Here is a short devotion to do on your own time either in place of worship on Sunday morning or sometime in the week leading up to Thanksgiving.
I invite you to listen or perhaps even sing along to the hymns that I have put at the beginning and end.
Scripture
Colossians 1:11-20 NRSV
11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, so that you may have all endurance and patience, joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, 16 for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
The thanksgiving holiday has some mixed history, and to many it is an opportunity to get together with family or friends for a big meal. If it were just an excuse to get together though, it probably wouldn't have stuck around so well. The big piece that keeps thanksgiving special and an important holiday for many is its focus on gratitude. It may require some extra cooking and cleaning, but this holiday doesn't get overshadowed by gifts or fairs or much community activities. It is all about gathering together with people you care about and recognizing the things we all have to be grateful for. As the group gathering in HUM hall is showing all of us, it isn't about what you can bring to the table, but that you can be there for each other. It isn't about the food, but the tradition of coming around the table with a special meal together. Look, we all have had enough dry turkey throughout our lifetime to know it isn't just about the thanksgiving food.
The winter holiday season starts with Thanksgiving, and though it is not part of Advent or Christmas, it does bring us a good prelude into that time of year. After the hustle and bustle of the summer and the fall, we come together and are grounded in what matters the most: those we love, inviting others to join in, and sharing what we have with each other. God created us to be in community and family units, to care for and love each other, so that all can be supported. When we all come together, everyone can have enough, and everyone can have something to be grateful for. Our scripture for this week from Colossians reminds us that an attitude of gratitude is not just for the joy of it or to be happy in the face of suffering, but giving thanks is a practice that helps us find endurance and patience through all things. When we can hold onto the things that we do have, to the ways that God continues to work through us, to the ways God is at work through those around us, we can keep going through anything.
In a week like this, with too much snow, and disrupted schedules, and perhaps disrupted thanksgiving plans, take a moment or two to take a step back, breath, and remind yourself of all there is to be thankful for. Perhaps it is simply that you had warm blankets to snuggle under during the snow storm, or perhaps it is gratitude to get to spend the holiday with someone special. We have many weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas and many many weeks left of snow and winter, so let us first ground ourselves in gratitude, in giving thanks so that we may persevere and find joy.
Here are some tangible ways you can prepare yourself for an attitude of gratitude on Thanksgiving before or in-between the hectic cooking or cleaning that comes along with the holiday.
- Create a place tag for every person who will partake of the Thanksgiving meal in your home. On one side of the tag, write the name of the person. On the other side, write something you are grateful for about them. Or place a word or phrase from a verse of Scripture that reminds you of them.
- Identify family members and close friends of your family who will not be able to be with you at Thanksgiving. Give them a call to connect before the holiday. Or you could write a brief card for each of these people and then on Thanksgiving Day, invite all who are gathered in your home to sign and/or write a note on the cards to those who are missing. Don’t forget to mail the cards on the Friday following Thanksgiving!