The Joy of Giving Thanks

The immigrants from England, Pilgrims, brought with them an ancient English custom of a harvest festival. This festival was a time of dancing, singing, sports, games, and of course, feasting. Since then Americans, an interracial mix of many nations, have adapted this festival into what we celebrate today, Thanksgiving.

The festival of harvest has turned into a festival of eating too much followed by a nap and some football. Most of us are blessed to not think about harvesting. Instead, we have the luxury of going to the nearest grocer to find a year around supply of most anything we can eat. We don’t show up at a grocer and wonder if there will be apples. We have the gift of assuming that no matter the season the store will provide apples.

This reality allows us the comfort of not thinking about how our food gets to the table. The people who harvest often don’t come to mind at the Thanksgiving table as we give thanks for our many blessings.

We have become separated from the life sustaining earth; instead there are days when our feet don’t even touch the soil. We have become separated from any injustice in the fields; instead we assume they are immigrants and are lucky to be in this country. We are separated from the slaughterhouse; instead we complain about the price tag.

Our call from God is not to get caught up in our luxurious living so we can become more separated from God’s creation. Our call is to thank God for our luxurious living by turning our hearts from our wants and needs to the needs of our neighbor.

This Thanksgiving, let us reconnect with all of creation so our hearts will be changed though the real joy of giving thanks.

Romans 8:18-21

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.