Into the beauty of God's creation they will move. We will hear them even when we cease to see the red of their jackets or the dark flanks of the very last horse. Even when they are gone from our hearing, we will remember the sound of our voices raised in song and prayer within these walls. And those who go a hunting and those that can't tell a stirrup from a saddle will leave this church today connected through a common cup, one bread broken for us all, and blessings from ancient times that are carried, still, by stories like voices on the wind.

Those who move and those who are still are one at the altar. We kneel with the communion of saints, living and dead, on this Thanksgiving Day. We sit with the story of our own lives held within us as the sacred stories of faithful people from long ago stride through our midst. We are here because we choose to build community, and we choose to gather to give thanks to God. We are connected by the land this day to our ancient forebears, by the beauty of the earth and by the power of the spirit.

Moses stood just outside the promised land, and he told the people of its bounty. Moses pointed to the abundance that was being offered to them. The land was the tangible sign of an ancient promise. A place called "Home": no more drifting; food enough; metal in the ground. Land for farming and the raw materials to make the necessary tools: plows and pruning hooks, lamps for light and vessels for the altar. Bread and honey; olives and pomegranates - all in the rich land given as a gift by God to the people whom He loved.

And God's blessing rolled across the landscape, seeking those who would enter a kingdom raised by more than human hands.

We too are the recipients of a beautiful land and a bountiful life. We too have been given a promise: a place in the Kingdom. Home -- no more drifting; food enough. Gifts from God who loves this people gathered in His church on this hill.

We are called to remember the gifts of God and the words of Moses: "Do not say to yourself, 'My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.' But remember the Lord God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth…If you forget the lord your God and follow other Gods to serve and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish,"Moses said.

There were false gods in Moses' day that offered nothing real yet required one's very life as a sacrifice. There are such Gods now. We are the ones who choose whom, and what, we worship. Only God is worthy, but many things beckon. We must be awake and alert, especially in the midst of our abundance.

All the minor deities of old would have us saddle up and ride away with them. Ambition, envy, greed, the lure of power, and the power of lust - these horses of apocalypse can jump the fence of righteous living and break us on the rocks of despair as readily today as they did thousands of years ago.

Moses came down the mountain with God's Commandments not to make life dull but to make life livable. If we want to live lives of meaning and purpose in the land we enjoy, we too would do well to listen and observe not only the promise of God, but His commandments as well.

Jesus fused the power of the promise and the wisdom of the Law. Jesus took Ten Commandments and made them two: Love God first and your neighbor as yourself. On these two rests all the law and the prophets, Jesus said. In other words, the Ten Commandments and the prophetic wisdom of the ages can be articulated in the span of one breath.

But can we do in the span of our life what Jesus uttered in one breath? Words without actions are just wind. Faith without works has neither fire nor light. If we leave this church untouched, with no memory of either promise or command, we are like those who look in the mirror and then forget who they are. We are like those who are adopted by a King and then forget whose they are and live a life of self-imposed poverty. We are children of God; heirs of the promise. We are those called by Christ to love God and our neighbor.

Today is Thanksgiving. Today is the day of the hunt. We are hunting for blessings, and looking for God. May we stay out of life's thickets and remember the ultimate end of our journey even as we hope to enjoy the ride. And may we be a blessing to others as we travel.

We are called to travel a different landscape than the one that the world suggests, and we must keep our gaze in the right direction. We ride together in this life, whether we are on horseback or not. God is calling to us, let those who hear alert the rest of us that we might not lose sight of that which we seek. We are safer when we support one another and more likely to find when we search together.

And for what should we be searching? Not what we will eat, or wear, or drink. Not even our own life, Jesus says. Search instead for right relationships. That's what righteousness means. The best clothes, the finest food, the biggest house on the block mean nothing if we are miserable and alone, separate from other people and alienated from God. The Kingdom is the realm of the Other - the Kingdom is a place where God is above things and other people are held as precious wonders to be honored and treasured. Worry and striving will not conquer this kingdom, power and might can not force their way in. The price of admission is love. How ironic, that the thing we want most in life is what God requires us to give away.

How paradoxical that the more we give away the more we have. This is true of love, but it is true of things as well. Each time our hearts and our hands open to care for our neighbor, God moves in to possess more of the heartland in which we dwell. Then he blesses what we have given up and gives it back to us as his Kingdom, but as our eternal home. Right relationship does not pass away. Righteousness is the bedrock on which the Kingdom is built.

We are called to travel a different landscape than the evening news depicts. We are called to live in a different world than the one created by advertising agencies to entice us and make us desire things we do not need. Neither the direction of the Dow Jones nor the value of our portfolios constrains our ability to love, or determines whether we will be of service to others. We are called to live in a world we cannot make, or buy, or seize through strength or acts of will.

We are called to act in faith, with love, for the benefit of others. We are asked to gather to give thanks - to worship God and to offer fellowship and support to one another, and then extend that hospitality to those we do not even know: widows and orphans, people in any manner of need. These are our neighbors.

God wants us to commit our resources, our love, and our very life, but He offers His promise in steadfast loving kindness. He offers His Kingdom.

In less than an hour we will hear hoof beats, and the crying of hounds. God's blessing will roll across the landscape, seeking those who would enter a kingdom raised by more than human hands. All we have to do to enter is to be willing to love, willing to risk, willing to ride out and meet God where He dwells. Let us all prepare our hearts for the hunt for blessing, the search for God. For everyone that draws breath is on this life-long journey. Ride well, and may the peace of God be with you.

AMEN