Finding Gratitude in a Small Church
Gospel Reading: John 6:25-35
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us, then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which[a] comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir,[b]give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor
This week I was writing my sermon while sitting in my chilly office because, as we know, the boiler that heats our building broke again. And as my poor fingers got colder and colder while I typed on my laptop, a thought crossed my mind: What do we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving?
We have just enough money available to repair the boiler, but replacing it with a brand-new one would be easier in the long run. Unfortunately, we don't have the money for that. But, if we were a huge church, like Victory Church on the Rock, Christian Fellowship Assembly, or St. Joseph's Catholic Church, with hundreds or even thousands of people, it is likely this wouldn’t be a problem. I have served in a large church with around 300 members, and if something broke, we knew that someone would step up and pay for a new one. Because of this, we never had to hold fundraisers.
And as we sit here in the cold, that sounds pretty wonderful! Wouldn't it be amazing to know that when something breaks, we can simply get it fixed or replaced without having to worry about where the money will come from?
But, as they say, the grass is not always greener on the other side.
When a church has enough people and resources to solve every problem easily, there are fewer opportunities to come together and figure things out. When we have fundraisers, events, and challenges to tackle together, people have the chance to contribute in all kinds of ways. Not everyone can write a big cheque. But someone can bake. Someone can cook. Someone can make crafts. Someone can organize. Someone can welcome people. All these gifts matter, and all of them contribute to our church family.
Now, I am not suggesting that struggling financially is a good thing, or that we should be grateful every time something breaks. Believe me, I would much rather have a working boiler and a warm church! But what I am saying is that we need to shift our perspective. We need to see that our circumstances, even though difficult, give us opportunities to recognize what we have in one another.
And maybe Thanksgiving is especially important at times like these. Thanksgiving invites us to look beyond what is going wrong and recognize what is still good, what we have been given, and what we can offer one another.
We may not have the financial resources of a large church. We may not be able to solve every problem as quickly as we would like. But we have people with gifts, skills, ideas, and a willingness to contribute. We have opportunities to work together, learn from one another, and build relationships as we share in the life of this community. We may not be able to fix everything immediately, but together we can find ways forward. And that is something worth being thankful for.
And I think that this is where the words of Jesus from today's Gospel speak to us. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
Jesus doesn't say that if we follow him, we will have everything we want. He doesn't promise us an easy life or freedom from financial worries. He doesn't promise that nothing will ever break or that we will never face difficult decisions. Instead, Jesus reminds us that he is the bread of life. He is the one who sustains us.
So when we look at what other churches have and think, That is what we need. More people. More resources. A bigger budget. A building where nothing ever breaks, maybe we also need to ask ourselves what sustains a church.
Money can fix a boiler. Money can pay for repairs. Having more people can make some things easier. But none of those things, on their own, can create a community where people care about one another, share their gifts, and work together. Those are things we have here, even though we are a small church with a small budget.
So, if you are shivering right now and struggling to be thankful, maybe look at things differently. Remember that our hope rests not in money or having tons of people, but in Christ, the bread of life, who sustains us and calls us to share what we have been given.
Today, let us give thanks for the gifts God has given us. Let us give thanks for the opportunities to share those gifts in this church family. Let us give thanks that we can work together to address our building’s problems. When we focus on all that we have, we can see that, together, we have what we need to keep building a church that is a place of worship, fellowship, service, and warmth for generations to come. Amen.
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