserved! A humble attitude that exalts not our own merits and labor, but acknowledges with St. James that \u201cEvery good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Such an attitude, of course, is an inner condition of the heart. It is the gratitude we feel when we know that what we have received is far more than we have deserved or earned. When we take a good look around at all the material possessions we have, at the standard of living we enjoy, at the freedom we know and the privileges that are ours in a democratic society, what gratitude must fill our hearts. Especially when we see on television so many places in the world where people live without such freedom and privileges, where even basic human rights are trampled upon and denied by ruthless dictators greedy for power and wealth. <\/p>\n
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Unfortunately, we also have known that attitude \u2014 the lust for power and the greedy search for wealth and self-advantage. We see it all around us, but let\u2019s be honest, we have seen it also within us, in our own hearts. It is a core part of every human heart that has been made in the fallen image of Adam and Eve. It is the rebellion against God that lies behind every sin, the defiance that spurns God\u2019s love and fractures families and brings disharmony into all our relationships. That spirit of self-centeredness can erupt unexpectedly and violently, wounding brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, and on a much larger scale it can also wound families of nations.<\/p>\n
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When we look to our text today we see a Savior who has come into the world because the harvest is ready \u2014 the world is ready for Him who alone can set it free from its slavery to sin, from its bondage to death. It is important that we understand that these words of our Lord were spoken to his disciples right in the middle of a harvesting event. Jesus was returning from Judea to Galilee. The normal route for that trip would have been to travel on the east side of the Jordan River to avoid the region of Samaria which lies in between Judea in the south and Galilee in the north. Jews avoided Samaria because of the great hostility that existed between the two races. And even though that hostility was centuries old, it was nevertheless, as bitter as ever.<\/p>\n
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But Jesus was determined to travel through Samaria because He knew that the harvest of souls for the kingdom was ripe there also. Just before our text Jesus had encountered the Samaritan woman at Jacob\u2019s well. He engaged her in a conversation that ultimately led to his revelation to her that he is the promised Messiah. She was so intrigued by Jesus that she left her water jar there at the well and went to tell others in her village about Jesus, asking whether this man might possibly be the Christ. Jesus\u2019 disciples, who had gone into town to buy food, returned to find Jesus speaking with the woman. After she left they offered Jesus some food. He said to them: \u201cI have food to eat that you know nothing about.\u201d They didn\u2019t understand what he was talking about. That\u2019s when he speaks the words of our text: \u201cMy food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The food Jesus is talking about is not a food that sustains him, but it is the food that he brings from his Father to sustain those who will believe in him. It is the food that is available to all mankind because Jesus carried out his Father\u2019s will and completed the work he came to accomplish. That was the great work of our redemption completed on the cross when the Lamb of God gave his innocent life in exchange for our sin-filled and greed possessed lives. How dearly he wants to feed the world with the blessings of that sacrifice! How dearly he wants our diet to be changed from selfish greed and the pursuit of power which lead to sin and death, and give us instead a diet of life and love and service to our fellowman.<\/p>\n
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This is the food, the Bread of Life that our world needs so desperately. This is the food that can change hearts and unite families and restore peace. How vital it is that this food be shared with those who need it so desperately. In so many parts of the world there is a great urgency for food right now. People who have fled their homes need it desperately because of the recent hurricanes. And agencies like Canadian Lutheran World Relief and the Rock in Edmonton, give us opportunities to help feed the hungry people of our world. But the food that Jesus offers in our text is food for hungry souls \u2014 souls who have known the devastation of sin and alienation and now hunger for a restored relationship with a loving God \u2014 just what the woman at the well found in Jesus.<\/p>\n
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Jesus goes on in our text to talk about the harvest of souls for the kingdom of heaven. He reminds the disciples of a common saying: \u201cDo you not say, \u2018four months more and then the harvest\u2019?\u201d Apparently that was a proverb that meant something like \u201cthe harvest cannot be rushed.\u201d But while the crops must take their time ripening, the harvest Jesus it talking about is already ripe. <\/p>\n
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I said earlier that this text takes place in the middle of a harvesting event. Jesus had planted the seed of the Gospel into the heart of the woman at the well. He had revealed himself to her as her Savior. She went off to tell others about him. In the verses that immediately follow our text we are told that \u201cmany of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman\u2019s testimony.\u201d A remarkable thing happened that day. People who normally would have nothing to do with a Jewish person invited Jesus to stay with them. We are told that he stayed two more days and \u201cbecause of his words many more became believers.\u201d They said to the woman, \u201cWe no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.\u201d What a great harvest was realized on that occasion! What a blessing that so many who were alienated and despised because they were of a different race came to know their Savior! How thankful they were to the woman who had first brought them the message! And how grateful they were to their Lord for not bypassing their land, but coming to them with his life-giving presence. <\/p>\n
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My friends, God has not bypassed you either. In his great love and mercy He has reached out to you. By the Gospel message he has made himself known to you. He chose you to belong to his kingdom of grace. Through his Holy Spirit he has created the same faith in you that he created in those Samaritans. Though because of your sinful rebellion and disobedience you didn\u2019t deserve to become his own, he nevertheless adopted you into his family of faith so that you also belong. He has gathered you into his family where you share the life of love in Christ with your brothers and sisters in the faith. Is this not the real reason to be thankful today? Is this not the real reason to have our hearts filled with gratitude and love. God\u2019s undeserved love and mercy is ours! How grateful we must be for that greatest blessing of all!<\/p>\n
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But while gratitude in the heart is a beginning point, it is never the end of faith. Faith expresses itself in action. Praise and thanksgiving is more than gratitude. Praise and thanksgiving are the outward expression of such gratitude. I think that a lot of people today have the wrong idea about praise, especially when it comes to praise of God. Many people think that to praise God means telling God in our prayers and in our songs how wonderful He is. We even hear the term \u201cPraise songs\u201d used. Those are songs that seek to tell God how wonderful he is. But God doesn\u2019t need to know how wonderful he is. If you were to do that to a friend (tell them how wonderful they are) you would call it flattery. God doesn\u2019t need our flattery. If you are going to praise someone you don\u2019t do it to their face. You praise them by tell others about them. You let others know about their accomplishments, about what they have achieved or why they are so special. That\u2019s what it means to praise God. It means telling others what God has done. That\u2019s why I like hymns better than \u201cpraise songs\u201d. Hymns tell about the salvation God has accomplished in his only Son. They speak of his redemption. They proclaim his accomplishments and teach his word. That\u2019s what the woman at the well did, isn\u2019t it. She didn\u2019t keep the information about what Jesus had done to herself, she shared it with others. She invited them to come and see for themselves. Her praise of Jesus was not to flatter him, but to speak highly of him to her fellow citizens.<\/p>\n
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When we respond in praise and thanksgiving we also must proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to others. We need to look for opportunities to do that. We need to look for opportunities to tell others that Jesus loves them and that he died to forgive all their sins. You may soon see a family in your neighborhood who needs your help. If you see a family that is suffering from being out of work you could take a special interest in them. Send them cards of support, personal notes or posters with uplifting messages of faith. If they are in financial need you could send them cash. It doesn\u2019t have to be hundreds of dollars, just $10 or $20 tucked inside a card can be a godsend to a family in need.<\/p>\n
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I believe that God will give you opportunities to tell others that Jesus is the Savior who loves them so much that he gave his life for them when he died on the cross to forgive all their sins. God made us a family so that we can help other families. He gathers us together so that we can receive from him the strength we need for doing so. May our praise and thanksgiving be evident as we express our gratitude for His mercy and love that is ours in Christ, our Lord. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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