Thanksgiving
- Rev. Dr. Genie Martin
- Nov 25, 2010
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Isaiah 12
A couple of chapters following the Ten Commandments Moses relayed from God to the people of
Exodus 23:16: “You shall observe the festival of harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall observe the festival of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor.”
Here ends the reading
It is for our many blessings that we gather together to Give Thanks to the Lord this evening and hopefully begin a week of being grateful and perhaps sharing with those who don’t have so much.
What unites us? It is our faith in Jesus Christ, Presbyterians, United Methodists, others? It doesn’t matter, for wecome together not to discuss the minor differences in our denominations. Instead we focus on our commonalities…..
For truly it is good to gather together at the beginning of this week of Thanksgiving-
-to give thanks for our many blessings
-to acknowledge who Jesus Christ is in our lives, and
-to enjoy Christian fellowship with one another
So thank you to
Gathering for worship and communion and fellowship together in one host church demonstrates the unity we have as Christian believers who desire to give God thanks.
Is it ever an issue at your Thanksgiving gathering as to who sits where at the table (or not)? At what point does a child become an adult and get invited to the fancy dining room table?
The first Thanksgiving our family of five had was when our youngest was a baby. We traveled to Disney World, but were sure to have a place with a full kitchen so we could have a completely home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner together. All was in place, the turkey was thawed, the lists were made so that the casseroles could take turns baking in the oven. The pies were made in advance, the table was set.
We all went down for a much needed rest that was quickly interrupts with excruciating pain. My husband was doubled over – barely able to say ‘find an emergency room.” We loaded into our refurbished Volvo stationwagon, me driving, the baby in the car seat, the two toddlers buckled in the back and my husband in agony.
We were in
The medical personnel were able to identify a kidney stone pretty quickly and began to administer pain medication, more medication, and more until he could feel no pain.
They sent us back to our condo- with instructions to drink lots of water wait for it to pass. What they DIDN’T tell me was that my husband would then sleep for 24 hours.
I learned the hard way- as I busied myself in the kitchen- stuffing and roasting the turkey, minding the three little ones alone as he slept soundly letting the drugs wear off in the back bedroom.
It was at that table that year that I learned (when at first it had been SO important to have the perfect table set and serve the perfect meal to demonstrate our young family was happy):
That he couldn’t come to the table when it was time,
That the baby wanted milk,
That the two toddlers would have nothing to do with my fine Thanksgiving meal,
That I learned what REALLY mattered:
Not the size or juiciness of the turkey,
Not what went into the stuffing- or whether you even called it dressing or stuffing,
Not which congealed salad I had made to remind my husband of the good Thanksgiving meals he had as a child.
Realizing that none of that mattered changed the way our family does Thanksgiving- forever.
The next year, we took our annual pilgrimage to the same condo- but THIS time we made sure to drink plenty of water and my new rule of Thanksgiving was instituted: If you wanted something on the TABLE for the meal- you had to fix it and put it on the table. One toddler had grown a bit and decided green beans had to be there. The other asked me to show her how to bake a pumpkin pie- for her that is what had to be there. The Daddy set the table with the little one and got rolls and drinks to the table.
Yes, I roasted a turkey and made the gravy.
So this time we sat together grateful:
No. 1 - to be together- not in the emergency room or sleeping off the medicine!
and
No. 2 - after the meal we begin what has become a tradition to this day. My husband asked that each one of us share one thing we were thankful for. It went around one, two, three times- each coming up with a person or a circumstance.
Year after year, the five in our family each take responsibility for the meal and the times we go around the table seem to grow exponentially!
A good reminder for what this secular holiday can become for Christians can be found in looking at what Jesus might have experienced as a child – the way his family participated in the festival of ingathering- what we might label- a type of Thanksgiving……
Imagine Jesus, as a boy- with his family- giving thanks. …….
The festival of ingathering came at the end of the year and was perhaps the happiest feast of the year.
v All the crops were gathered in.
v Their grapes had been picked.
v The weather was beautiful because the rainy season had not yet begun.
And this feast involved a lovely long trip to the big city of
Each family brought with them the best of their grapes and the best wheat as their Thanksgiving offering. They packed by rolling up little bags of clothes and food to use on their trip.
What made the trip so enjoyable was joining other families from other towns on the paths which led to
The most exciting part of the trip was the making of booths outside the walls or in the streets of
The father of Jesus’ family was Joseph and he would explain to the family why they kept this ritual each year.
“We live like this every year,
to remind ourselves of how God
took care of our great-great-great-great grandparents
all the years they lived in tents in the wilderness.
So that we can thank God for the care we receive today.”
They weren’t just thankful for shelter. After they constructed their booth and thanked God they would walk through the city amongst a huge crowd of people. As they placed their best grapes and wheat on the altar they thanked God for a good harvest. A priest dressed in beautiful clothes was there to receive the thanksgiving offerings that were given to God.
The Scripture read by the priest during the thanksgiving offering was, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love lasts forever!”
Then a strange thing would happen. A priest would come in carrying a cup of water from one brook. He gave it to another priest who took it to the altar, mixed it with a cup of wine, and then poured it down a little pipe which ran into another brook- saying, “ With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation!”
In response the people shouted, “With joy we shall draw water out of the wells of salvation!”
As darkness came on, Jesus and his family followed the crowd out into one of the courts where four big candelabra were lit and many people were carrying torches. How gloriously the light shone in the darkness. Caught up in the excitement the people rallied with “Thank you God, Thank you God, Thank you” for all of life and the goodness you provide.
Each of seven nights the families would gather in the
Tonight we gather, maybe not having camped out in booths, or pouring water, but certainly grateful for the salvation afforded us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We gather around the common table of Jesus Christ with the symbols of bread and cup, to give thanks for the life, death and resurrection of our Lord.
It is good to be together as we give thanks to God for our many blessings and celebrate our common faith in Jesus Christ.
Amen and Amen.
