Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24

1 The Lord, the God of gods, has spoken; he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

2 Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, God reveals himself in glory.

3 Our God will come and will not keep silence; before him there is a consuming flame, and round about him a raging storm.

4 He calls the heavens and the earth from above to witness the judgment of his people.

5 "Gather before me my loyal followers, those who have made a covenant with me and sealed it with sacrifice."

6 Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; for God himself is judge.

7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak: "O Israel, I will bear witness against you; for I am God, your God.

8 I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices; your offerings are always before me.

23 Consider this well, you who forget God, lest I rend you and there be none to deliver you.

24 Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me; but to those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God."

A sacrifice of thanksgiving. The phrase pops up a couple of times in the psalms. When I run across it, I’m struck by the paradox. What does thanksgiving have to do with sacrifice? What comes to mind when you think of a sacrifice? Dictionary definitions underscore the idea that sacrifice often involves violence, killing something. Hard to connect that with thanksgiving.

Dig a little deeper, and sacrifice can simply suggest offering something of value. Apparently, as the psalm indicates (as reprinted in this email and heard in some churches yesterday), a sacrifice of thanksgiving is what God wants from us. So what is sacrificial about thanksgiving?

If we think of sacrifice as offering something we value, what do we surrender in thanksgiving? Perhaps we give up the idea that we are in charge, that we take credit for the good things that come to us in life. A sacrifice of thanksgiving recognizes that all good gifts around us are sent from heaven above. It is letting go of the idea that we are the center of the universe, credited for our successes, to blame for our shortcomings.

Maybe in this paradoxical phrase we don’t need to think about putting something to death, but of bringing something to life. In the second century, St. Irenaeus said that the glory of God is the human being fully alive. 

In the 12^th chapter of his letter to the Romans, Paul invites his readers to offer themselves as a living sacrifice. That offering, that living sacrifice of thanksgiving comes as response to the first 11 chapters of Paul’s letter. In those first chapters, Paul has described the mystery of amazing grace, God’s great gift of a love from which we can not be separated, a gift meant for all people. A sacrifice of thanksgiving simply recognizes that gift.

In response to that gift, as living sacrifices, we are called to a new way of life. Reflect this week on Romans, chapter 12 to find out what that new way of life looks like. Here’s a sample of grateful sacrificial living from that chapter:

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be arrogant, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. 

Paul’s vision of the sacrificial life of St. Paul is reflected in our liturgy. In the eucharistic prayer, we say: We celebrate the memorial of our redemption, O Father, in this sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Recalling his death, resurrection, and ascension, we offer you these gifts. In this eucharistic context, our sacrifice of thanksgiving is prompted by recalling the grace-filled story of Jesus.

So sacrifice does not require violence. But it can be seen as a matter of putting to death an old way of looking at the world, a perspective that puts self at center. (As my wife reminds me, the word “ego” is really an acronym for edging God out.) In a few places in Paul’s letters, he talks about putting to death that old way of life (e.g., Romans 6:4: We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.).

Our sacrifice of thanksgiving, then, may be a matter of getting ourselves out of the way. As we say goodbye to that old way of life, faith opens the door to new, resurrected life. What does God want from us? A sacrifice of thanksgiving. Let me conclude with a few ideas about what that could look like:

• I’ve often suggested beginning the day by listing ten things for which to be thankful. I met a rabbi who said that was nothing. She told her congregation to list a hundred things each day.
• Make a commitment to regularly attend a service of Holy Eucharist. The word eucharist really means thanksgiving. We are fed when we give thanks.
• Mostly it’s a matter of noting where we have seen grace at work in our lives. As we come to know grace, look for ways to show grace in a world that is grace-starved.

What other ways can you think of? Give them a try this week.

-Jay Sidebotham