Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give Him thanks and praise.
It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Preface/Proper Preface from Lutheran Service Book.)
As we prepare again to celebrate our national Thanksgiving Day, consider that our life as baptized Christians is a life marked by thanksgiving to the Lord. Each week in our communion liturgy we speak and hear the words above. As we prepare our hearts to receive the true body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the bread and the wine in His Holy Supper, we give God thanks for the gifts we are about to receive in the Supper: forgiveness of sins, eternal life, salvation, and the strengthening of our faith for Christian living.
In the Preface and Proper Preface we are reminded why we give thanks to God and where we can give thanks to God. We give thanks to the Lord our God, for Holy Communion, for our daily bread, for all that we have because it is right to give Him thanks and praise. It is the correct thing to do. To give thanks to the Lord is not only right, but it is good and salutary. Giving God thanks is a good thing! Giving God thanks is a salutary thing, which means that it is a beneficial thing! To give God thanks is good, and correct, and beneficial to us as His people who are responding to His gifts in Word, Sacrament, body, and soul.
And giving thanks to God is good, right, and salutary at all times and in all places! That means that our very lives of faith in Christ overflow with thanksgiving to God for all the blessings of this life and the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life that are ours by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
As believers in Jesus, we can’t help but to thank God for everything that He has done for us in body and soul, especially for calling us to faith in Jesus, giving us His Son’s Body and Blood for our forgiveness, and enabling us to go forth and live as His thankful people in word and action.
A Blessed Thanksgiving to you all in Jesus’ Name,
Pastor Coons
Lutheran Church of our Redeemer 