Thomas J Parlette
At all times and for everything”
Eph. 5: 15-20
8/18/24
What would you take with you if you might never come back?
That was the question residents of Greenville, California faced in July 2021, hours before the Dixie Fire – the most expensive wildfire in American History in terms of fire-fighting costs.
After the flames roared through Greenville, everything was utterly destroyed.
When the evacuation order came, the locals had just a few hours to decide what to take with them as they fled for their lives. In an article from August 14th, 2021, a couple reporters from the Washington Post caught up with some of the evacuees and asked them to show them the things they had decided to take with them, and why.
Stephanie Fairbanks, age 33, took the ashes of her two deceased dogs, some antique meat grinders and some antique bottles and cans she’d collected.
Brianna Angel, age 10, was given the job of rounding up the family cat, which she did. Then she packed her guitar, a few favorite books, a polaroid camera and a photo album with pictures of her friends’ birthday parties. She also brought her Pokemon card collection.
John Olson, age 32, rescued his grandmother’s antique sewing table, because he knew how much it meant to his mother.
Teresa Hatch, age 61, carried out her Jack Russell Terrier, a few bags of clothes, her mother’s ashes and a rosary she wears around her neck. “Just talking to God makes it a little bit easier to forget about the fear,” she said, “the what if, where are you going to go, what are you going to do. God told me that I’d be fine, just give it time.”
Mary Joseph, age 44 – a Native American of the Maidu people – brought an antique baby basket in which she and each of her sisters had once slept.
And Mary Smith, age 69, carried out her family photos. “I can’t replace any of these,” she explained. “Everything else in the house, I can replace.” (1)
What would you take if you only had a couple of hours to decide, and you knew you might never come back?
It’s a question of profound spiritual importance. Disasters have a way of focusing our priorities in life
In Today’s passage from Ephesians, we hear talk about “giving thanks to God at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When you first hear those words, you may say to yourself, “Yea, I’ve heard that before. Giving thanks to God… Isn’t that what every Christian is supposed to do?”
Yes, but there is a little more to it than that. Notice that Paul says, “at all times and for everything.” That’s the challenge in this passage – Paul is raising the stakes here much more than just being thankful. We are called to give thanks at all times and for everything.
You might be wondering – “Is Paul serious here? Are we really supposed to give thanks constantly? Do we really have to give thanks for everything – what about those people running from the wildfire, are they really supposed to be thankful for that. Maybe you have the voice of John McEnroe in your head saying – “You can not be serious!”
I mean, come on - isn’t Paul engaging in a little “holy hyperbole” here.
No – not a chance. Paul is setting the bar pretty high, that’s true, but just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Giving thanks – at all times and for everything is certainly tough – but that the goal of the Christian life.
Of course, that does mean, we’re going to have to give up some things – some things like complaining.
Complaining is an odd thing. In a backhanded way, it makes us feel good – you know, “misery loves company” kind of thing. Of course we would prefer that that huge problem looming over us would just go away. But if it shows no signs of doing that, we’ll settle for the next best thing – we’ll milk it for all it’s worth. Complain to anyone who will listen.
We’ve all known chronic complainers – folks who hardly ever have a good word to say about anything or anyone, just a whole lot of negative comments about whatever topic that comes up. People like that can certainly be challenging. Sure, there are times in life when complaints are in order, but when complaints and negativity become a constant habit, a state of being, the only thing it accomplishes is to drag us further down, sometimes taking everyone around us down as well.
The only antidote is developing the discipline of giving thanks. On the wall above our staircase leading downstairs, we have a sign that serves as a reminder – “Find the wonderful in today.” A constant reminder that giving thanks at all times and for everything is a discipline that you have to work on each day.
An Army chaplain once told the tale of being out on a training exercise with a battalion of soldiers. He was assigned to the Signal Corps. In those days before satellite phones and GPS, these were the soldiers who set up radio antennas and other communications gear so the generals could communicate with their officers in the field. Once they’d set up the antennas, they divided up into little teams and lived out of their trucks as they maintained the equipment.
This Chaplain was out visiting one of these communication posts when he happened upon a soldier with a notably sour attitude. “Soldier, how’s it going today?” asked the Chaplain.
“Chaplain – it’s’ pretty bad day.”
The Chaplain went on to talk with the soldier about all the things that were bothering him. None of them had anything to do with the field exercise, which actually was going very well. The complaints were all of a personal nature.
The next day, the Chaplain moved on to another installation. He knocked on the door of the truck, and to his surprise, the same soldier opened the door. He had moved during the night.
“Well, how’s going today?
“Well, Chaplain, it’s’ pretty bad day. And the soldier recounted the same down-in-the-mouth, doom and gloom litany as before.
The third day, to his surprise, the Chaplain ran into the same soldier yet again. And you can guess what happened – same question, same laundry list of complaints.
“You know,” said the Chaplain, “I met you yesterday and it was bad day. I met you the day before that, and that was a bad day too. Same thing today. It seems to me that if this continues, someday you’re going to stand before your Maker, who’s going to ask, “So, how was your life?” I’ve got a feeling the only answer you’ll be able to give is “It was a pretty bad life.” Maybe there’s something you should do about that.”
After a moment of hesitation, the soldier smiled and nodded his head. “I see your point, Padre, I see your point.” (2)
Paul also advises us to give thanks for everything. That’s the really tough part of this passage. Give thanks for everything. Not only are we supposed to giving thanks at all times, but also for everything that happens. That can be tough.
It’s one thing to thank God for the good stuff – the promotion at work, or friends who are there when we need them. But it’s quite another thing to thank God when we get a pink slip, or the doctor walks in with bad test results. There are certainly circumstances when thanksgiving does not come easily, when the act of saying “Thank You, Lord,” is a spiritual challenge.
Yet that is what our text instructs us to do: Give thanks for everything.
The storyteller Kathy Culmer tells a fable about two good friends who are on a journey. One man is a believer, the other is not. The two friends love to debate one another, especially on the question of whether there is a God and whether God is good.
Besides their packs, they have three things with them: a donkey for carrying their packs, a torch to provide light at night and a rooster.
Stopping at a village, they find no one willing to rent them a room, so they set up camp just outside the little town. The one man has just been telling his friend how good God is. His friend replies, “If God is so good, then why could we find no room in the village?
“I still believe God is good and I give thanks. God has decided that this campsite is a better place for us to be this night.”
Just then they hear a terrible sound. A lion has killed their donkey and is dragging it off.
“Do you still believe your God is good?
“Yes I do. I give thanks that the lion took our donkey and didn’t come after us.”
Just then they heard another terrible noise – the rooster crying out in terror. They grabbed the lighted torch and climbed a tree – just in time to see a bobcat carrying off the rooster.
“Do you still believe God is good?”
“Yes, I do. I’m thankful that the bobcat took the rooster and didn’t attack us.”
Moments later, a powerful wind came up and blew out their torch, their only source of comfort in the dark night.
“Where is your God now?” demands his friend from the pitch black night.
To this, the man of faith has no answer, but he continues to insist God is good.
The next day, they walk back to the village hoping to find food, only to find that a band of thieves has attacked it during the night and stolen everything from the villagers. The man of faith shared his outlook, “If we had stayed in the village, they would have stolen everything from us too. And even if we’d been at our campsite, the thieves would have seen the light of our torch and come after us as well. You see, my friend, God is good.” (3)
So, give thanks at all times and for everything – even when things look bleak. It might be hard in the moment, but the old saying is true – “every cloud has a silver lining.”
In the meantime, consider offering this simple prayer, “Lord, I don’t know what you’re doing with this situation, but we give me the faith to thank you for it anyway.”
There’s a great old story about St Teresa of Avila, a notable spiritual leader of the medieval church. One day, Teresa was out for a walk with several of the sisters from her order, when they happened to cross a rickety, old footbridge. Halfway across, the bridge began to swing and sway, and before long, Teresa and her sisters found themselves knee deep in the frigid waters of the stream they were trying to cross. Teresa is said to have offered this prayer – “Lord, I know you have promised never to give us more than we can handle, but sometimes I wish you didn’t trust me so much!” (4)
It may not look much like a prayer of thanksgiving – but you have to admit, it comes from a stubbornly thankful place. A place we would do well to dwell in. So, I encourage you to remember and practice Paul’s words for this morning – “Give thanks always and for everything.”
May God be praised. Amen.
1. Marlena Sloss and Marisa Iati, “What they saved from the flames”, The Washington Post, August 14, 2021.
2. Homileticsonline, retrieved 7/13/24.
3. Ibid…
4. Ibid…
