Thanksgiving is perhaps our last national religious holiday. Its origins are heralded in the celebration of the remaining settlers of the Plymouth Colony who had survived the previous winter of 1620-21. They had good reason to do so. 0f the 102 colonists that landed at Plymouth, 45 perished that first winter from lack of shelter, scurvy, and general conditions on board the ship where most of them still lived.
The survivors paused to thank God for their mere survival. We pause today to thank God for our abundance. How you do that is up to you, but it will say much about who you.
Christians and others who believe in a benevolent, saving God pause to offer prayers of thanks, perhaps attending Mass or some other service this morning before gathering with friends and loved ones this afternoon to share the traditional meal.
You may be surprised to know that there will likely be more people in church this morning than will attend every NFL, MLB, and NBA game during each of their respective seasons for the entire year.
Like love, gratitude must be have a concrete expression in one’s actions if it is to have any impact. Appropriately, many congregations engaged in acts of charity earlier this week so that others may also join in giving thanks. I am so very proud of Dave Patterson and the folks who gathered at St. Patrick’s Parish in Muldoon on Monday to help the food bank distribute 1333 Thanksgiving meals to needy families in our area.
To fail in gratitude is perhaps the gravest failure of any modern society. To consider oneself entitled to anything is the cancer that eats away at the heart of the nation.
Each of us must decide whether we will approach life with a spirituality of gratitude or of entitlement. I will simply say that in my experience of 27 years of ministry, I have found that the grateful heart never experiences the lack of anything. This is especially true in regard to love and friendship.
The colonists at Plymouth paused to give thanks for their mere survival. We pause today to give thanks for our abundance.
May the gratitude we express today find its expression in the way we treat those around us throughout the rest of the year.
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