“Make a joyful
noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before
His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath
made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name For the Lord is good; His mercy is
everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.” –Psalm 100 (KJV)
Thursday, November 28, 2013 is our
traditional fourth Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day. Many families will mark it with gatherings
for food and fellowship. In the
festivities, Christian families will take time to recall the major blessings of
the year just past and give thanks for life, health, work, family togetherness,
and a multitude of other significant benefits.
For some maybe the holiday will have an aura of sadness for the faces
missing either from the death of a family member during the year or those for
some reason who could not gather to celebrate.
It is good to express gratitude, and as Psalm 100 declares, to “be thankful unto Him and bless His name.” I memorized Psalm 100 when I was a young
child, and its precepts have guided me for many years to be filled with
gratitude.
Thanksgiving Day goes back in America
to that first gathering of Plymouth Colony survivors after the first rigorous
year in America and the loss of over half their company of settlers. Their neighbors, members of the Wampanoag tribe
of Indians, who had befriended and helped the colonists also attended the
celebration. We have some extant records
of that gathering that give us insights into the observance. Chief Massasoit and some 90 Indian braves
were there as were the 51 survivors of the first year of the Plymouth
Colony. We can imagine the resonant
voice of Elder William Brewster as he raised his voice to read from the Psalter
and pray. Maybe he read Psalm 100. The Indians brought deer and turkey and
perhaps maize and other crops they had grown as well as edible berries and
fruits from the forest. The feast must
have been a welcome sight to those who had lived in want and hunger. That celebration began for America a
tradition which was finally made a part of our annual celebration.
Thanksgiving Day reminds us to pause
and make inventory of our blessings and be thankful. It is good to have an annual day of praise
and thanksgiving. But as we observe it
once a year with special efforts to make the day memorable, we should at the
same time remember that gratitude is an ongoing and daily exercise of spiritual
depth. Not only on Thanksgiving Day once
a year, not just at mealtime when we offer thanks, not just in church on
Sunday, but continually have a heart full of gratitude for all things. Eugene Peterson in The Message Bible expressed it well from James’s writing
that good and perfect gifts are from God
and we should acknowledge them and give thanks gratefully and faithfully: “So my
dear friends, don’t get thrown off course.
Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down
from the Father of Light. There is
nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word,
showing us off as the crown of all His creatures.” (James 1:16-18) Therefore,
be thankful all the time! -Have a Happy Thanksgiving Day and may each day be
filled with thanksgiving...and thanksliving! –Ethelene Dyer Jones 11.24.2013
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