- With all the fixin's
- With everything else taken away
What you are going to eat tomorrow? Turkey, golden brown cooked to perfection, sitting in the oven throughout the entire morning so that the smells fill the house. Stuffing, moist and homemade, so filling that it could be a meal in and of itself. Potatoes, real mashed potatoes, smothered with a turkey gravy that probably coagulates inside your arteries the moment it hits your tongue, but worth every ladle-full nonetheless. Cooked carrots, golden corn, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, sliced pickles, fruit salad, fresh vegetables, and crescent rolls that are so fluffy and flaky they seem to melt in your mouth. Maybe you’ll enjoy a glass of wine, a pastry or two, and a hunk of pumpkin pie covered in whipped cream that tastes so good it almost makes you want to cry.
Many of you may eat one or two things on the menu I just described, some of you will eat different things I didn’t mention, and others of you can no longer eat - or at least you aren’t supposed to eat - some of these traditional Thanksgiving foods because of your change in diet. But regardless of what you eat, there are certain things during Thanksgiving that make that day special, that make the holiday enjoyable. Often times it’s a specific food, some times it’s a family tradition that you always do on that day, and many times it’s specific people with whom you eat: family members, children and grandchildren, neighbors, friends - these people make that day special. And all of these things are blessings you thank the Lord for, don’t you? These things make you happy and allow you to enjoy Thanksgiving Day.
But what if the turkey burned? What if somebody forgot to make the mashed potatoes? What if the pumpkin pie came out of the oven only to be dropped on the floor? Would you still be just as happy? Would the day be just as special if your favorite foods where not there? Or what if the people whom you share Thanksgiving with weren’t there tomorrow? What if no one was around to share that day with you? No children, no grandchildren, no parents, no friends, no neighbors, not even any congregation members to enjoy Thanksgiving with? Would you still be just as happy tomorrow? Would you be just as thankful? Would you look forward to Thanksgiving just as much if it were not filled with the normal blessings that you usually enjoy?
I’ve got to tell you: I would have a hard time being just as happy or just as thankful if some of those things were not there. I would be a little disheartened if I didn’t have some of the blessings tomorrow that I’m used to enjoying. And I think that’s pretty typical for everyone throughout their lives - whether on Thanksgiving Day or on any other day. The blessings that we receive or don’t receive determine how happy and thankful we are. But should they? Should the earthly blessings we receive in this life make us happier or more joyful? Should the absence of earthly blessings in this life make us less happy or disappointed? I would contend that the day to day blessings we have or don’t have should not change our attitude at all. Because the greatest blessings, the most important blessings, and the only essential blessings are already taken care of, they are guaranteed, and they will never be taken away.
And these blessings that are ours we will enjoy at the Thanksgiving feast prepared for us on the mountain in the kingdom of heaven. Scripture itself promises that “6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.” The Lord will prepare a feast for you in heaven that will be the Thanksgiving dinner of all Thanksgiving dinners. It will have all the fixin’s - everything you ever wanted and more. And you have a reserved seat at that table. You get to attend free of charge. You will never get full, you will never get tired, and you will never have to leave. This is promised to you. You will feast forever in heaven with your Lord and Savior. What could possibly make you happier than that? What in this life could possibly take that joy away?
But despite that promise from the Lord himself, our happiness and joy in this life fluctuate to the extremes depending on the earthly blessings we receive here, don’t they? Some days we’re happy, other days we’re not quite as much. And it usually depends on the blessings or lack of blessings we are experiencing at that particular time. We forget that the food and the family and the marriage and the house and the vehicle and the health and the safety that the Lord blesses us with in this life are just extras! They are little extra blessings the Lord throws in on top just because he loves us as his children. Now we should certainly thank the Lord for these blessings he gives us - that’s what Thanksgiving Day is partly about. But these temporary blessings should not be the reason for our joy, they should not be the source of our happiness. The reason and the source of our thankfulness should be Christ and everything he has promised us for eternity. Because Christ and his promises are what really matters. They are the only blessings we could not live without. Because no matter what earthly blessings you do have or don’t have, nothing really changes. The heavenly feast with all the fixin’s is still yours, everything Christ has gained for you is still yours - so what is there to be unhappy about?
When we’re a little down or stressed out or worried because an earthly blessing has been taken away in this life, I would compare that to a person who looks over a Thanksgiving dinner table filled every kind of holiday food imaginable, but is still disappointed because there are only 14 pickle slices on the platter instead of the normal 15. Wouldn’t that be ridiculous? Why would anyone be dissatisfied with such a minor detail when the table is overflowing with more food than one person could possibly ever eat in a week? And so how could any of us be dissatisfied with blessings that may or may not be present in our lives when the banquet table in heaven is overflowing with countless blessings of forgiveness, salvation, peace, joy, happiness, and eternal life that will take us an eternity to fathom? And so realize how disrespectful it is to the Lord when you are unhappy or depressed or bitter or discontent if something has happened to those extra blessings! We lose sight of God’s goodness and his superabundant blessings far too often. We are so stuck sometimes on what we get here, what we can enjoy in this life, what will make us happy today. Certainly thank the Lord for those things, but it is terribly disrespectful when we let them affect our happiness and joy when they should be based in Christ. Of course, everything we will receive in heaven is made possible by what Jesus did on this earth.
And Jesus came to this earth to die. That was his ultimate goal. He wanted to die because he knew it would be a ransom-death. His blood would cover our sins. His suffering would satisfy sin’s punishment. And because Christ died we won’t have to experience the sentence that we deserve for our sins. That’s why Isaiah describes the Thanksgiving feast on the mountain the way he does, “On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations.” The shroud that covers us on this earth is sin. The same sin that takes our attention away from God’s sure promises and places it on the absence of earthly blessings. The sin that separates us from God. The sin that we were born with. This shroud of sin was destroyed by Christ on the cross and it will be completely lifted from our heads when we sit down at that heavenly table on the mountain. Sin will no longer affect us. Sin will no longer count against us. Sin will be taken away just as Christ’s life was taken on Calvary.
Of course, Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose from the grave three days later. And because he rose from the dead he promises that we will too. And so at the feast on the mountain, “He will swallow up death forever.” What a blessing! As we eat and swallow all the blessing prepared for us on that table, the Lord himself will swallow death. Death will no longer exist in heaven. There will be no more aging, no more pain, no more loss, no more medicine, no more discomfort. Death will be banned from heaven and you will enjoy a new life like you have never experienced before.
And because there will be no more death, “The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces,” as well. Sadness: gone. Sorrow: gone. Disappointment: gone. Regret: gone. Frustration: gone. There will only be happiness and joy at this Thanksgiving banquet because everything will be absolutely perfect. And everything will be perfect because, “He will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.” Coming into the feast I think I will feel a little disgraced. Because I have often times allowed the extra blessings of this life to overshadow the great blessings of eternal life. I have become unhappy when I should have been filled with joy. I have become disappointed when I still really had everything I could ever need. As sinners, we should feel a little disgraced because of how much the Lord has blessed us and how we have repaid him. But when we arrive at that feast, the Lord will remove that disgrace we carry. We will be the honored guests at this Thanksgiving celebration and he will give us the best seats in the house. Not because of who we have proved ourselves to be, but because of who Christ has proved himself to be - our Savior. And we are his children. And as our Father he will proudly welcome us home.
These blessings that the prophet Isaiah describes for us here are interesting, because they aren’t so much what the Lord will give us at the feast on the mountain, but what he will take away. He will take away sin, death, tears, and disgrace. And when he takes all of those things away, there will be nothing left but joy and happiness and celebration and peace. It will be an incredible feast on the mountain of the kingdom of God. Nothing will be left out. Everything will be perfect. And we will be sitting around that table with our family members, and friends, and neighbors, who believed in the Lord as their Savior just like we do. And you can be sure we will be giving thanks. Not for the extra blessings he had given us while we were on earth, but for the blessings we will be enjoying at that very moment because of Christ. That Thanksgiving Day will be unlike any other. And that Day will never end.
I hope you eat well tomorrow. I hope you are surrounded by the people you care about. And I hope you thank the Lord for that food, for those friends and family members, and for the extra blessings he has given you throughout this year and throughout your life. But as you look at that table filled with the delicacies of this earth, and as you take in the different faces around you that you know so well, remember the feast prepared for you on the mountain. Remember those who will gather with you there. And remember Christ. Your only source of true happiness. The chef of the feast. The host of the banquet. And the Savior who will one day carry you there in his arms.
Amen.
“May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Zion.” - Psalm 134:3
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