Sermonette: Nov. 23, 2020

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His steadfast love endures forever. Psalm 118:1

I have been sitting here in front of my computer for over an hour, and the only thing I have typed is the Bible verse above.

I keep typing a sentence or two and then deleting it. About 30 minutes ago, it felt like I was on a roll, having written a couple of paragraphs... and then I deleted that too.

With Thanksgiving approaching, my desire is to write a beautiful and inspirational sermonette about being thankful for all the blessings God has given us.

But I don't seem to be able to do that today.

Why? Well, that is really good question. It's the question I have been asking myself for the last hour. And finally, just a minute ago, something became clear, and so rather than writing the sermonette I hoped to write, I'm going to write the sermonette that seems to want to be written.

I don't feel very grateful today. I can't seem to muster up much of a Thanksgiving mood. Rather than feeling all warm and fuzzy about my blessings, I mostly just feel scared and sad and overwhelmed. I am scared of the rising number of covid cases and covid fatalities in our community, county, state and nation. I'm sad that all of us are losing so much because of this pandemic. When I think of the residents in the nursing homes being lonely, I get all choked up. When I think about families burying their loved ones without the whole community there to love and support them, I feel angry. When I think about students' lives and their schooling and their memory making being interrupted, I feel their loss.

To be clear, I don't intend to tell you about my struggle in order to gain your sympathy. I tell you about my struggle because I have a sense that many of you are struggling too. And when we share our struggle, it becomes normalized and normalization can be like a healing balm. At the very least it can help us to not feel alone.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His steadfast love endures forever.

Oh, how I want to do as the verse says, and I want to give you all the Spirit-filled answer for how that is possible in the midst of our struggle. Like you, I want to be in a grateful mind and heart space, because it actually feels way better than this struggle. Is there a bridge to gratitude? If yes, where? Is there a way to get to that promised land? Show me and I will go.

And then there it is. The good news I need. Maybe you need it today too.

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His steadfast love endures forever.

His steadfast love endures forever. He is good. Oh wow. Thank you God.

Thank you that your goodness doesn't depend on me having an attitude of gratitude. Thank you, that in the midst of our sadness, your love does endure. In the midst of our loss, your goodness remains.

Do you feel the grace in that? I sure do.

Do you hear the Holy Spirit whisper, "I am with you and will help you get through."?

Do you hear Jesus speaking into your struggle, "I will never leave you or forsake you."?

My prayer for you this day, dear friends in Christ, is that in sharing my struggle you don't feel so alone in yours, and in my rediscovery of God's grace and goodness, you discover God's grace and goodness for you too.

And that together, in the midst of a global pandemic, we are compelled to give thanks to the Lord, for He is so so good.