Right, good, joyful, always and everywhere. It’s always the right time and place to give thanks. But people forget. And, frankly, most people need some training, and perhaps some “rehab” in how to do it. So, we have events like Thanksgiving Day.

Feasts with the purpose of giving thanks are as old as human history. There were three such festivals that were yearly requirements for the Hebrews; Passover, The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) and Tabernacles (see Deuteronomy 16). They were big, expensive, lasted over an extended period of time—a week or more. The stated reason for them was:
“Doing this will teach you always to fear the LORD your God.” (Deuteronomy 14:23)

The first Thanksgiving feast we talk about in America is usually the one held in 1621 with the Pilgrims (about 13 of them) and their guests, the Wampanoag people (60 or so). It went on for three whole days, and they ate shellfish, cranberries, venison, ducks, swans, maze, codfish…Something tells me they didn’t eat the sweet potato casserole with the marshmallow topping.  

It was in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, that a special day of thanksgiving was initiated by the decree of President Lincoln.  There were other Thanksgiving days proclaimed before (1795 by Washington, 1814 by Madison), but Lincoln’s has stuck with us ever since. Originally, it was on the final Thursday of November. Franklin Roosevelt changed it to the fourth Thursday in order to ensure a longer Christmas shopping season. He wanted to help out retailers during the Great Depression.  

I don’t think it’s an accident that these days of thanksgiving were held in a times of crisis. There were only thirteen pilgrims at the original feast because there were only that many who survived the winter of 1620. Lincoln’s day came just a couple months after the Battle of Gettysburg. The war would rage for nearly two more years.

Thanksgiving is more than a feast; something to do when everything is going well and you feel like celebrating. It’s not only something we do because we’re thankful. It’s something we do to become thankful. We practice it to be reminded of the true Source of all we have, as well as the source of our abilities to attain things (Deuteronomy 8:18) We do it to celebrate the wonder of creation and to truly enjoy it, just as it was intended (I Timothy 6:17). Doing it together, we teach gratitude to the next generation , and the older generation can give thanks for those who will carry on. It truly fits the definition of a spiritual discipline—something we do, in response to God’s grace that builds our faith, and makes us receptive to even more of God’s grace. Practicing Thanksgiving is a way of putting ourselves in the right relationship with the universe as well as the One who created it.

In the first chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Romans, we find a narrative of humanity’s descent into brokenness. This is how it all began:  
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:21)
In light of that, it makes sense that the road back to wholeness passes through the gates of thanksgiving.

So, this Thursday, don’t just have Thanksgiving. Practice it. Enjoy the sweet tastes as well as the company. Say thankyou until it sounds like you’re overdoing it. Relish the turkey induced nap afterwards. You can even practice thanksgiving by giving thanks for the presence of your most difficult relatives—after all, God will use them to build perseverance in you (and, it’s a good reminder that God manages not only put up with you but to pour his love and forgiveness on you as well. The story of the splinter and the plank seems particularly poignant in family situations (Matthew &:3-5) seeing as how both are made of the same stuff). Do things like count your blessings. Actually do it on paper. It will surprise you—maybe even open your eyes.

Thankful to be on this journey with you.

Pastor Tom