Matthew 25:31-46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.

Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Matthew 6:25-33

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

I couldn’t get one of my favorite – and most challenging – life-lessons out of my head during our trip to Haiti last week and then, again, as I was thinking about tonight and Thanksgiving and so much of what the holiday is all about: “Enough is as good as a feast.” It’s a line from Mary Poppins which, frankly, I never remember actually seeing as a child. I only looked it up when one of my seminary professors referred to this moment in the movie like it was something I should just know or remember or understand without much explanation.

Mary Poppins gives this short and sweet response to the children she’s caring for after they clean up their play room before heading out to the park to play. With all of her magic and music or whatever else it was that made her the best nanny ever, Mary Poppins made cleaning up the nursery so much fun that one of the kids asks if they could do it all over again. Her response was, “enough is as good as a feast.” “Enough is as good as a feast.”

Meaning, you can only get a room so clean. You can only put something away, until it’s put away and that is that. Once you’re full, you’re full. Enough is enough is enough. And “enough is as good as a feast.”

And the lesson for me in that is, if we can determine what “enough” for is for ourselves, then we are more likely to be content… happy, even… joyful… grateful, for sure… and more generous, more of the time, as a result. Enough of something – if you know what that is for yourself – is as good as a feast.

And my time in Haiti, is always a reality check for me about what “enough” is in this world and in my life. I’ll tell you what I mean…

When we put word out that we would be giving away shoes one afternoon last week and men, women and children lined up hoping for more shoes than we had to give away, I was reminded that the piles of shoes – in my garage, by my front door, and in my closet – are more than enough.

When we sat down to eat, meal after meal after meal of more food than our Haitian hosts are used to preparing for themselves – and as they waited patiently to eat and to share our leftovers, I was reminded about what “enough” looks like.

As I helped to paint the three rooms of a 600-square-foot house, like this one, meant for a family of 8 or 10, I was reminded about what “enough” can be, if I would let it.

When Michel, a 9-year-old boy who has no parents, no home, who shares a room with some nuns, and who ate my leftovers for a week, shares his care package full of toys and candy and clothes with his best friend, Samuel – I get a new perspective on “enough.”

Now I don’t tell you all of this to rain on our Thanksgiving parade as we prepare to feast and to give thanks and to celebrate the holiday this week with our friends and family and all of our abundance.

I share all of this because when Jeannie Ellenberger suggested a couple of weeks ago that we bless our bowls and serving dishes and bread baskets as a part of our Thanksgiving worship tonight, I remembered something else I learned a long time ago.

Eastern philosophy says the most sacred part of a bowl, or a cup, or a container of any kind, really, is the empty space inside of it. The empty space into which we place things, or from which we take things – the space that has the potential of being filled up or of being emptied – is the most sacred and holy part of a dish or a vessel or a container of any kind.

See this idea, along with the notion that “enough is as good as a feast,” makes me realize how much control we have over our gratitude – and the ways we feel about and fill our selves, our lives and the world around us, too.

When we recognize the sacred, holy nature of the empty vessels in our lives – bowls, dishes, cups, sure – and I would add closets, drawers, wallets, and the square footage of the rooms in our homes – we are able to be more deliberate and faithful; more generous and sacrificial; more thankful and grateful for the ways in which we fill those places. And we can be more deliberate and faithful; more generous and sacrificial; more thankful and grateful, too, for all the ways we are called to empty them out, just the same.

Because enough really is as good as a feast. Full is full is full. Enough is enough is enough. And when we let our faith in God’s grace and provision determine what “enough” looks like for ourselves, in advance of the world’s best efforts to convince us otherwise, we can be truly, genuinely, deeply thankful, and content, and joyful, even – like the birds of the air, like the lilies of the field…

And like Sister Claudette...

...the Mother Superior who cares for our mission trippers in Fondwa, who has been to Indianapolis, who knows how we live, and who feeds us and cleans up after us and who humors us, anyway, with more joy and humility and patience and grace than seems natural.

And like Enel...

...who was proud to send me pictures of his freshly painted three-room, 600 square-foot house, just yesterday.

And like Michel...

...who was as thankful for his gift as he was willing to share it with his friend.

May our Thanksgiving be full of heartfelt gratitude for all the ways God has filled up the sacred, empty vessels in our lives. May we find ways to determine what “enough” looks like for ourselves, for our children, and for our families. And when we do, may we give thanks – and mean it; may we rest in the fullness of what God has already provided; and may we find ways to share, ever more generously, whenever our cups runneth over.

Amen. Happy Thanksgiving.

Sheep & Goats – Matthew 25:31-46

Enough is as Good as a Feast – Matthew 6:25-33