Thanksgiving in the Weeds

How do you give thanks when your life isn't perfect? What do you do when your life is not full of flowers, but full of weeds? This sermon considers just that. If your life is full of weeds (I know mine is), then it may have something to say to you!

I don’t need to tell you anything about weeds, do I? We’re all familiar with them. They creep into our gardens, spring up in our fields, and cause us no end of inconvenience! Jesus’ disciples knew about weeds, too; so when he told them this parable (Matthew 13:24-30), they knew exactly what he was talking about. The field of the landowner in this parable is full of weeds; and not just a few. Weeds had sprung up everywhere, weeds that had been put there intentionally by someone who was out to ruin the harvest.

What did all those weeds in this parable represent when Jesus told it? If we read on a little farther in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they represent people. Biblical scholars think that those “weeds” might even have been church members! After all, the early church was made up of a very mixed bag of Christians. Some were certainly devoted followers of Jesus; but others might have been there simply to get a handout. Some might even have been spies, put there by the Roman authorities who were hoping to find a reason to arrest members of this new sect.

Today, we aren’t worried about Roman spies sitting in our church pews. No, today the weeds in the wheat field have other meanings to us. For me, these weeds have always represented the troubles that pop up so quickly in our lives. We’re going along minding our own business, when an uninvited event pops up like one of those pesky weeds. It might be a very little weed, one that we can pull out rather easily. The water pump goes out on the car, for example. We may have to dip into our savings to fix it, but we can handle it. Other weeds aren’t so small, though. Maybe we lose the job that we’ve held for years. We can’t get rid of that weed quite so easily. And some weeds are so tall that they overshadow everything else in our lives. The illness of a family member means that we have to become caregivers; or we become ill ourselves, and learn to cope with continuing medical treatments. Yes, there are plenty of weeds in our lives, and they come in all shapes and sizes. And now we’re approaching Thanksgiving. What do we do with those weeds on Thanksgiving, anyway? We can’t get rid of them; and Jesus even hints that trying to do that might not be the best idea. Do we make the best of them? Do we curse them? Do we try to ignore them?

It’s worth remembering that the Pilgrims who were the first to celebrate Thanksgiving lived among their own weeds. Those first settlers arrived on our shores late in the year, just as winter was setting in. The supplies that they had brought from Europe weren’t adequate to get them through that year’s harsh winter. Many were already ill with scurvy after the long overseas voyage. Others became ill from cold and hunger. Some starved to death. Of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower, over half died during that first terrible winter. Oh, their weeds were plentiful. When Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving Day in 1863 by executive order, things weren’t much better. Our country was split apart by civil war. The Battle of Gettysburg had stopped the advance of General Lee’s troops into the north, but at a terrible cost – almost 50,000 troops killed or wounded in just three days of battle. During the Civil War, the weeds overshadowed almost everything else. But even in the shadow of all those weeds, both the Pilgrims and President Lincoln gave thanks. They gave thanks for loved ones who survived cold, hunger, illnesses, and battle. They gave thanks for friends who supported them when they were certain that they could not get through another day. They gave thanks to God whose presence went with them whether their days were good or bad. Surely we, too, can give thanks despite all the weeds that are in our lives!

During this past month, several people who are Facebook friends of mine have posted each day what they are thankful for. Now, I know these folks; and I know that they all have weeds in their lives. They are thankful nonetheless. Here are some of their posts (adapted in some cases so that the posters can remain anonymous).

I am thankful for co-workers who care enough about me to phone me when they hear there's a huge accident that would keep me from getting home safely.

·      I am thankful for the songbirds in our yard.

·      I am thankful for my spouse. It’s not always easy, but it is completely worth it.

·      I am thankful for warm jammies.

·      I am thankful for books. I love to read!

·      I am thankful for coming home to a clean house and dinner on the stove.

·      I am thankful for conveniences – a washer, a dryer, and a dishwasher.

·      I am thankful to spend time with my family.

·      I am thankful for the opportunity to learn. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to get a good education.

·      I am thankful for laughter.

·      I am thankful for life.

Are you thankful for some of those things? I know that you are – and for many others that I didn’t mention. So this year, I invite you to give thanks despite the weeds in your life, no matter how many of them there are and how big they are. I invite you to hang on to God’s promise that those weeds won’t last forever, and that one day, they will all be thrown into the fire! I invite you to join the Pilgrims, and Abraham Lincoln, and all the saints throughout the ages in giving thanks to God in a great chorus of praise that will one day be echoed by all creation! Thanks be to God!