You’re Welcome!
Speaker: Ed McBride
Date: July 27, 2025
As many of you know, I lost my little dog, Ozzie a month or so ago when he was hit by a car. I miss that little rascal. I would tell people that we were just a couple of aging bachelors growing old together. He had just turned nine, so, while that made him, in dog years, what we would call middle-aged, given that a dog moves through life at a faster pace than we do, he was destined to one day catch up with me and pass me up.
But that wasn’t to be. His life came to an abrupt end sort of in the prime of it. We got Ozzie, a Shi-Tzu, when he was just a puppy, newly weaned, from a lady in Spokane. After we got home with him, we started working on a name. I would come up with something and Connie would nix it. Then, she would offer a suggestion and it was my turn to reject. After it was obvious that we weren’t making headway, we sort of postponed the matter to a later time.
I picked up the Spokesman-Review and a front-page article featured Spokane County’s seemingly famous (and somewhat infamous as well) Ozzie Knezovich. I said, “Hey, what about Ozzie?” and Connie said an enthusiastic “Yeah!”
It soon became apparent that Ozzie was Connie’s dog. Oh, he liked me okay, but as dog typically do, he had a favorite and it was her. I remember how, when she would be on the couch reading or watching TV, he’d jump up and then start easing his way toward her. Slowly, slowly, but inevitably. She knew he wanted to get on her lap, and she would say, “No” maybe two or three times. But, you could count on it, he’d end up there.
For whatever reason, I’ve never cared much for dogs or cats on my lap. Unless it’s on my terms, when I just am in the mood. But, to just come along and crawl up on me when I’m doing something else just never appealed to me. Maybe that’s why Ozzie favored Connie over me. He knew that I would likely put him down if he tried it.
When Connie died it was obvious that Ozzie mourned this loss, in the only way dogs can mourn. He was just sort of lost for at least a couple of weeks. When he did recover from this loss, he didn’t have any options but to become more attached to me, maybe more by default at first than by choice.
But in time we did become good buddies. Like most dogs, he would get totally excited when I’d come in the door, whether I’d been gone all day or had just gone to the mailbox. Earlier this year I went to bed with him locked in the basement. He would go down there and sleep on the chair next to me while I watched a movie or whatever. In the morning I heard him barking and I realized what I’d done.
But you know what? Rather than show some resentment or disappointment in me for ignoring him—for abusing him—he was so excited to see me! I heard someone say, “Lock your wife and your dog in the garage overnight, and see which one is happy to see you in the morning.”
Anyway, over time we seemed to develop some rituals. One of them was my giving him a pill every day. Ozzie was diagnosed by the good Dr. McGraw with an allergy that was controlled by a daily Aquapel pill. Actually, half a pill because of his small size—about nine pounds. I would use what are called Pill Treats—little soft round things that you drop the pill into and then give it to the dog. As is so often the case, especially small dogs, Ozzie would swallow it whole without chewing it or savoring its flavor for even a nanosecond.
And then I would follow that up with another treat—a bacon shaped strip called Beggin’. Now, here is the interesting part: after he took the strip, he would look me in the eye as if to say, “Thank you,” and I would say, “You’re welcome,” and then he’d go off to eat it.
And one day right after this little daily ritual, I got to wondering, where did that practice of saying “you’re welcome” come from? Why do we say it? Well, I decided to do a little research. Meaning, going online.
The first site I pulled up makes the statement, “You’re welcome” as a response to “thank you” makes absolutely no sense. You’re welcome to what? It goes on to give a sort of history and states, “The first references to welcome are found in Beowolf.” You’ve heard of Beowulf, right? Well, here’s a quick summary, from what else? Wikipedia:
Bēowulf [ˈbeːowuɫf]) is an Old English poem, an epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines, contained in the Nowell Codex. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature.
It goes on to say it is presumed to have been written somewhere between 675 and 1025 AD. I am somewhat familiar with the tome because it was required reading in my high school junior English class. At least, some of it, as I don’t recall having to read all 3,182 alliterative lines. And I don’t remember a darn thing about it.
And then, the Bard himself, William Shakespeare, in one of his most-read and most-produced pieces, Othello, penned the phrase, (circa 1603):
“Lodovico: Madam, good night; I humbly thank your ladyship. Desdemona: Your honour is most welcome.”
This same website goes on to say, “The welcome in you’re welcome is a statement saying: ‘I would do this for you again, if asked.’” (i.e. You’re welcome to ask me again.) It also implicates pleasure in the response. You are pleased to have been of some help, whether it’s simply pointing a newcomer to town in the right direction, or loaning something like your umbrella to a friend, or helping someone interpret a difficult phrase in a book, or even sharing a cup of coffee you just brewed. And, if you accept the explanation from that website, you’re saying, “Of course, and I’d do it again if needed.”
Not surprisingly, I didn’t find a website that offered a biblical or Christian aspect to the background of the phrase, “You’re welcome.” Numerous references and uses of the word “welcome”—forty or so in the NIV—including three references in the Old Testament.
So, where am I going with this? Well, think about how often, when we pray, that we thank God for something or someone. It’s hard for me to imagine praying without a “thank you” in there somewhere. Often, it’s where we start, isn’t it? If nothing else, we thank him for hearing us, for opening himself to listen to what we have to say to him, even though he has a whole universe, actually a limitless multiverse, to look after.
And how can we be assured that he does hear us and respond in his own way and according to his own will? Because he says “you’re welcome.” He says it in the beauty of nature; he says it in the grandeur of lofty mountains and fertile valleys; he says it in the people closest to us and who mean the most to us; he says it in the church services we take part in; he says it in the new people we meet and the new places we go; he says it in the familiar places we go; he says it in the very life he has breathed into us; he says it in the words we read in his Holy Book; he says it in the eternal gift of his Son, Jesus Christ.
God says, “You’re welcome” in more ways than we can count, or even fathom.
My selected scripture reading today is Psalm 19:1-2, but actually I want to expand that reference to the first 6 verses of that Psalm:
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
3 They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
5 It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
6 It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
You’ll notice that the psalmist—and this Psalm is attributed to David—alludes to the fact that the heavens and the skies have no voice, no speech, and “yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” The NIV Application Bible says this about the first four verses of Psalm 19:
Inanimate creation is given voice as the heavens and skies “declare,” “proclaim,” and “pour forth speech” (vv. 1–2) in praise of the Creator. This is a continual outcry of nature—from the past until now and into the future.
Max Lucado, in his NKJV Lucado Encouraging Word Bible, shares this thought:
“Our universe is God’s preeminent missionary. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps 19:1). A house implies a builder; a painting suggests a painter. Don’t stars suggest a star maker?
“Doesn’t creation imply a creator? “The heavens proclaim his righteousness” (Ps 97:6). Look above you.
“Think about the things that exist—and what that means about how those things came to be. What do you see in creation that makes you realize that God is a most loving (and creative!) Creator?”
And then, back to the NIV Application Bible, the question for growth asks: Ps 19:6: “How do we see God’s glory and work displayed in creation? What part of creation makes us marvel the most in the Creator?”
Now, cogitate on that question for a few moments: what part of creation makes us marvel the most in our Creator?
Do we marvel at gorgeous spring days?
Do we marvel at the beauty of nature?
Do we marvel at the star-lit sky at night?
Do we marvel at the northern lights—the aurora borealis?
Do we marvel at the golden and red and orange leaves in the fall?
What about marveling at a pouring rain that stops a planned softball game or a wedding or simply a picnic?
What about marveling at a massive blizzard that brings traffic to a stop?
What about marveling on a 108Õ August day?
What about marveling when a loved one dies?
What about marveling when your child is sick?
What about marveling at the casino’s slot machine?
No, maybe we don’t marvel so much at those times of inconvenience and loss and worry and challenge and temptation. But they are there. They are just as much a part of God’s creation (and mankind’s tweaking—or outright bending it—as breathing and thinking and walking and talking.
And God says, “You’re welcome.”
And he also says, “I would do this for you again, if asked. You’re welcome to ask me again.” (Remember the definition of “You’re welcome” that we looked at earlier?)
And this maybe gets to the heart of my message today.
Perhaps one of the most critical elements of prayer is seeking God’s forgiveness. It’s certainly part of my daily prayers. Even if I would somehow overlook that plea in my “normal” babbling (sometimes I feel like that’s what I’m doing, but hopefully God can sift through the gibberish and detect my deepest thoughts and petitions), I’ll for sure say it when I wrap up with the Lord’s Prayer—“forgive me my trespasses as I forgive those who trespasses against me.” Or, “forgive me my sins as I forgive those who sin against me.” Or, “forgive me my debts as I forgive my debtors.” Or, “forgive me for doing wrong as I forgive others.”
Without a doubt, seeking forgiveness for our many transgressions against God’s standards is—or should be—a central focus, a core value, an absolute rock-solid element of our prayers. If at no other time, we do it every Sunday when we recite the Lord’s Prayer in unison.
The Bible is replete with references to forgiveness. One of the passages that so well asserts Jesus’ status as God’s Son—in essence God himself—is found in Matthew 9:1-8:
Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”
3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
Or, how about the story of the ten lepers, as we read in Luke 17:11-18:
Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
In the story of the lame guy who got up and walked home, we aren’t told if he took time to thank Jesus for his miraculous healing, but it’s hard to imagine that he didn’t. With the ten lepers, only one of them who was healed—an outcast Samaritan no less—came back and profusely thanked him.
Now, we aren’t told if Jesus said “You’re welcome” to either the paralytic or leper, but can’t we infer it, if not in his outright speech, but in his mind and heart? I think we can also infer it when we prayerfully and sincerely seek God’s forgiveness. God forgives us our trespasses through his endless, empowering, all-consuming, overwhelming, limitless and absolutely all-powerful grace.
I honestly think that when we ask God to forgive us, he does so with a “you’re welcome” attitude. He is happy to forgive, and he goes one step further—a tough one sometimes for we mere mortals—he forgets! We get to start over, often illustrated with the phrase, “a clean slate.”
A clean slate. That one must go back literally thousands of years, because in the historical context of man’s residency here on Earth, slates were used far longer than paper tablets or chalkboards or notepads. Or cellphones.
Maybe it’s time to upgrade that “clean slate” phrase and start saying, “a wiped cellphone.” Or “a thoroughly debugged laptop.”
But I digress.
I honestly think that God is saying “You’re welcome, and I would do this for you again, if asked.” (i.e. You’re welcome to ask me again.) We are welcome to ask God’s forgiveness over and over and over. And he will forgive. And if we’re really tuned into him, we might just hear him say, or at least imply, “You’re welcome.”
I will close with this quote from my favorite author, Max Lucado:
Most people suffer from small thoughts about God. In an effort to see him as our friend, we have lost his immensity. In our desire to understand him, we have sought to contain him. The God of the Bible cannot be contained. He brought order out of chaos and created creation. With a word he called Adam out of dust and Eve out of a bone. He consulted no committee. He sought no counsel.
He has no peer. “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me” (Isa 46:9). The greatest kings have surrendered their crowns. Alexander the Great is a mound of dust in a tomb. The queen of England is called Her Majesty, yet she must eat and bathe and rest. The True Majesty, on the other hand, is never hungry. He never sleeps. He has never needed attention or assistance.
From the tiniest microbe to the mightiest mountain, he “sustain[s] all things by his powerful word” (Heb 1:3).
He has authority over the world, and he has authority over your world. Your sleep patterns. Your eating habits. Your salary. The traffic of your commute. The arthritis in your joints. God reigns over all these. He’s never surprised. He has never, ever uttered the phrase “How did that happen?”
God’s power is unsurpassed.
Spend some quiet time in a park, a peaceful neighborhood, or your own backyard. Be still, breathe deeply, and focus on God’s creation as you remind yourself that God has everything in his control.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, you are our rock and our redeemer. You ask nothing of us but to put our full faith and trust in you, and to walk the path you have laid out for each of us. We do seek your forgiveness for the many times we stray off that path, but we know that if we sincerely thank you for that forgiveness, you will grant it and you will do so in a way that reminds us of your infinite power and goodness, and also in a way that echoes the words, “You’re welcome.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
