THANKSGIVING MEANS FAMILY!

 

Thanksgiving Thursday, November 26, 2020

 

THANKSGIVING MEANS FAMILY!

 

Deut 6:6-7

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

 

           Thanksgiving is first in the heart! James, in his discourse regarding faith and works took great pains to explain that you could not separate one from the other without doing damage to the whole. (See James chapter 2). You can’t give thanks without thankful giving.

 

           Thanksgiving is perpetuated and celebrated in families!  Today, our current response to the COVID pandemic is to restrict both worship and families. We are warned not to gather with our families for a long-standing feast of thanksgiving. It is too dangerous, we are told. We are also told that large gatherings at houses of worship is also risky. We find ourselves in a strange wilderness. We sing “We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing” but we can’t and we don’t.

 

           In the Book of Job [chapter 2 and verse 9], his wife says "Baruch Elokhim, ve mos" which in most Masoretic texts is translated "Curse G-d, and die". The literal translation is "Bless G-d and die". … This fits with other texts and Job's own response which is to chastise her as "foolish". The wife’s idea was that Job was foolish to continue to bless God. Job’s response was that it was foolish not to.

 

           We’ve crammed a lot of things into this special day. Thanksgiving is compressed into a table grace. Make that table grace a bit longer than usual and give thanks for God’s blessings.

 

Dear Lord, you have given so much and we have given so little. Thank you for your blessings. AMEN