Joel 2:21-27

While Morning Prayer is customarily a time of praise and Evening Prayer a time of thanksgiving, our rejoicing often combines the two. Because in our very act of praise to God who has dealt wondrously with us and who pours the Holy Spirit into all creation, we also express our thanks. We give thanks for a world where the Kingdom of God is present. Even though the Kingdom is sometimes obscured in our troubled times - wars abroad, violence in our communities, and ongoing worries about environmental and economic challenges, Joel reminds us that through it all God is in our midst – and for that we give praise and thanksgiving.

Psalm 65

We are witnesses to God’s wondrous work in creation all around us – from the beautiful mountains now showing signs of snow, to the meadows, hills, and valleys crowned with the joys of the turning season. As we are called to steward the natural resources and blessings of creation, we are invited to trust in God rather than ourselves – and to know that whatever may be our own limitations, ‘the river of God is full of water.’ And so in our daily lives of ministry we are enabled to do God’s will not by our own abilities, but by God who is our Hope.

1 Timothy 2:1-7

The Christian mystic Meister Elkhart is often quoted as saying “If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is "thank you," that would suffice.” Our BAS Thanksgiving litany and prayers list many reasons for our thanks. We have reasons indeed for thanksgiving, but the greatest of these is Christ. I am inspired by Thomas Merton’s offering of thanks ‘that God gloried in becoming a member of the human race. To think that such a commonplace realization should suddenly seem like news that one holds the winning ticket in a cosmic sweepstake. I have immense joy of being a member of a race in which God became incarnate.’ So let us be joyful.

Matthew 6:25-33

Jesus called on his followers to reject the social conventions of the day that placed a premium on food and clothing as badges of status. Is our world today not similarly obsessed with fashion and consumption as markers of social standing? But when we look at the beauty of a newly blooming azalea or of the hummingbird that flits about it, are we not humbled to realize that the beauty of creation is not about social status and standing? So while we might enjoy the warmth of a new coat and take pleasure in a great home-cooked meal, Jesus calls us to keep these in perspective. We can have confidence that God will look after us, regardless of the cut of our clothes and the zest of our food.