Philippians 1:3-11
Prayers of Gratitude

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God's grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

New Revised Standard Version

This Sunday before Thanksgiving Day in the United States, my church's choir will sing a choral work titled "An Expression of Gratitude", written by David Schwoebel, and based on this text from Philippians. I have been singing this piece to myself for many weeks! The melodies and harmonies are spectacular, with an accompaniment to match, and I enthusiastically recommend this to any adult choral program singing moderately advanced music.

Rev. Schwoebel's music is true to the overflowing joy in the heart and soul of Paul as he wrote about his fellow Christians in Philippi. Paul was thrilled that they were living their faith so powerfully, and spreading the joy of their salvation in so many ways. His expressions of enthusiasm and optimism were so great that we are shocked by his passing mention of his imprisonment. What most of us would consider a calamity and a serious personal threat is of practically no concern to Paul. He is gazing lovingly at the eternal, not the temporal.

As we pray prayers of thanksgiving to God, we need to learn from Paul how to give thanks. Let's start with these observations.

Compare the spiritual maturity in Paul's prayer with how we teach children to give thanks, and notice how much he has omitted that is on our typical Thanksgiving list. Paul doesn't give thanks for his home, for at this point in his life, his earthly home was a prison. He could at least have given thanks for his Roman citizenship, an special right and honor that often benefitted Paul as a missionary, but instead, he was consumed by his heavenly citizenship. He doesn't mention his possessions, to the point that we don't know what, if anything, he owned; he simply didn't care. Even when he mentions the harvest, he isn't talking about the traditional Thanksgiving harvest, but the result of spreading the good news to people who need to hear about God's love.

Now, Paul did give thanks for his family and friends, but in the sense of those brothers and sisters in God's family. Paul's eternal focus is obvious when he talked of how these dear friends in Philippi will be blessed "in the day of Christ" for their obedience and service. Paul was nurturing friendships that will last, not for a few decades, but for countless millennia. He was drawing strength, not from those of his same blood line, but from those children of God given new life through Jesus Christ.

Paul did not allow his prayer of thanksgiving to stop at considering how God had blessed the Philippians and himself, for he was always pressing on to the next work for God. As grateful as he was, he boldly prayed for even more: more love, more knowledge, more insight, and more glory given to God coming from his efforts and the efforts of the church in Philippi.

Finally, notice the unshakeable confidence of Paul in how God was at work. No matter the circumstances, the challenges, the weaknesses, or the apparent setbacks, Paul knew to the core of his soul that God was bringing about the harvest of righteousness from the work he and his friends had offered to God. It was not their strength, but God's strength at work, and it was not their results, but God's results, each a part in building the Kingdom of God.

As I read Paul's writing, I can see so many weaknesses in my prayers of thanksgiving. It isn't only that I am not thankful enough, or that I lack the exuberance of Paul. I am too content with earthly bounty, and I allow myself to be distracted from heavenly blessings. Even when I elevate my gratitude for people over that for possessions, I am still too focused on their earthly existence, while Paul rejoiced in his friends' spiritual growth. I look back and thank God for what was; Paul looked forward in thanks for what God would do.

May God bless you with a wonderful celebration of Thanksgiving this year, placing in your heart an awareness and a gratitude for what is everlasting; may you be filled with abundant thanks and praise that, with God, the best is yet to come!