Unity Church of Castro Valley
Sunday Message for November 23, 2008
Thanksgiving
So, guess what we are talking about today??? Thanksgiving, of course!
Picture this scene. It's a hot, dry day in Bethany. The air is heavy with dust and almost chokes the mournful group of people clinging to each other in front of the cave which serves as a tomb.
Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, has been dead for four days. Jesus stands there with the small bank of mourners and weeps for his friend. The words circulating among the group are, "If only Jesus had arrived earlier, He could have saved Lazarus. But now, now, it is too late."
How it must have dumbfounded Martha and Mary and the others, in the midst of this grieving moment, to hear Jesus suddenly giving thanks to God! What could their reactions have been? What would yours have been? (John 11:41-42) "Father, I thank you for having heard me, I knew that you always hear me." What kind of words were these? A man has been lying dead in his tomb for four days and now his friend is giving thanks!
But any surprise or bewilderment no doubt quickly turned to awe as Jesus, with His next breath, cried out for Lazarus to come forth out of the tomb. The atmosphere must have been electric as the mourners watched in utter astonishment as the dead man, still wrapped in his burial cloth, came out to them.
The power of the moment, the extreme emotional mixture of joy, shock, and disbelief, must have been beyond our imagination. Lazarus was alive! And the catalyst which had made it all happen, the key which had opened the passageway from death to life, was Jesus' prayer of thanksgiving.
FAN THE FLAME
It's interesting to think about that incident and imagine how it all came about and what eventually happened to the people involved. Surely their lives were changed forever by the experience. How could they not have been? Yet in their quiet reflections of reliving the scene and thinking about it in the years which followed, every one of those who had been present must have realized that it was the simple prayer, the giving of thanks, which set the "miracle" into motion. "Father, I thank you for having heard me."
Thanksgiving isn't just words, however. Jesus' words represented the feelings in His heart. His thanksgiving was a verbal description of feelings He had for God. In thanking God, He was acknowledging that God's desire for Him and for Lazarus was only good. The feeling of thanksgiving is an emotion, a visceral reaction, and not an idea.
We can intellectualize about all of the things we have in our lives for which to be grateful. We can make lists, long lists, of the innumerable reasons we should give thanks. This is good, because it helps us realize just how extremely blessed we are. We all have something, many things, for which to give thanks.
Still the lists, the realizations, the words, are not enough. They are only helpful if they lead us into that feeling of thanksgiving. We need the feeling, the inner fullness of a grateful heart in order to tap that power within us.
We learned in our class on The Quest that strong emotions will overpower an intellectual idea virtually every time. Feelings activate the powers which make the changes and do the work. Feelings are the catalyst and the sustaining fuel of our actions. When feelings cease, action ceases. In fact, you would not even continue walking across a room if you didn't feel like doing it.
It is your responsibility, then, to ignite the feeling of thanksgiving in yourself. It is nothing anyone can give you, or anything you can take in from outside of yourself. While you may be feeling ungrateful because of a present challenge, deep within you are the embers of thanksgiving, waiting to be fanned into full blaze. With enough fanning, an attitude of gratitude will easily become a habit.
PEOPLE, PLANTS, AND ANIMALS RESPOND
We have seen how sincerely expressing thanksgiving, as Jesus did at the tomb of Lazarus, unlocks the door to seemingly impossible over-comings. Whether dealing with people, animals, or plants, when someone or something is appreciated and praised, the best is brought forth.
Words and feelings of thankfulness and praise cause people, adults and children alike, to reach higher and to express more of their true Christ natures. Praising animals and showing thanks by rewarding them with treats and loving pats reinforce their good behavior and encourage them to do even more. Plants, too, respond to loving words of praise and thanksgiving by growing stronger and more rapidly.
All forms of life really love to hear the truth about themselves, which is that they are radiant expressions of the eternal God. Even the cells of our bodies respond and regenerate when they are told that they are appreciated and loved.
"Thank you for bringing me health and strength. Thank you for your intelligence which knows what to do and how to do it. I love you and I bless you as you radiate new life throughout my body."
Myrtle Fillmore, co-founder of Unity, regained her health through this method. Told that she had a terminal condition, she began blessing and thanking each organ of her body, praising the intelligence within it, and encouraging it to come forth into new life. Try thanking your cells regularly and see how eagerly they respond with increased health.
In the book How to Let God Help You, Myrtle Fillmore writes, "Heaven and earth listen and respond to the soul that is quickened into praise and thanksgiving "
You know from your own experience how well you respond to appreciative words and feelings from anyone. We all want to be appreciated. What's more, we all deserve it because we all are special creations of God, all part of the Divinity. It comes back to the idea of seeing the Christ within ourselves and others and being grateful for that Presence.
THANKFULNESS MULTIPLIES YOUR GOOD
Let me tell you a story:
There once was a stonecutter who lived alone. Though he had acquired a great skill, he was very poor. He lived in a tiny bamboo hut, and his clothing was tattered.
One day as the stonecutter was working with hammer and chisel on a huge stone, he heard the crowd gathering along the streets. By their shouts he could tell that the king was coming to visit his humble village. Joining the procession, the stonecutter gazed in awe as the king, dressed in marvelous silk, was greeted by his subjects. "Oh, how I wish I had the power and glory of the king," he thought "He has soldiers at his command. There is no one more powerful than our king."
His cry was heard in the heavens, and immediately the humble stonecutter was transformed into a powerful king. He found himself riding on a great horse, waving at the crowds of people who flocked to see him. "This is power," he thought.
As summer progressed, however, the new king watched the effects of the heat upon his people. Men and animals became weary, and plants withered under the powerful rays of the sun. As he looked at the sky, the new king realized that the sun was far more powerful than any earthly ruler. "How I wish I were as powerful as that," he thought "I wish I were the sun." Immediately his wish was granted.
How the stonecutter relished his new role as the sun. He gloried in the power he felt as he surveyed the kingdoms below him. As he sent bright rays to the earth, he watched kings and princes hide under their parasols, he watched as powerful warriors became weak under his gaze. Even the crops in the field were under his command.
Then one day a tiny cloud moved over the land, shielding the earth from the sun's bright rays. Seeing that here was something more powerful, he thought, "I want very much to be a cloud." Again his wish was granted.
Now he blocked the sun's rays and felt important He gathered all of his strength, becoming a gigantic cloud, and began to pour down rain on the earth. Rivers formed where previously there were none, and water flooded the streets of the cities and the farmland. Everything - trees, animals, people - seemed to be awed by his power. Everything except a huge rock that remained untouched. Again he had discovered something more powerful. "There is nothing," he thought, "as powerful as a rock. How I wish I were a huge stone." His wish was granted.
As a stone he remained motionless and powerful, unmoved by either sun or rain or anything that nature could bring. The stonecutter felt exempt from all of the forces that shaped the life and existence of those around him.
Then one day a man approached him, carrying a bag. When he stopped, he pulled out a chisel and a hammer and began to chip away at the rock. Realizing that the man with the tools was more powerful than any rock, he cried out, "Oh, I want to be a stonecutter."
Once again his "wish was granted, and he lived in a bamboo hut and made a living with his hammer and chisel. And he was content.
How many times have we been just like the stonecutter? We want something so much that when we finally receive it we fail to say thank you God. We are so caught up in the thing that we forget completely the source of the good that has come to us.
Most of all, we should express our thankfulness to God, because it helps us to recognize and accept more of the God activity in our lives.
Do you want to know God more and to allow the perfect plan for your life to present itself to you? Then praise and thank God now. Do you want more wholeness in your physical body? Then praise the evidence of life and health which you already have, for the divine intelligence within your cells will be encouraged to create even greater wholeness and well-being. Do you want more prosperity? Bless and give thanks for whatever resources you do have, and they will multiply in new and creative ways.
In Lessons in Truth, H. Emilie Cady wrote, "Do not look for signs and wonders, but just be still and know that the very thing you want is flowing in and will come forth into manifestation either at once or a little farther on. Go even beyond this and speak words of thanksgiving to this innermost Presence, that it has heard and answered, that it does now come forth into visibility. There is something about the mental act of thanksgiving that seems to carry the human mind far beyond the region of doubt into the clear atmosphere of faith and trust, where (Matthew 19:26) "all things are possible."
Even if at first you are not conscious of having received anything from God, don't worry or cease from your thanksgiving. Do not go back of it again to the asking, but continue giving thanks that while you waited you did receive, and that what you received is now manifest; and believe me, you will soon rejoice and give thanks, not rigidly from a sense of duty, but because of the sure manifest fulfillment of your desire."
GIVING THANKS ON THE HIGH ROAD
You are traveling higher and higher in your journey now, lightening your load of old, stale, and outdated attitudes and behavior. The demons and dragons which inhabited the forests at the beginning of the trail are not real threats to you anymore. While now and then the dim echo of a fearsome cry may ring out across the valley of your soul some starless night, it is only an echo after all and you rise up with an overwhelming sense of joy and thanksgiving. Life is good. God is good. Give thanks that the best is yet to be.
So, to recap:
It is your responsibility to ignite the feeling of thanksgiving in yourself.
People, animals, plants, and even the cells of our bodies respond in a positive manner to sincere words and feelings of appreciation and praise.
All forms of life love to hear the truth about themselves: that they are radiant expressions of the eternal God.
Thankfulness multiplies the good you already have.
Your prayer should be:
Thank You, God, for hearing me. I know You always hear me, and that You meet my every need. I give thanks for all of my blessings, and my only prayer is to know You more. Amen.
SCRIPTURE: John 11:41-42; Matthew 19:26
REFERENCE: The Quest Richard & Mary-Alice Jafolla; Lessons in Truth H. Emilie Cady; How to Let God Help You Myrtle Fillmore
--------------------
