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wings
Living Thankfully
In a few days we will celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States and in Canada. This annual holiday's beginnings are explained in "Encarta Encyclopedia" this way:
According to tradition, the first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 by the English Pilgrims who had founded the Plymouth Colony, now in the state of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims marked the occasion by feasting with their Native American guests - members of the Wampanoag tribe - who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill. Although this event was an important part of American colonial history, there is no evidence that any of the participants thought of the feast as a thanksgiving celebration. Two years later, during a period of drought, a day of fasting and prayer was changed to one of thanksgiving because rains came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailed among New Englanders to annually celebrate Thanksgiving after the harvest.
God blessed these who almost died on the way to this new world with much-needed rain. They responded by giving thanks. Now, as I write this column in a hotel lobby in Maputo, Mozambique, I am reminded of the countless times God has been good to me.
I remember a childhood illness that caused me to have hallucinations and God's miraculous deliverance. I remember another time, when we were without food and money, and the Holy Spirit sent my mother walking. Along a well-worn path, she found a twenty-dollar bill.
I was always blessed to understand and perform well in school. Today, I realize it was by God's grace. I was the first in my family to receive a college degree. I was blessed with a mother that led me to Christ and with relatives and friends who pushed me to be my best. I remember teachers who gave their time and attention to tutor and share their knowledge with me. And of course, God later gave me a loving and devoted wife and children who bless me everyday.
So how should I respond to these and so many other blessings? I hear the Psalmist reply, "I will bless the Lord at all times. God's praises shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make his boast in the Lord."
Yes, I can tell God how thankful I am, but actions speak louder than words. Maybe a verse from one of our hymns is appropriate here: "What shall I render to God for all his blessings?" I believe the Lord is calling me to live thankfully in word and deed. I wonder what would happen if all of us reflected God's goodness? Or no, what if we reflected not just goodness, but extravagant outpouring of generosity and love?
Maybe we would "reflect the saving grace and redeeming justice of our Lord Jesus Christ." Maybe we would tell our stories of God's redemption of our lives. Maybe we would see those children in our communities who need to see us loving, teaching, and giving like Jesus.
Maybe we would visit the sick, feed the hungry, and care for abused women and children. Maybe we would truly open the doors of our churches other than on Sunday mornings.
Maybe we would be willing to relocate our churches where the people are. Maybe we would begin to demonstrate to the world that we will live together, worship together, and care for each other regardless of social, economic, racial, or even language differences.
And if we did this, maybe God's vision would be seen by those outside of Christ and, maybe, just maybe, we might become bold, passionate, and joyful.
I end with the words of a Negro Spiritual:
Come and go with me, come and go with me, come and go with me where I'm bound ...
There is joy in that land where I'm bound ... There is peace in that land where I'm bound ... There is love in that land where I'm bound ...
Don't you want to go to that land where I'm bound?
God bless you, Holston, as we work together to live thankfully.
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Bishop James Swanson
Resident Bishop
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Giving thanks on the Lord's acre
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