THANKSGIVING STEWARDSHIP

        I am writing this one day before “Thanksgiving”, the day that was declared a national holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It was a day that “celebrated” the First Thanksgiving in America, celebrated by the Pilgrims in November 1621 at with their neighbors, the indigenous peoples of the land that taught them and shared their bounty.

        There’s argument whether that was actually the first thanksgiving, but true or not, in a proclamation by President Lincoln, when he entreated all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”

        Over time, the holiday became more and more about food and family. Of course, food and family are important, but on this Thanksgiving 2020, when many of us aren’t able to experience our Thanksgiving traditions. Steve and I will be home together, which is wonderful, but there won’t be sitting around a large table with extended family.

        I think many of us will be experiencing this same thing, for some of us, because we want to make sure that our loved ones are safe, and as I read on social media, having a Zoom Thanksgiving means we can avoid an ICU Christmas; for some of us, because we have lost a loved one, either because of COVID or for other reasons; and for some of us, because our health is suffering because of COVID or for other reasons.

        Because of this, maybe we can make this a spiritual Thanksgiving, where we can experience a Thanksgiving renewal!

·     We can commend to God and thank God for those persons, the essential workers, who gave their lives to keep us safe during a pandemic that we could not have planned for;

·     We can commend to God and thank God for those persons, those serving in law enforcement and the Armed Forces, who have given their lives to protect us and grant us freedom;

·     We can commend to God and thank God for our loved ones, whether they are gathered around our table or are gathered around their own;

·     We can thank God for the abundance that is God’s blessings.

 

        A cornucopia is often seen on Thanksgiving tables and on alter tables in churches during this season. Also called a horn of plenty, it often overflows with vegetables and other symbols of a harvest and fall season.

        What if our cornucopia, our horn of plenty, is filled with God’s blessings and God’s abundance: love and grace, joy and gratitude, generosity and stewardship?

        Happy Thanksgiving! May it be a blessed one filled with blessings and love for you and yours!