10/09/2026
Message written by Reverend Susan Gamblin for worship at Trinity-St. Stephen’s United Church, Thanksgiving Sunday, October 11, 2026 based on Philippians 4:1-9. Title of message is: Respond and Rejoice.
The Philippians were the convincing proof that Paul had “not run in vain.” They were also his chief cause for rejoicing. The thought of them filled him with gladness as if he were sitting at a feast instead of lying in a prison.
The apostle Paul had long since disclaimed any superior righteousness of his own making, and gladly preaching the mystery of a new life that can be created in people by the grace of God alone. He knew his strength came from Christ.
Paul’s religion was what all religion should be, a constantly renewed quest for the truth to which one could commit their whole life without any reservations. He had discovered salvation from self was not to be found in mere trying to be righteous, but rather in a persistent sense of falling short and of utter surrender to the new life of the Spirit, which is the gift of God.
The truth is God is always coming to us bringing salvation and life. This coming calls for a response from us in which we commit to lives that share grace and salvation, and that empower and restore one another through acts of justice and compassion.
If we, too, believe God’s Reign has come in Christ, we cannot help but recognize the need for this truth to change and re-direct our lives.
We are called to sacrifice for others, to love others, and to welcome others. And we are called to hold ourselves and our companions to the standards of justice and peace of God’s reign. It is as we learn to allow others to hold us accountable, and as we learn to graciously challenge those with whom we journey, that we learn to live as citizens of God’s reign. And it is as we forgive, include, and seek to understand others we discover the richness of God’s grace and the power of God’s reign to transform us in meaningful and healing ways.
Until all people have enough – which is a possibility – we continue to miss the truth of God’s coming. As much as we might celebrate the salvation of God we receive, we cannot ignore the call to be agents of that salvation to others. Where we have plenty, we can share with those who do not have enough. Where we have a voice, we can speak up for those who have been silenced. When we recognize our citizenship in the reign of God reaches across the globe, we can make choices about our consumption and ways of living that bring life to others. If, on the other hand, we ignore those in other parts of the world who suffer, we miss the point of God’s reign.
In Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi the believers are called to a life of rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving because of God’s nearness, and the assurance this life brings unspeakable peace.
Thanksgiving is an essential daily practice for us all. In a sense, it’s evidence of our soul’s well-being. Our word "Eucharist" (Holy Communion is the Great Thanksgiving) translates from the Greek eucharistia ("thanksgiving") to the Hebrew word berachah, meaning “ blessing,” or “Thanksgiving.” (for example, "Blessed are you, Lord...")
“What do you have,” Paul asks, “that you did not receive?” Gratitude is the act of being thankful and appreciative for what we have, while joy is a spiritual way of engaging with the world that’s connected to practicing gratitude.
Both joy and gratitude are spiritual practices bound to a belief in human interconnectedness, aligned with a power greater than ourselves. For human beings created in the image of God, fulfilment is found by this entering into the lives of others. By practicing gratitude, we can cultivate a sense of abundance and contentment that makes it easier for more people to experience joy. And by experiencing joy, we can reinforce our sense of gratitude and appreciation for the good things and people in our lives.
Often times when we are discontent in our current season, we will be discontent in the season that follows. It’s hard to thank God in the midst of suffering. However, we have the ability, as Paul disclosed in this letter, to choose to be content where we are, even if the situation is not comfortable or the most pleasant. We can always choose to be grateful.
To be sure, being grateful does not mean ignoring difficulty or insisting on positive thinking even when we are suffering. Instead, cultivating gratitude helps us have a more balanced perspective. We transcend the default mode of overattending to threats to our happiness by also including what has been beneficial to us.
God had supplied Paul with enough - enough strength to get through any and every situation he experienced so he could work through the pain to claim the joy.
The response of unconditional joy is the bedrock of a sustained faith. It’s deeper and weightier than happiness. It doesn’t dismiss or overlook or sidestep the pain of life. It actually consoles it. It lays at the bottom (or underneath or just beyond) the pain cycle we’re in.
So, how do we discover and claim this joy? How do we live with this joy with all that is going on in our lives and the lives of those we love right now?
Ask God for God’s perspective on challenging situations in your life so you can see how they can accomplish good purposes and ultimately bring you joy. Even when you’re weak, God’s strength is at work in your life. Celebrate the glimpses of God’s power you can see.
Understand that when your desires are aligned with God’s desires for you, you will see those desires fulfilled and experience great joy. In prayer, surrender your desires to God and ask for them to be transformed into God’s desires. Since God wants you to value living with purpose - exercising your gifts - so place your highest priority on activities that will help you fulfill your calling.
Finally, relax in the rest Jesus offers you. Embrace your salvation, the unconditional love that frees you from constantly worrying about trying to please God and other people. Rejoice in your freedom to live in non-anxious ways that reflect your genuine self. �
Joy is not a commodity that can be bought or sold. It’s a gift from a loving God. It is a treasured fruit of the Spirit. Through it we can gain a sense of holy fulfillment and satisfaction that can improve our overall well-being. And through it we can better notice and appreciate the wonder around us, leading us to feel awe as well as joy and reminding us, despite appearances, there is still goodness and beauty in the world.
Christians of Paul’s time had come to believe the new age, when the kingdom of the Messiah was to be established on earth, had actually arrived in Christ. He had brought to the earthly sphere the redeeming power of the Spirit, and initiated, a community of people who lived and moved in a new sphere of life, which was still in the world, but not of it.
Paul’s one desire is that this community continues to be Christ’s people just as they have been in the past. That is enough to bring him joy. No new expectations. Just a commitment to the way of living that joyfully shares grace and salvation with everyone.
Paul graciously shares a new set of rules to help in our attempt at being and remaining committed Christians, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Amen.
These are the scriptures from this week’s lectionary.
Isaiah 25:1-9 The feast of victory
25:1
O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
25:2
For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; the palace of foreigners is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
25:3
Therefore strong peoples will glorify you; cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
25:4
For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat. When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rainstorm,
25:5
the noise of foreigners like heat in a dry place, you subdued the heat with the shade of clouds; the song of the ruthless was stilled.
25:6
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.
25:7
And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the covering that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.
25:8
Then the Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.
25:9
It will be said on that day, "See, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
Philippians 4:1-9 Rejoice in the Lord always
4:1
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
4:2
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
4:3
Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.
4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
4:5
Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
4:7
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
4:9
As for the things that you have learned and received and heard and noticed in me, do them, and the God of peace will be with you.
Matthew 22:1-14 nThe parable of the unwelcome guest
22:1
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying:
22:2
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.
22:3
He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.
22:4
Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.'
22:5
But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business,
22:6
while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them.
22:7
The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
22:8
Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.
22:9
Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.'
22:10
Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad, so the wedding hall was filled with guests.
22:11
"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe,
22:12
and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless.
22:13
Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen."
ATTRIBUTION
Kessel, Jan van, 1626-1679. Still Life of Flowers and Grapes encircling a Monstrance in a Niche, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://act.library.vanderbilt.edu/artworks/58410 [retrieved October 9, 2026]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jan_van_Kessel_the_elder_%281626-1679%29_-_Still_Life_of_Flowers_and_Grapes_Encircling_a_Monstrance_in_a_Niche_-_NG_2740_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg.
The author died in 1708, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer.
