Walter Shurden is teacher and friend to many preachers. In his latest “Preaching Journal,” which I am thankful to receive from him each month, he quotes from Wendell Berry’s novel, Hannah Coulter: “I was grateful because I knew I ought to be, sometimes because I wanted to be, and sometimes a sweet thankfulness came to me on its own, like a singing from somewhere out in the dark.” That provides three points on which I will preach, as Walter suggests.
1. Thankful because I ought to be: as I look at my life, my church, my family, all the care I have received, how could I be anything other that thankful. November is the month of Thanksgiving. For my family, it means gathering in Easley, SC at Fleda’s mother’s house on Thanksgiving Day.
2. Thankful because I want to be: when we list the things we are thankful for each Wednesday night at New Hope, we come up with a pretty long list just because we want to be thankful. There is joy in thanking God for good gifts he gives, and especially in thanking him for people.
3. Thankful because I couldn’t help myself: as I prepared for All Saints Day on Sunday November 1, I read these words from Henri Nouwen and realized that “sweet thankfulness” comes to me when I think about people I have loved who have died: “As we grow older we have more and more people to remember, people who have died before us. . . . Remembering them means letting their spirits inspire us in our daily lives.”
What ought you to be thankful for? What do you want to be thankful for? What “sweet thankfulness” has just come over you lately?
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