Thanksgiving 2012

One of my favorite children's story books is The Little Prince written by Antoine de Saint Exupery. It is a book about the travels of a prince to many different worlds in search of beauty. In one section of the book he encounters a fox. The prince is afraid of the fox and fears that it will attack him if he gets too close. The fox, likewise, is fearful of the prince and keeps his distance. They decide together that they would like to become friends. In order to do that they must each take a risk by moving one step closer to one another each day. After a number of days, they have built up the trust necessary to sit shoulder to shoulder, friends at last. Such is the message of Thanksgiving. Hundreds of years ago, at the first Thanksgiving, the need for trust and friendship was evident. No doubt it took many months for each side to trust one another ... to become neighbors ... to open their communities. And so we are brought to our Thanksgiving in 2012. Our communities of faith ... Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu ... people of all faiths and practices ... have gathered together in communion with God. And we have so much to give thanks for ... our family and friends ... our health and happiness ... our relationship with God and God's relationship with us. It is hopefully a happy and joyous time for all who have come together this evening. But as my tradition teaches ... no one can truly give thanks until all have something for which to give thanks. And as we know, people of all faiths and practices, there is much work to be done in our community. As the members at B’nai Israel know, there is a particular verse of the Bible that I quote often and try to live by every day. In the book of proverbs, chapter 29, verse 18, the writer of proverbs said so eloquently: "Where there is no vision ... the people perish." What is our real vision for our community? I am just learning of the beauty of Little Rock and its historical challenges. I have seen the triumph of the spirit here and the amazing accomplishments of so many people in the faith community who have driven the conversation for social change. I have seen, first hand, the courageous moments of human encounter and I have learned through book, movie and personal story about the challenges that lie ahead. We are the recipients of so many blessings and so much grace, what is the responsibility we bear to create for the next generation? And it is that clarion call that we must humbly hear this day and at this season. I believe it is our moral and religious responsibility to dig very deep these days … to pull from the depths of our spirit the deeply held beliefs that we all know. Let us reach into the words of our sacred scripture this evening and act as Psalms asked of us; I will extol You, my God and Sovereign, and bless Your name forever and ever. Every day will I bless You and praise Your name forever and ever. Let our blessings of God pour forth into our treatment of God’s creations. Let us look into the eyes of our neighbor and see the presence of a loving and sacred soul. God placed us here on this earth not to clamor and climb to the top, over the backs of each other. God put us here to lift the other up. To raise each other for the glory and majesty of a loving God. Look into the eyes of your neighbor, remember the stranger at your table on Thursday, think about the widow and the orphan, reach out to the disposed, the homeless and hungry. For how can we bless Gods name if our actions deny God’s blessings to others. Now we don’t proselytize … Judaism gave that up thousands of years ago … but we do believe in being a light to others. We believe that our actions speak louder than our words. A young activist wrote these words: Most people in the world today live heroic lives merely trying to survivie for for more day. They are powerless to evoke change, let alone help others. That is why I feel so strongly that those of us who can make things better must do so. And If we don’t, we are depriving ourselves of perhaps the greatest opportunity life can offer: to help change the world and, in turn, give true meaning to our lives. That is what is meant when the psalm continues: One generation shall laud Your works to another and declare Your mighty acts. We have to stand shoulder to shoulder in this world. We have to march together. We have to serve soup and support homeless programs and we have to roll up our sleeves and earn our scars in doing God’s work here. We are God’s hands in this world and without us, and our spirit, and our sacrifice, and our blessings … God will remain silent. The psalms again cries out: They shall celebrate Your abundant goodness, and sing joyously of Your beneficence. The LORD is good to all, and Gods mercy is upon all Gods works. All Your works shall praise You, O LORD, and Your faithful ones shall bless You. We will praise … in word and in deed. When we batter down the walls that divide our lands, when we forget the language that divides our peoples, when we elevate the goodness that fills each other, when we teach the love of God that unites us as people of hope and faith … Then the psalms will ring true and the true blessings of our existence will fill this world. That is the day of true Thanksgiving and it starts here … now … with us… We must pause and reflect ... we must care ... we must repair. It is a world of potential wholeness and peace. It is a return to that pristine time where humanity walked arm in arm and God hovered above us. The benefit of living a life based in the covenant of faith is bliss. It is the kind of pure faith and happiness of which our ancestors dreamed. It is ours for asking if we will simply listen to the voice of God. And so we are here at this Thanksgiving Celebration. We do have much to give thanks for. Our Families, our health, our presence here at this community service are all positive and meaningful expressions. We as community of faith and action must commit to working towards the day when Thanksgiving will be felt by all. Remember the proverb ... Where there is no vision ... the people perish. Let us all share the vision of Holiness upon which our faith is based. Let us always care for the needy among us. Let us vow this day that we will work to make our feast Thursday fulfilling. To conclude let me share with you some words of Robert Kennedy. In a 1966 speech at the University of Capetown he said: "Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, these ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightest walls of compression and resistance." And so we have the vision and the path towards making this day unique. Our vision is essential to the future of our world. Others laid down visions to bring us to today. Thanksgiving came to us because a daring and brave group of people sought religious freedom. The Puritans in their own way, paved the groundwork for our celebration. But their path was not easy. Neither is ours. Yes, on Thursday we will celebrate. But, more importantly, after the second plate of turkey and dressing on Thursday, take a moment and reflect on the dreams that brought us here today. And project some dreams that will take us to tomorrow. Then will our lives be full, and we shall remain a blessing. AMEN.