100 A Psalm for giving thanks. 1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ps 100:title–5.
Many families have a myriad of traditions that they carry out during the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US. Most will cook some sort of poultry and have a number of sides, all gathering around the table for a meal. The people around that table might be family, friends, or in some cases complete strangers. There are a good number of people that carry out traditions that have survived through many generations. One of the great traditions that many partake in is volunteering at food kitchens every year, or that if there is anyone that needs a home for dinner most families will make an extra space for anyone that is not going to be near their family. Thanksgiving often brings the best out of many of us, and it is rooted within the sense that no matter what has happened we can find a spirit of thanksgiving for the blessings that we have experienced. This spirit of Thanksgiving has a long tradition within the worshipping community. It is with a sense of Thanksgiving that we are called to come to worship, and a sense of thanksgiving that reminds followers to lean upon God in all things. For the table of thanksgiving that we approach in worship has been set before us, and we are called to simply come. Just like at many a Thanksgiving table, the table that we approach with worship is open to anyone and everyone to experience the blessings of God.
For at the core of our worship lies the understanding that we are creatures made by a loving God, a truth that grounds our emotions in theological reality. Therefore, true worship must be cognitive to be effective; knowing that “the LORD, He is God” ensures that our right feelings are the goal of right thinking. This acknowledgment that God created us, and not of our own creative endeavors that establishes our existence as a created reality, thus shattering our self-realized pride while simultaneously affirming our value through the lens of redemption. We are not merely universal creatures but distinctively belong to the Creator and we are “the sheep of His pasture,” a metaphor that transitions our understanding from a distant Creator to an immanent Shepherd who offers sovereign care. Consequently, our worship is an inevitable, grateful response of a flock that recognizes the voice of the One who guides, protects, and provides.
This internal meditation on God’s character as Creator and Covenant Lord naturally propels us toward prescriptive, external action, for a heart filled with gratitude that cannot remain passive. The psalm commands us to “make a joyful shout”, a public, triumphant acclamation of God’s sovereignty that rejects private, quiet faith in favor of an external loud declaration. We are further instructed to “serve with gladness,” a directive that fuses submission to the Almighty with delighting in His goodness, thereby discarding reluctant legalism and affirming that a redeemed heart finds its highest pleasure in obedience. Finally, the summons to “enter” His gates marks the necessity of corporate, gathered worship, calling the covenant community out of their scattered lives to assemble in a consecrated space for the primary purpose of communal praise. Thus worship requires a multi-faceted understanding that we are a greater part of the plan of the Creation, and are not mere witnesses, but participants in worship.
Ultimately, this structure of worship serves as a dynamic pattern of covenant renewal that transforms both the worshiper and the surrounding community. Recognizing that our dignity is derived from God acts as a powerful antidote to both arrogance and despair; it declares that while the image of God in humanity may be defaced by sin, it is not eliminated, thus demanding that every person be treated with incalculable worth. While our culture is often dominated by criticism, this insistent call to joy serves as a counter-cultural protest song, redirecting our focus from fallible earthly powers to the one true King. Thus, our corporate gathering becomes the LORD’s service, a holy encounter where God meets with, serves, and renews His people, empowering us to bring transformation to the very geography where we worship.
For at its core worship and approaching God’s table begins with an understanding that we must be thankful for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us, including our very lives. That which outpours from that is pure and blessed worship that is prescriptive and life giving, which flows out of us as an active outpouring of grace, not just watching, but living out our thanksgiving. This in turn becomes action where we become those that bring a blessing to the poor, sharing the Gospel through our voices and our actions. The fact that our generosity comes out most when we celebrate Thanksgiving is no mistake, because it is when we take a thankful mindset we also put on the Gospel for the world to see and experience. This giving renews our community and cannot only happen during the holiday season but must be a focus and an outpouring of worship inside and outside the church. As we approach our Thanksgiving tables this week, we must remember that God calls us to giving thanks for all that the Almighty has done, and through our worship: meditating on God’s goodness, joyfully exalting, serving, and coming together we are able to glorify God and share with our world all that we have received and share with others the grace of the Gospel.
Elpis and Shalom 