28 Dec 2025, Psalm 136:1-9, 25-26 and Matthew 5:3–12 “Gratitude Sunday”

Do Young Kim
Jan 1, 2026
8 min read

Welcome to everyone who has joined us for worship today. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We’ve been saying, ‘Merry Christmas,’ and now it’s already time to start saying, ‘Happy New Year.’

Time really does fly. So today, shall we share our final words of peace for this year not just with peace, but with great peace?

‘May the Lord’s great peace be with you!’

Today, I want to start with a question. Do you remember what I preached about on the very last Sunday of 2024? Exactly one year ago? I had a feeling that was the case. Don’t worry, you don’t have to remember everything. I’m the same, actually.

If someone asked me, ‘Do Young, do you remember your sermon from a year ago?’ I’d probably struggle to tell you exactly what I said, too.

While getting ready for today, I went back and looked at my sermon from last year. And I realised I actually shared a story about hugging… about being held… about embrace with God. Now I can see some of you nodding. You’re starting to remember, aren’t you?

As I read through those notes, two things surprised me. First, I couldn’t believe it’s already been a whole year. It feels like just yesterday. And second, I have to admit something. Even though I tried really hard to break down my own 'hug barrier,' …..here I am, one year later. I’m right back at square one. You’ve probably noticed… my hugging has dropped off ….a bit.

It doesn’t mean, I feel distant from you. If anything, we’ve actually become closer. We’ve grown more comfortable with each other, more connected.

In fact, for the first few weeks after that sermon, I was hugging everyone and it felt great. It really did. But then… as the months passed by, January, February, March… little by little, that old hesitation started creeping back in. And before I knew it, I was becoming a bit… “hug-shy” again. So I went back and read what I said in last year. Let me read it again…

‘To be honest, the idea of hugging honestly terrified me. Though I’ve since become more comfortable with it, at the time, it took a great deal of courage and careful thought: “timing the hug, gauging how firm it should be, deciding which way to turn my head—who to hug, when to hug, how to hug, and even how long the hug should last’.

I don’t know how I can be in the exact same place as a year ago. But deep in my heart, I’ve come to realize something.

This isn’t something I can learn, or practice, or fix by sheer determination. It’s not the kind of thing that happens overnight. Because whenever my own energy disappears, the hesitation comes back. The overthinking returns. I believe a hug isn’t….. a performance.

But…I found an incredible answer. It sounds a little funny, but I have a favor to ask: Could you go first? If you open your arms and take that first step toward me, I will simply hug you back. Simple! That way, I don’t have to worry about a thing. And I couldn’t help but smile, thinking, ‘That’s the answer. That’s actually brilliant!' After all, a hug has to be genuine.

But I’m not just talking about 'hugs' today. As I’ve been reflecting on gratitude, I realized… it works the same way.

Gratitude isn’t something we can just 'produce' through practice, willpower, or a simple resolution….. Sure, we can be thankful for a moment through our determination. We can say 'thank you' when things are going well….. But the gratitude we are looking for today …isn't just a fleeting emotion. We are seeking something eternal—a steady, unchanging rhythm. We are looking for a song of gratitude that remains in our hearts regardless of our circumstances.

If we try to force it, our voices will eventually grow tired. If we rely on our willpower, the song will fade when life gets hard. That is why we need to stop striving and instead, simply receive.

When we realize that God has already opened His arms toward us, our gratitude becomes a natural echo of His embrace. It’s not a performance; it’s a response… to His unchanging love.

Today, I am convinced of this: Gratitude is our response to God’s love. It isn’t training or will.

Just think about a hug. A genuine hug doesn’t begin by we forcing ourselves to embrace someone. It begins when we realize we’re already in God…... Our gratitude is exactly like that. It truly begins when we discover …the wonder of God’s embrace, the love that never lets go, “for His love endures forever.”

That’s exactly why Psalm says this morning, 'His love endures forever' twenty-six times. I mean, why repeat it so much? It’s simply because we forget. We hear it once, but then we go right back to worrying. And when life gets a bit shaky or we’re just exhausted, it feels like God is so far away.

So, for every blessing, God gives us this constant rhythm to keep us steady: 'His love endures forever.' 'It never stops.' 'It never gives up.'

You know, gratitude is a funny thing. When we are running on empty, it is usually the first thing to disappear. But then, one day… it comes back!!!. And it’s not because we are amazing or strong. It’s simply because God’s love never went anywhere. It was right there, waiting.

So today, instead of trying so hard to find reasons to be thankful, I want us to simply step back into that hug. I believe God is saying to us: 'I’ll take the first step. I’ll do the hugging. Because my love isn't going anywhere.' All we have to do is….. just lean into it…. with a grateful heart.

When we look at it this way, the Beatitudes we read today.. take on a whole new meaning.

Now, some of you might be wondering: 'Why the Beatitudes for a year-end Gratitude Sunday? What does this have to do / with being thankful?' I am with you. I asked myself the same question.

Look…..I have preached on this many times and spent countless hours studying them. Yet, they always feel like a 'holy mystery', 'a sacred standard’ that feels almost too high to reach.

We listen to smart people explain them, and we nod along. But when it comes to applying them… to our actual lives, they still feel distant. We sense that there is a tremendous significance here, yet on the other hand, it feels so hard to truly understand.

For a long time, perhaps my whole life, this is exactly how I understood the Beatitudes. Whenever I felt poor in spirit, mourning, or even persecuted, I tried to convince myself: 'Well, I must still be blessed...' Or I would tell myself, 'If I can just endure this, I will be blessed. There must be something waiting for me at the end.'

So, I tried so hard to be merciful. I struggled to keep my heart pure. I worked tirelessly to be a peacemaker. Why? Because I wanted to earn the title 'Child of God,' just as Jesus promised. I truly believed that if I could…. just hold on…. until the finish line, my reward would finally be waiting for me.

In other words, I treated the Beatitudes like a contract—a set of 'if-then' conditions. But while preparing for this Gratitude Sunday, I received an unexpected grace. “They are actually invitations to gratitude.” It means that the 'Blessings' Jesus spoke of ….are not… a checklist of requirements.

Take the first verse, for example. 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' What does this really mean? It is a promise that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them. But here is the real question: How do we actually experience that?

This is how I see it now. When the poor in spirit... “give thanks to God”... then the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Can we see it?

Suddenly, it’s so clear! The holy mystery finally unfolds! Now, look at the second one: 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.' Think of it this way: ……When those who mourn... “give thanks to God”... then they receive comfort.

To 'hug with gratitude', 'to embrace our reality with a thankful heart’—that was the key that unlocked the Beatitudes for me! Are you with me so far? Yes, this is the key

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I can’t help but think that when Jesus preached the Beatitudes, He intentionally left out one specific phrase: 'With a grateful heart.'

I believe He was waiting for us to see …just how perfectly gratitude and the Beatitudes are woven together. Isn’t it incredible? When we hug our hard times with gratitude, they change. They transform into heaven’s blessings.

Now, it’s your turn. I will read the first part of each verse, and I invite you to respond by saying: 'Give thanks to God.' Let’s do this together, with all our hearts.

Do Young: Blessed are the meek...