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Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The text I’m looking at tonight for the sermon is the second lesson from 1 Timothy. Please be seated.
And I’ll admit right away that I first gave this sermon back in 2012. That was an election year. I also gave this sermon last year at University Lutheran Church. Also an election year. I think it’s still good for this year.
I’ll also admit that this is the first Thanksgiving I decided to shoot a turkey. You should have seen the commotion that caused at the grocery store.
Okay, one more. There was a woman who bought a parrot for a pet and she tried to teach it to speak, and it did learn to speak, but unfortunately, all it mostly learned was bad words. And it was kind of embarrassing when people would come over and this parrot is issuing out these four-letter words, and she tried to change it and tried to stop it, and it wouldn’t do it. She got so upset one day, she grabbed the parrot, opened the freezer, threw it in, and shut the door. After a couple of minutes, she opened the door, took the parrot out, and the parrot said, in no bad words, said, “I’m sorry. I will never say those words again.” But tell me, what did the turkey do?
Turkey. That’s the main item at the Thanksgiving meal. The turkey even often replaces the centerpiece as the focal point of the table. The turkey takes the longest to prepare and cook, and then it lasts the longest after the meal, often providing leftovers in many various forms and meals. Thanksgiving is a time when people talk turkey.
And that phrase, talk turkey, is an idiom that means to speak plainly about something or to get to the point. And talking turkey is what I want to do tonight as we look at that second reading from 1 Timothy. In fact, you might even want to have it out and be able to look at that as we go through this. But I think it’s a great passage, especially for elections. Elections. But also for our current political climate in the United States. And I want to talk turkey about that tonight. Talk turkey about thanksgiving and prayer in light of politics.
Elections nowadays seem to be more polarizing and even more volatile than ever. Why? So much so that TV ads and radio talk shows, social media, and Twitter just aren’t really friendly places to be when it comes to elections. There are even threats of violence and even death against candidates during elections. And even more subtle, less violent turkey talk happens. Saying or posting demeaning, discrediting things about government leaders or the attitude of, “well, my guy or gal didn’t win, so I’m mad, and I’m not going to support the person who did win,” or “my person won. Now I have the power to tell you where to go and what to do.” Or even worse, “I’m just going to sit here and watch the country move backwards and flush itself down the toilet.”
That’s not good. That’s not good. Dare I say, that’s not Christian. That’s not what God would have His people do in light of elections and politics. At least, that’s not what these verses to Timothy from St. Paul encourage Christians to do. It says, “First of all, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions.”
Degrading, demeaning, or discrediting leaders of our government weren’t on that list. But prayer, prayer, and thanksgiving are. They are to be made for everyone, for kings and all those in high positions. And it says why we should do it. It’s for our good, right? That we may lead peaceful and quiet lives. Praying and giving thanks for our government leaders is good because they can help provide order and stability in society so that we can lead peaceful and quiet lives. So pray for them. Pray for their good governing. And be thankful for them. Yes, even if you disagree with them. Even if they persecute Christians, pray for them.
You know, when St. Paul wrote this letter to Timothy in the first century, Christians were being persecuted by the Roman Empire and the government. So it’s not like Paul has no idea of how bad politicians or those in high positions can be. In fact, he then would go on to be the victim of that, being executed for being a follower of Jesus. Yes, sometimes politicians and government leaders talk turkey against God and His people. And that’s why we need to pray, so that they’ll change. Pray that they’ll repent. Pray that they too will come to the knowledge of the truth of Jesus and be saved too. Pray that they too would know the truth of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Pray that they will receive God’s grace through Jesus Christ. That pleases God.
This is talking turkey. That pleases God. Prayer and thanksgiving. And sometimes those in high positions do things well. Yeah, politicians actually do good things sometimes, okay? Pray and be thankful for the good that they do. No, they don’t always get things right. Maybe that’s just the nature of politicians. Sometimes they seem to talk with a turkey leg in their mouth.
That was supposed to be funny. A little bit, okay? Guys, thanks. Perhaps the best way to describe what they really say is turkey talk. No, those in high places, those in high positions, don’t always talk turkey in a godly way. They don’t always please us or God. Simply put, or talk in turkey, they need our prayers. Those in high positions, they need our prayers, especially, especially our president. What a difficult job that has got to be.
Have you ever looked at pictures of presidents before and after pictures? They look terrible afterwards sometimes. Aged, worn out from the stress and everything that comes with the job. Presidents Nixon and Carter especially, they look terrible after office. Reagan looked pretty much the same, it seemed. President Obama, he was much grayer coming out of office. Jesus died for presidents too. Amen.
Pray for their salvation. Yes, even if you disagree with them. Yes, you can talk turkey about politics, have a differing view, and still live peaceful and quiet lives. In fact, the way to be at peace with any election results and authorities or anything in life is to give thanks and pray for everything and everyone, as Paul encourages us to do.
Now, if somehow the thought of thanksgiving for those in high places that you disagree with is too tough right now, and praying directly for them is even tougher, let me suggest a more general prayer for you that you can pray. And it’s found in the hymnal, actually. If you don’t have a copy of the hymnal or would like a copy of this, on page 313, and you don’t have to look it up, okay? On page 313, in that section, there’s a bunch of prayers, general prayers. And there’s some for the civil realm. Two of them being one for the nation that you can pray and one for responsible citizenship.
So if you directly, you just can’t do it. You can’t pray for some politicians or that. Well, here’s a more general way that you can be in prayer for those in authority and in high positions of government.
Now, I know what you might be saying to yourself right now. Pastor Richard, so far, all of your talking turkey tonight is you telling me what to do to pray and to give thanks. Well, that’s just law, isn’t it? Yeah, sort of, but not totally. Yes, prayer and thanksgiving are things that you do, but not totally. They’re not totally your work.
You see, prayer and thanksgiving, they’re less work and more fruit, fruit of God’s work. They’re a result of what God has done for you. Prayer and thanksgiving are what Christians naturally do in response to God’s love for us. In turkey talk terms, thanksgiving and prayer are simply what happens in followers of Jesus because of what He’s done for us. His death, His resurrection, His grace and mercy and forgiveness that He gives to us through that.
Thanksgiving and prayer come out of that. Thanksgiving and prayer are gospel things because they come from the good news of Jesus dying on the cross to forgive our sins, to forgive us of the sins of degrading and demeaning or discrediting those in authority and in our government. Jesus is God’s way of talking turkey to us. Jesus is God’s way of saying to us, “I know you’re a sinner, but I love you, and I’m coming down to earth to save you.”
Jesus dies for you and rises again to give that to you. In Jesus, God says, “I love you, I forgive you, I make you my child.” In Jesus, God talks turkey to us with all of that in love and mercy. And that love and mercy compels us to pray and give thanks. Talking turkey, praying and giving thanks is simply what happens in Christians because of what Jesus has done in us. Praying even for those that we disagree with in government or high positions.
Think of it this way. Prayer and thanksgiving are our reliance on God. They show who has worked for us and who continues to work in us. Prayer and thanksgiving show who we truly belong to and trust. Our reliance in life shouldn’t be on a donkey or an elephant or a turkey, but on the Lamb of God, Jesus.
Yeah, there’s probably people in high positions that you don’t like or you don’t agree with. And if you struggle with government leaders, I would encourage you to earnestly seek to rise above it and pray for those who trouble you. And there are others in authority over you that need your prayer too. Employers, supervisors, teachers, administrators, maybe your parents. You may not like or agree with them all the time, but God wants you to be thankful for them and pray for them.
Pray so that you’ll be at peace, especially when praying for politicians, when legislation or policy is made that you don’t agree with. Pray for God’s work in you in those situations to give you peace, to lead godly lives.
Yeah, you may be a Democrat, a Republican, independent, or whatever, but first of all, you’re a child of God and a follower of Jesus. You’ve been redeemed by His death and forgiven of your sins. And that result should be thanksgiving and prayer, not demeaning or degrading people. Praying isn’t just your talking turkey with God; it’s God talking through you and working in you.
So tomorrow, enjoy your turkey. But may you also find time beyond tomorrow to talk turkey with God, to give thanks and pray for everything and everyone, including those in authority, including politicians. You don’t have to agree. In fact, pray especially if you do disagree. And may God grant us all peaceful and quiet lives in thanksgiving and prayer. Amen.
Now may the grace of God, peace of Jesus Christ, and the love of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.