I'll never forget the first time
we had something other than turkey for Thanksgiving. It
just didn't seem right to be feasting on homemade
Tamales, refried beans and rice. Even though I
absolutely love Mexican food and haven't had a tamale
that has tasted anywhere near as good as those I helped
make those 15 years ago.
There's something about the
Norman Rockwell moment and the grocery store's sumptuous
four- color advertisements that fix in our minds the
image of a family praying at the table while a golden
perfectly roasted turkey sits before the father. The
aroma circling and wafting into the air, waiting just
waiting to be carved. Thanksgiving simply evokes the
image of a table groaning with the burden of recipes
lovingly prepared, and often distant relatives waiting
to feast.
Most of us learned early on in
school about the difficult winter the early Puritan
settlers aboard the Mayflower experienced after landing
far off their chartered course. Only half their number
survived the harsh weather and scarce food supplies. We
know how the native American Tisquantum (Squanto) taught
them how to reap bounteous crops of corn the following
year. And the joyous harvest festival that was
celebrated at the end of the summer.
Edward Winslow, one of the
pilgrims writes, "Our harvest being gotten in, our
governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might
after a special manner rejoice together after we had
gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day
killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside,
served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst
other recreations, we exercised our arms. Many of the
Indians, coming amongst us, and among the rest - their
greatest, King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for
three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out
and killed five deer, which they brought to the
plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the
captain and others. And although it be not always so
plentiful as it was this time with us, yet by the
goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often
wish you partakers of our plenty."
Those early settlers could not
have had a more appropriate model for the culmination of
the growing season than the injunction to the
Israelites. The text from Deuteronomy that we read
begins, "When you have come into the land that the Lord
your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess and
you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of
the first of all the fruit of the ground which you
harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving
you and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place
that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his
name." "Then you, together with the Levites, the aliens
that reside among you, shall celebrate with all the
bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to
your house.
And, tomorrow we will continue
the feasting and celebration modeled by those early
settlers. For the United States remains a land of
abundance and many of its people are able to eat. But,
tonight we have come to honor the one that placed into
our hands the ability to draw forth from the earth its
many resources.
The Psalmist stands in awe of
the wondrous God who would give us dominion of all the
glories of creation. He asks, who are we that we should
have been gifted with so much??!! The question is one
that we should ask ourselves frequently. For indeed when
we look out at the awesome universe that extends into
the vast night sky, what value do we have in God's eyes
and what have we done with our dominion?
I began speaking tonight by
reminiscing on the humble turkey that takes his place on
my plate every holiday season. Modern technology has
bred these birds to have more and more white meat every
year. These domesticated creatures waddle around so big
and fat on turkey farms, that it is hard to imagine them
ever being noble, rugged and strong flying birds capable
of soaring for miles in graceful flight. In those early
years the turkey would have been a worthy prize for the
four Pilgrims who set out that day to hunt.
The poor turkey is hardly all
that has changed over the years. From a few freezing
cold log cabins in the woods, the United States has
developed into sprawling metroplexes, megafarms, and
vast manufacturing complexes in an attempt to supply the
ever growing demands of its ever expanding population.
And, still there are people who go hungry on our own
streets not to mention an unbelievable percentage of the
rest of the world.
It should give us pause tonight,
tomorrow, and especially on Friday's consumer
extravaganza holiday to ask ourselves exactly what it is
we are thanking God for? That we are the lucky ones who
have plenty while the others don't? That we happen to
live in a time of amazing opulence while the planet's
natural resources are being polluted and depleted? How
many of us have any idea of the grandeur and pristine
beauty that the early settlers were able to enjoy when
they stepped out their doors on the first sunny spring
day that year? Historical records tell us that when the
Pilgrims held their traditional Thanksgiving Days, they
were days of fasting and prayer in response to the
amazing gift they had been given. By fasting they
reminded themselves of the days of their hunger so they
would not lose their appreciation for all the wonders
that God had given them.
Now I'm not recommending the
strict stern lifestyle of the Puritan theocracy. But I
am asking us to think seriously about the relationship
of our bounty to the poverty of many in this world. Paul
in his letter to the Corinthians was encouraging that
community to give generously to those in need. He
reminded them that God had given them abundantly so that
they could share it. And, for their generosity, they
would be enriched in many ways. Now - - we've got to be
careful. Please understand that this passage is known to
be misunderstood by those who want to get rich quick.
Paul is not talking about giving with the motive of a
profit for self in mind, but through our sharing we are
returning our thanksgivings to God for all the wonderful
gifts we have received. Paul says it is God (not you)
who has brought you the seeds to sow and it is God that
will increase your benevolence through your produce.
Even Jesus reminded the crowds
that followed him all the way to the other side of the
sea to Caperneum. These people had just had a feast for
thousands that satisfied their longing with leftovers
besides. Now they were running after him again. Can you
picture them…thinking, wow, free food and it just keeps
on coming. We've got a good thing going here. And he
told them, "my ministry is not about filling your
growling stomachs." Folks, you talk about your ancestors
eating manna in the wilderness, well it wasn't Moses
that fed them and it certainly wasn't their hard work
that brought the manna…it was God's gracious gift to
them because God gives life. And, now, Jesus says, God
has sent me to bring you life.
Think about what Jesus' ministry
was all about. It was all about renewal, forgiveness,
and redemption for those who were outcasts, downtrodden,
abused, misunderstood, misdirected, unloved and
unwanted. He helped everyone who touched him, everyone
he met, everyone he looked at to begin anew. He held up
mercy and grace as the mirror image of the law…not
condemnation.
And so for all of us sitting
here tonight who feel in our hearts that we are hardly
the perfect example of a Christian life, think again. We
are exactly the example of a Christian life….we are
sinners that have been redeemed by Christ. Everyday we
have the chance to live anew because God wants us to
have life. We can fall down, but we know we can struggle
and get up again and again because of his love.
So at the dinner table tomorrow.
Look around at your family and friends. You know all the
stories of their lives and they know yours intimately.
You can all laugh at your mistakes and cry at your
sorrows, but you can all be uplifted by the greatest
bounty of them all…..God's precious faithfulness that
pours forth abundantly upon you to bless you and
sanctify you so that you might be a blessing.
I know it is a tradition in many
households to go around the table and talk about all the
things we are thankful for. Perhaps tomorrow you can add
a PS to your thankfulness and be specific about how you
will use that gift to bless others.