Sermon 11-19-23

Pastor Ray Lorthioir

Trinity Lutheran Church

W. Hempstead, NY

A Sunday of Thanksgiving

God Cannot Be Mocked

From the 1950’s and 60’s I can remember that my home congregation in Wantagh had a Thanksgiving Day service. My father took us to church in the morning. We went to his sister’s house in the afternoon, where the whole extended family on his side gathered for dinner. It’s long ago and it’s hard to trust the memory, but I recall that there was a decent turnout for every Thanksgiving Day service back then.

Because of lack of attendance, I gave up having a Thanksgiving Day or even a Thanksgiving Eve service here about a dozen years ago. Instead, I incorporated that service into the Sunday service before Thanksgiving. So, here we are.

Interestingly enough, here in the U.S., from colonial times onward, days of Thanksgiving have been by government proclamation and not religious proclamation. Just for the record, the beginning of the modern Thanksgiving Day goes back to a proclamation made by president Abraham Lincoln that there be a national Day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November, 1863. That year was the turning point of the American Civil War. Therefore, Lincoln’s proclamation reflected thanksgiving to Almighty God for the federal government’s success on the battlefield.

Fast forward, then, to November 1939. That November had five Thursdays, and the last Thursday was the thirtieth. Now, at that time, it was considered grossly improper to advertise merchandise for Christmas before Thanksgiving. Because the country was still in the Great Depression, business leaders, therefore, convinced President Franklin Roosevelt to extend the Christmas buying season of 1939 by proclaiming Thanksgiving as the next to last Thursday of November. Some things don’t change, do they? Black Friday, anyone?

Democrat, Roosevelt’s proclamation resulted in a political division that year. Some states celebrated traditional “Republican” Thanksgiving on the fifth Thursday, and other states celebrated the new “Democratic” Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday. Nothing changes, does it? In 1942 Congress took the matter into its own hands and set the day as the fourth Thursday of November, allowing for the years when November has five Thursdays. And so it remains today.

So that we may get a handle on where things have gotten to in our time, let me read to you a Thanksgiving proclamation made in 1777 during the American Revolution by the Continental Congress. This came after American success at the Battle of Saratoga in upstate New York. The battle was strategically important because it foiled the British attempt to split off the New England states from the rest of the country. Listen carefully.

“FOR AS MUCH as it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude their Obligation to him for Benefits received, and to implore such farther Blessings as they stand in Need of: And it having pleased him in his abundant Mercy, not only to continue to us the innumerable Bounties of his common Providence; but also to smile upon us in the Prosecution of a just and necessary War, for the Defense and Establishment of our unalienable Rights and Liberties; particularly in that he hath been pleased, in so great a Measure, to prosper the Means used for the Support of our Troops, and to crown our Arms with most signal success. 

It is therefore recommended to the legislative or executive Powers of these UNITED STATES to set apart THURSDAY, the eighteenth Day of December next, for SOLEMN THANKSGIVING and PRAISE: That at one Time and with one Voice, the good People may express the grateful Feelings of their Hearts, and consecrate themselves to the Service of their Divine Benefactor; and that, together with their sincere Acknowledgments and Offerings, they may join the penitent Confession of their manifold Sins, whereby they had forfeited every Favor; and their humble and earnest Supplication that it may please GOD through the Merits of JESUS CHRIST, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of Remembrance; That it may please him graciously to afford his Blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public Council of the whole: To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty GOD, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, INDEPENDENCE and PEACE: That it may please him, to prosper the Trade and Manufactures of the People, and the Labor of the Husbandman, [that would be farmers] that our Land may yield its Increase: To take Schools and Seminaries of Education, so necessary for cultivating the Principles of true Liberty, Virtue and Piety, under his nurturing Hand; and to prosper the Means of Religion, for the promotion and enlargement of that Kingdom, which consisteth ‘in Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.’

And it is further recommended, That servile Labor, and such Recreation, as, though at other Times innocent, may be unbecoming the Purpose of this Appointment, be omitted on so solemn an Occasion.”

One remarkable feature of this proclamation is that it actually quotes the 1611 King James Bible translation of Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” More importantly, it also invoked the merits of Jesus Christ. There’s some deep Reformation theology in that statement. Do you think any modern congress would do that, let alone even proclaim a Day of Thanksgiving to a “Divine Benefactor?” 

Also, notice that as a sacred memorial to those who sacrificed their lives on the Saratoga battlefield, Congress thought it good to skip the games and recreation that had been traditional for such a day ever since Plymouth Colony celebrated a Day of Thanksgiving in November of 1621.

Just for the record, most of the Thanksgiving traditions we have today developed in the late 1800’s, including football. The first Thanksgiving Day football games were played by rival high schools in Massachusetts. In the 1890’s professional football games were played on Thanksgiving Day for the first time. And so it remains today.

Did you notice the substantial Christian theology in the proclamation? First, congress understood that all prosperity comes from God’s favor. Second, they recognized that all business, labor, commerce and even the military are earthly vocations given to us by God above. There’s some deep Reformation theology in that understanding. Third, and perhaps most important, they implored God’s blessing upon schools and seminaries, so that the American people could come to the right understanding of the nature of this world that’s found in the Bible, and thereby make good citizens. Indeed, what’s amazing about this proclamation is that congress expected its deep theological foundations to be thoroughly understood by the average American. Congress expected the language of the proclamation to be understood by all. Indeed, do you understand what they were talking about? I hope so.

So, where is the country now? On June 28, 2006 then Senator Obama – a rising Democratic Party star at the time – spoke at an event called “Call to Renewal, Covenant for a New America, A Gathering of Religious Leaders.” According to Factcheck.org the words of his written speech were: “Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation.” However, as was seen on Youtube.com, when he delivered the speech, he stumbled over the words and said – “Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation – at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation and a Hindu nation and a nation of nonbelievers.” Factcheck.org contends that this was a slip in his delivery of the text and that it was plain that he meant that we are no longer just a Christian nation. Nevertheless, I think that the slip was what he really believed. Indeed, the present state of the country is a reflection of how his belief influenced our institutions.

It’s true that as greater numbers of people from non-Christian backgrounds have emigrated to the U.S., we’re continuing to see a definite difference in a lot of places. And we may come to a time when we’ll have to decide whether American law will continue to be based on the Ten Commandments and the Torah as depicted on the walls of the Supreme Court building, or on Sharia or some other law. But more significant of late — for both the church and the country — has been the number of people from Christian background who are now nonbelievers or “nones” as they’re called.

Christian apologist, Frank Turek, believes that the 9/11 religious attack on America gave atheists a platform from which to denounce all religion. He notes that after the attack, this saying arose: science can teach you how to fly a plane; religion will teach you how to fly it into a building. The so-called New Atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins came into their own during this period of time. They proclaimed atheism as the way to heal the world from the insanity that can be caused by religious warfare. But, they did so without delineating the difference between Christianity and Islam. Atheist Bill Maher also did his part to mock Christianity on media. And this movement seemed to garner more adherents as time went on. The result was that true Christianity has eroded since 9/11. The ranks of the “nones” — those claiming no religion — has been increasing for years.

However, God cannot be mocked. As we read in Romans 1:18-22, “18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. . . .”

The Holy Spirit gave these words to the Apostle Paul 2,000 years ago. They described the spiritual and philosophical situation that the ancient pagan world had fallen into prior to Jesus. Human beings had posited that the universe has no Creator God, even though all the evidence points to there being a Creator. They suppressed the truth by their own wicked rebellion against Yahweh. This is what the Original Sin we’re born with does.

So, notice, what denying a Creator God does. First, we no longer glorify Him for His awesome abilities and great purposes. Second, we no longer give thanks to Him. And the fact that the Thanksgiving holiday is no longer taught in public school as a day for giving thanks to Almighty God indicates the the U.S. has already passed through this stage on our descent into ancient paganism.

The third stage is that thinking becomes futile. The fact that Karl Marx’s insane system of philosophy has become so prevalent and honored in our universities again shows that we have already passed through this stage. It’s impossible for a futile system like Marxism to produce the utopia it promises. All Marxism has produced in the last hundred years is a hundred million deaths and abject poverty. Yet, all of Marxism’s insanity is excused on the basis that it hasn’t really been implemented correctly yet. That is definitely futility of thinking.

Fourth, hearts are darkened. Look at the increase in theft, political violence, addiction, suicide, mental illness and much more that has beset our society, especially in the cities. The sense that life is futile brings forth what is known as nihilism — namely violence against everyone and everything because of the meaninglessness of life. We see that with the mass murderers. This is what darkness in the heart gives birth to.

There are more verses that show that God cannot be mocked. Romans 1:24, “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts. . . .” Romans 1:26, “. . . God gave them over to shameful lusts. . . .” Desires and lusts — these are the hallmarks of what theology calls concupiscence. In combination with futile thinking and darkness of heart such desires have given us the trans movement. Filled with foolish urgency to be the opposite sex, children are now being permitted to have themselves mutilated because of such a powerful delusion. 

And it’s this wicked excess that has now got even atheists up in arms. Bill Maher and others have begun to denounce the insanity that wokism has brought upon us. Atheist, Richard Dawkins, has said things like there’s only two genders. It’s science. And Bill Maher is against giving children hormones of the opposite sex. He says it’s not lifestyle. It’s medical.

Such people proclaim that we should return to science, reason and Materialism. There’s only one problem. Their devotion to Materialism and atheism is what gave us the present situation. It’s clear Maher is having great difficulty with his spiritual grandchildren. Nevertheless, he needs to own the wokists as his spiritual grandchildren because that’s who they are. 

Sorry Bill and other atheists. Science didn’t give us gender. Medicine didn’t give us gender. Almighty God did — by creating us male and female! Therefore, unless our Creator God again becomes the foundation of Western thinking, there is no other foundation that can prevent people from following their desires into any insanity they can imagine. As Dostoyevsky said, “If there is no God, everything is permissible.” God cannot be mocked.

It may be that wokism is causing people to wake up to this fact. Even some of the new atheists are beginning to admit that Christianity plays a role in pushback against radical Islam and wokism. So, it’s possible that the present issues of this world may cause some people to re-evaluate Christianity. However, for the society in general, I don’t see anything changing until more people attend schools and universities — and yes, seminaries — that use the existence of a Creator God as the foundation of their thinking in all disciplines. You’d be surprised how much doubt about that is in present day seminaries.

At present, investigation in all scientific fields — especially biology — is refuting Materialist philosophy. As a result of recent scientific investigation, some academics have even pronounced Darwinism dead. All this is helpful.

However, we need to ask how the apostles penetrated the immense pagan society of their time. Of course, it was by the will of the Lord as expressed in such passages as Isaiah 49. And God’s will for pagan societies, even ours, has not changed. Isaiah 49 stands as written — namely that when Messiah appears, it will be time for the Gentile pagans to repent and come to Him.

Listen, then, to 1 Peter 1:21, “Through him [Jesus] you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” These words were written to Gentile believers who had come out of paganism. Peter is clear about how these formerly pagan people came to believe in the Creator God and put their hope in Him. It was through Jesus. And these formerly pagan people put their faith in Jesus of Nazareth because God raised Jesus from the dead and glorified Him. That’s how important the news of the resurrected Jesus was. That news eventually won the pagan Roman Empire and later won the pagan kingdoms of northern and eastern Europe.

Will news of Jesus’ resurrection do the same in this pagan society? Materialism attempted to suck this society dry of any belief in a reality beyond the material universe. However, in surveys, many of the “nones” say that while they don’t believe in religion, they believe in spirituality. In other words, they believe that this material world is not all that exists. In this respect, they’re much like the pagans of old. They believe in a transcendental realm, and they populate this realm with powers of their own imagining. Therefore, we probably need to make a lot more noise about Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead. And that’s now possible. The work of such researchers as Gary Habermas has revealed that the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is the most reliable piece of information we have from the ancient world.

In any event, as the Holy Spirit declared through Peter, those who receive the resurrected Jesus receive the one true Creator God through Jesus, the Christ. And as the Continental Congress declared, it is the indispensable Duty of all Men to adore the superintending Providence of Almighty God; to acknowledge with Gratitude [and Thanksgiving] their Obligation to him for Benefits received. Therefore, let us do so. Amen.

All Bible quotes are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.