And whatever you
do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17
I don’t know about you, but I’m
not buying it any more. Just about every depiction of the first Thanksgiving
I’ve seen shows great tables of food spilling over plates and tumbling out of
cornucopias. Even our turkey platters are covered in art that seems to provide
proof positive that life in America began as one of excess and should remain
one today. Well, I’m just not buying it anymore. Not when I see the number of
hungry children served by our back pack ministry at Juan Seguin Elementary
increasing. Yes, that’s right. The number is increasing not decreasing. Not
when I see the number of people we serve at Center of Hope increasing not
decreasing. Yes, that’s right. Increasing, not decreasing. Translation – the
number of poor in our community is growing. Need in our community is growing.
And so it is that I’ve begun
this holiday season by asking myself, at what point did Thanksgiving become a
festival of American plentitude instead of a holy day of worshipful
acknowledgement of God’s providence and provision? Don’t get me wrong, I feel
certain the original settlers of Plymouth Plantation “feasted.” But let’s add
some context to that word feast. You see, the children of Israel “feasted” as
they prepared to leave Egypt. They ate roasted lamb and unleavened bread in
haste – with their shoes on and their loins girded – ready to leave the misery
of Egyptian bondage. The Mayflower Pilgrims tasted their own share of misery as
well. After escaping persecution they survived a harsh winter living aboard the
Mayflower as it lay anchored in Cape Cod bay. More than fifty of them died
while waiting to see the promised land of America. Food and supplies ran
dangerously low while scurvy, tuberculosis and pneumonia were running rampant
in the close quarters of the 100 foot Mayflower. So, when the rag tag band of
believers finally did have occasion to “feast” in celebration of God’s
providence, I’m inclined to believe it was more than a harvest celebration. I’m
also persuaded to think the feast itself would have fallen short of modern
American expectations. To the Pilgrims and their Wampanoag friends, food was a
precious resource to be cherished and shared – not flaunted then thrown away.
Well then . . . if Thanksgiving
isn’t about flaunting American plentitude what exactly is it about? It’s about
thanking God that He is in the business of bringing more and more people out of
their own personal Egypts. He brought the pilgrims out of the persecution and
oppression that was the 16th century Church of England. He brought you and me
out of the oppressive darkness of sin and transferred us to the Kingdom of His
own dear Son. And every day He continues to bring others out of personal
bondage and slavery. The bondage of addiction. The slavery of materialism and
acquisitiveness. The Egypt of hunger. The Egypt of poverty.
So, as I sometimes tell my Bible
classes at the end of a particularly challenging lesson – do something! This
Thanksgiving holiday I pray that you will do something too. Make serving the
“least of these” a part of your family’s Thanksgiving tradition. Serve at Center
of Hope. Donate to the Packs of Love ministry. Buy a needy family a
thanksgiving meal. Share the gospel with someone. Love someone who appears
unlovable. Give a blanket or a coat to a homeless person. Anything. Just do
something.
Scripture to Claim
He has sent Me
to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set
free the oppressed... Luke 4:18b (HCSB)
Submitted by John Dennie
