Thanksgiving Blessings

A few weeks ago my wife and I were in Budapest, Hungary, at the end of our vacation. It was a Friday night and we were able to get tickets to a concert of the Hungarian National Orchestra. The hall was wonderfully small and "alive" acoustically. The seats were in the middle, half way back. The orchestra and soloist for the evening were superb. But what was most stunning of all was the conductor. He was young; he was energetic; he was precise. But it wasn't until the end of the concert that included Beethoven's Eroica Symphony that it dawned on me. He conducted the entire concert without a score! He was able to lead this huge orchestra without a mistake - because he knew the music by heart. The music lived in his heart... And we gave thanks with a long ovation of rhythmic clapping.

In his first epistle to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote:

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind – just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Like St. Paul and those concert goers in Budapest, I give thanks this week for all of you in the congregations of this synod and church – not because of all the things we do together in partnership in the Gospel. Not for the hours spent by people willing to serve on synod committees and boards so that we might offer more resources for congregations in mission. Not because you have hosted stewardship consultants and voted to increase your benevolence to the synod and ELCA. Not because you have gotten involved with companion congregations or the Aya School in Tanzania and are touching lives with God's love. Not because you are faithful in supporting synod events like the World Hunger Appeal Training Event (Feb. 22), or the jointly planned Prebyterian-Lutheran LEAD event (March 29), or the Bishop's Winter Conference Meetings. Not because you have done anything all by yourselves.

But I do give thanks for each of you because you know the Lord and He dwells in your hearts. And I know this is true, not just because Paul tells us so, but because of all the things I see Christ doing in and through you in this synod, in your congregations and in the communities where you live .... Each of you have been enriched in Christ. Each of you is not lacking in any spiritual gift. I am constantly amazed at how the Lord is involving you and empowering you for his mission. And so on this occasion of Thanksgiving, I give thanks to God for all of you and I applaud the good things that are happening in this synod. It is a joy to be a part of this.