In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     Back during the dark days of 1929, a group of ministers in the Northeast, all graduates of the Boston School of Theology, gathered to discuss how they should conduct their annual services of Thanksgiving, given the national situation, going from bad to worse. The bread lines were depressingly long, the stock market had plummeted, and the term "Great Depression" seemed an apt description for the mood of the country. As they discussed the difficult plight of their country and their parishioners, many of the ministers thought they should only lightly touch upon the subject of thanksgiving in deference to the fact that many in their congregations had very little to be thankful for, at that particular time in their lives. There was human misery all around, and surely, the thanksgiving holiday should be downplayed in this time of shortage and want. After all, there was little to be thankful for, some of the ministers concluded. But it was Dr. William L. Stiger, pastor of a congregation in the city that rallied the group. This was not the time, he suggested, to give mere passing mention to Thanksgiving, but just the opposite. This was the time for the nation to get matters in perspective and thank God for blessings always present, especially in times of intense hardship.

     And isn't that a challenging thought? That it is times of greatest hardship, that we most need to keep our spirit of gratitude and thankfulness? On the one hand, our human nature leads us in the other direction. It is in times of greatest hardship and difficulty, that we most often feel forlorn, forsaken, and may even cry out to God, "What gives?! Why have you turned your back on me?! Don't you care that I'm struggling down here?!" We tend to refer to these times as "the dark night of the soul", when we are in our own "Great Depression", suffering with illness, emptiness, grief, uncertainty. When we are diagnosed with cancer, when we are beset with physical ailment after physical ailment, when we lose a loved one most dear to us-when our spouse or son or daughter is deployed to Iraq, when we lose our job and face financial instability and a mounting pile of bills-do we turn, immediately to God, and say, "thank you God for all your manifold gifts and blessings?" And could we ever say, "Thank you God, for these challenges and trials that will make me stronger, and teach me patience and endurance and steadfastness?" I think there may be those people who respond to difficulties in life, still, with gratitude and thankfulness-I just haven't met many. And yet, as Rev. Stiger suggested, these are the times when we need to stir our hearts, and remember God's love and mercy and providence, in spite of our present situation! And why is this thankfulness so important? Because it turns us away from focus on ourselves-it turns us from an inward, self-pitying stance, to an outward, God-centered orientation-that moves us from feelings of defeat and victimization and futility, to hope and trust in God, who is the source of immeasurable strength and courage and confidence. The most intense moments of thankfulness are not found in times of plenty, but when difficulties abound-because thankfulness in the midst of challenge, renews faith in God, and faith in God transforms life-and brings us from illness to wholeness, from frustration to hope, from worry and anxiety to peace and comfort. Which is why, in times of trial, Christians have always turned to God in thanks and praise. Think of the Pilgrims that first Thanksgiving. Half their number dead, people without a country, but still there was thanksgiving to God. Their gratitude was not for something but in something. It was that same sense of gratitude that led Abraham Lincoln to formally establish the first Thanksgiving Day-when? In the midst of national civil war, when the list of casualties seemed to have no end and the nation struggled for its very survival! Is that the time to pause to give thanks? Absolutely! Just as this particular time in history, is also the right time, to pause, and give thanks. Thanks for this land, that God has given us, as an inheritance-truly, in spite of the economic downturn and oil prices-a land flowing with milk and honey-a land of prosperity and goodness and blessing. Thanks for our homes and families, who, in spite of holiday stress and tensions, give us love and care and are there for us, no matter what. And yes, thanks for that greatest gift and blessing of all-that which will never be taken from us, come terrorism, or violence, or war, or illness or brokenness-still, we have the Bread of life-the Bread of Life come down from heaven, to give life to the world-the Bread of Life who is, Jesus Christ, who even now, this evening, comes down from heaven, to feed us with His own Body and Blood, that we might have life, and have it abundantly! That we might be part of His Holy Communion-heirs of His grace, and recipients of His mercy-shown to us through His sacrificial death on the cross, and His glorious rising from the tomb-to give to us, not just life, here and now, not just prosperity and health and good times, in this life-but the hope and promise of life, everlasting! The hope and promise of life in Him, that begins now, but is brought to perfection, in the life to come. Which is why St. Paul could write to the congregation in Philippi, even while in prison, himself-"rejoice in the Lord always-again, I will say, rejoice. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, WILL keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Which is why St. Paul, in prison, could then continue, "So then, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, think about these things, no matter your situation or difficulties in life-think about these things, Paul says, and keep on doing the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-in spite of trial or challenge or illness or loss-and the God of peace will be with you. Yes, the God of peace will be with you, St. Paul writes-even in the midst of your own "Great Depression"; even while the Civil War rages in your household or family-even when you face hardships in life-Paul says, do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God-and.the peace of God will keep your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.