Giving thanks...

Many of the holidays that people hold most dear to their hearts are religious, and thus, by their very nature, segregated from some part of the population.  For Christians, of which I am one, the biggest days of the year are, of course, Easter and Christmas, the two great beginnings of our faith and theology.  Jewish people have their high holy days, Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah.  Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha.  People of other faiths have their holy holidays, as well, but in all these celebrations, large parts of the population are left behind, left out, excluded.

Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is a holiday for everyone.  While started by the wayfaring Pilgrims in thankfulness for the harvest meal they were able to enjoy, and with their own faith embedded in the roots of the tradition, thanksgiving itself has become a secular observation of the harvest bounty, and an opportunity to remind ourselves of the many things we have for which we can be grateful.


On this day, we gather with family or those who are important to us, and we take time to appreciate what we have, rather than lament what we are missing.  Many of us offer prayers in gratitude for the many life gifts that we have been given.  We eat too much, we miss those who aren't with us, we call family in other places, and we look ahead to the coming year in hopeful anticipation.


For Christians, Thanksgiving is also, in many ways, a new year celebration, leading us into Advent, and the restart of the Christian story.  It is a kind of "kick off" moment for us, as we look ahead to the story of our Savior's birth and the following Passion.  The pageants, the presents, the food, the decorations and the family activities are all a fun and festive way for us to remember the Son that our God sent to join us in our fallen humanity.


But at the beginning of it all, as we each celebrate this joyous day in our American tradition, Thanksgiving is a good time for Christians to remember the exhortation of Paul in his First Epistle to his student, Timothy 4:4, "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving...." (NIV)  Take a moment today to look around you and accept with gratitude what God has given to you.  However much or little you have, it is God's grace alone that brought you to this day, and for that, we owe him our gratitude.


Happy Thanksgiving to each reader!  I wish you the happiest of new Christian years to come, and the joy of knowing your salvation is assured through the blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.