Dear Friends,
What traditions do you and your family share at Thanksgiving? For many of us, it certainly starts with turkey and gravy with dressing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (preferably not from a can), maybe a green bean casserole, pumpkin pie… and football!
Now, I’m not a turkey guy myself. Too dry (don’t argue with me)!
That’s just one of the many reasons I’m happy to be back in New Orleans where the menu might have a little more variety.
One tradition that’s been a staple on my family’s Thanksgiving Day menu for many years, though, is that we go around the table and each person says one thing for which they are thankful. Family, loved ones, good friends and good health, a great year in school, thanks for blessings received, no politics allowed!
My guess is that you have a similar list and maybe even a similar practice. Giving voice to our gratitude is a way of praising God for all the blessings of this life. It’s a very good spiritual practice, and one I encourage.
There is another equally important way to express our gratitude to God. We express our gratitude for our lives by what we are doing with our lives. It’s one thing to talk the talk, another thing to walk the walk.
In The General Thanksgiving, which we say during Morning Prayer, we pray that “with truly thankful hearts we may show forth our praise, not only with our lips but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service…”
We give thanks not only in what we say but in what we do.
If we say we love God but then are indifferent or even hostile to the struggles of God’s children, our words are meaningless.
If we thank God for the blessings we have received but then speak dismissively of the poor or do nothing to walk alongside the hungry or those who have no place to lay their heads at night or the refugee fleeing persecution, how are we any different from the self-righteous Pharisee in Jesus’ parable who said, “Thank God I am not like these other people, those sinners?”
In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus says;
“Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”
So we are called to praise God not only with our lips but in our lives. But how?
“By giving up ourselves to your service and walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days.”
Service to God and God’s people is really a thank offering to God for the gifts of life and love. And as Jesus reminded his followers, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.”
Our great high calling then is to be servants of the One who gave us life and breath.
Now, what if at our Thanksgiving tables, each one gathered there offered both a word of thanks for blessings received and a thought about one act of service—just one—that would glorify God?
Nothing complicated required. A note or a call or a meal to a sick or grieving friend.
Or contact Aaron at Trinity Loaves and Fishes and find out how you can help prepare or serve a meal to someone on the street who is really and truly hungry.
Trinity’s Restorative Justice Committee also has myriad opportunities for service in the wider New Orleans community.
This just scratches the surface. I’d bet that as you go around the table you will inspire each other with ideas and experiences that will open your eyes to lots of possibilities for service.
And know in all of this that service to God’s people is the most tangible, concrete way to give thanks to God for all the blessings of your life.
Let me wrap this up by telling you something I’m very thankful for during this season. I already said it in a meditation I offered earlier in the week, but please allow me to say it again:
I’m thankful that God has led Zonnie and me back to Trinity. Each day when I stand in the nave and look toward the chancel and the altar, I feel the powerful presence of those who have gone before us and are now rejoicing in the Communion of Saints.
On Sundays, when I’m looking out from the altar toward the nave and see so many of you who have come to this place for pardon and renewal, for solace and strength, for healing and transformation, I feel that same powerful Holy Spirit presence.
I recall how as a young man with a young family, Zonnie and I both putting in long hours in our professions and raising kids at the same time, Trinity was solid ground for us, the place where we came for solace and strength, the place where our own lives were being transformed.
So, these days, I’m glorifying God for the blessing of being part of this sacred community at this time in our lives.
I find myself walking into the Rector’s office in the morning, surrounded by talented colleagues, working side by side with faithful, committed folks, and saying, “Glory to you, Lord God of our Fathers, you are worthy of praise, glory to you.”
So, my dear friends, may God in Christ most abundantly bless you and all the ones you love in this season and always.
Lex
The General Thanksgiving, Book of Common Prayer, p. 101
Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you have made.
We bless you for your creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives,
by giving up ourselves to your service,
and by walking before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
