Thanksgiving 2008

West Frankfort Ministerial Association Community Service—Northern Baptist Chuch

I hope you are finding this service of Evening Prayer interesting—I enjoyed putting it together for you all. I would guess that most all of your churches, your denominations, at some time or other came out of either the Roman Catholic church, or the Church of England, so in a sense maybe we are worshipping in a manner consistent with our shared heritage. Perhaps its part of our common story. And in a sense, that’s what I’d like to talk about this evening. Our stories.

First of all, if I were to use the word “myth” – M-Y-T-H—what comes to mind? I have a feeling that if I were to talk about “the Creation myth” for example, more than a few of you would be disturbed by that. In common usage, we’ve come to consider the word Myth to mean something that isn’t true, something made up, a fable or fairy tale. But in its proper sense, myth is the truth in the form of a story. One source said that “a myth is a true story, and it may also have happened.”[1] In a book I’m reading by Madeleine L’Engle, she talks about the ancient meaning of myth; “that which was true, that which is true, that which will be true,.”[2] A myth is what we know in our hearts to be true.

The Israelites used the idea of story, of myth, in many ways. Dozens of psalms recount the great work of God in delivering his people. Every year at the Passover they recounted how God delivered them from Pharaoh and brought them out of Egypt—and this is still an integral part of the Jewish faith and tradition. Myths and stories define a people, define a nation. And a nation needs a common story in order to be united. As Christians we are united by the story of Christmas, the story of Easter, the story of Jesus. We are united when we pray the Lord’s Prayer together. We are united here tonight.

The psalm we read together, Psalm 145, also has been used as a common prayer and was important in Jewish worship and liturgy. I discovered that the Dead Sea Scrolls contain Psalm 145, with each verse followed by the same refrain: “Blessed is God and blessed is his name forever.” Later rabbis made it the norm to recite this psalm 3 times a day—it was that important. They pointed to verse 17, where God opens his hand and satisfies the need of every creature—this shows God’s grace and providence towards his creation—and they believed that those who recite this psalm would gain entry to the world to come. It was that significant.

While we know that we gain entry to the world to come only by faith in Jesus, this psalm still speaks to us. The first few verses show the psalmist’s purpose: to bless the Lord continually, to praise him and bless him, every day, for ever and ever. God is the King, the ruler of the universe, and great beyond our comprehension. The next section shows what praising God consists of. First of all, we must appreciate his greatness which is revealed in his works, in his mighty acts, in the splendor of his majesty, in his glorious works, and in the might of his wondrous acts. Do you hear a theme? Something about the greatness of God and the works of God? The psalmist seems to recognize God’s divine greatness, and he wants others to share in that understanding. The world and all of creation, the glory of the heavens, all declare God’s sovereignty, and so does his goodness and righteousness, his providence in caring for creation. We need to appreciate God’s goodness and mercy. And in light of God’s goodness and his compassion, his loving-kindness, we should be moved to praise Him. God knows that man is frail and needy and in need of his mercy. He is patient and slow to anger. An all your works praise you, and your faithful servants bless you! Blessed is God and blessed is his name forever!

For God’s kingdom is filled with justice and mercy, and his power and his might are demonstrated in his kingdom. The existence of the Kingdom of God will reflect the power of God in the universe. But God is personal, too. He supports those who fall and lifts those who are bowed down. He provides food for his creatures and opens his hand in love and grace. He is near to those who call him with faith, and he responds to the requests and pleas of those who love and respect him. But God is still a God of justice. He preserves those who love him but will destroy the wicked.

God’s love and justice as recited in this psalm are shown to all of mankind. God is faithful, just and kind to those who call on him. For all that he is, and for all that he does, the Lord is to be praised by all flesh, all people. Blessed is God and blessed is his name forever!!

When we pray the psalms, we are sharing in the stories of 2000 years of Christianity, and another thousand years of Judaism. The psalms are part of our common heritage, our story. The psalm spoke of the might of God’s wondrous acts; and the Exodus story was probably in mind, another one of our shared stories, a true myth.

The Exodus story is a good story, a common story. When the pilgrims landed in New England, they used the story of the Exodus to understand what had happened to them, too. They considered Europe to be equivalent to Egypt, and the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was the Red Sea. The new world was their promised land. While the hardships of their first years were more difficult than we can even imagine, in their struggles they identified with the struggles of Israel, and were able to persevere. They believed that God had delivered them from the yoke of bondage to freedom in the New World, and their suffering would be worth it all—they would have a better life for themselves and for their children.

So the story of the Exodus is a universal story, defining the present, bringing strength to endure in difficult times, and giving hope.

And as Americans we have another common story, that of Thanksgiving. We are united as a people because we accept and identify with this story. While there were other, earlier Thanksgiving observances in the New World, the one we commemorate goes back to 1621: 387 years ago

In any event, the colonists arrived in winter of 1620, and in the first few months nearly half of them died! Talk about discouraging. But by the summer of 1621 things were looking up. The expected a good corn crop, though other crops weren’t doing very well. Even so, the governor of the colony arranged for a harvest festival. Harvest festivals were an ancient idea, but it seemed a good one, a good idea to thank God for his sustenance and providence. And the feast lasted 3 days. Ducks, geese and turkeys were on the menu, along with clams, fish, wild plums and leeks, cornbread and watercress. Indians who had helped them survive their first year were also invited and brought deer meat. It was a great celebration. A couple years later, as the colony prospered, Governor Bradford announced a day to be set aside to “render thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all of his blessings.” And the idea spread, but not with any real regularity. It wasn’t until Abraham Lincoln declared a national holiday that the celebration of Thanksgiving became uniform, became more truly our shared story.

On October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, by Act of Congress, an annual National Day of Thanksgiving "on the last Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." In this Thanksgiving proclamation, our 16th President says that it is…
"…announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord… But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, by the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own… It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people…"[3]

As we gather with our families tomorrow, may we remember and give thanks to God for his gracious open hands, and for all that he has done. Blessed is God and blessed is his name forever. Amen.






[1] http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/trotter_3823.htm
[2] L’Engle, Madeleine. Story as Truth: The Rock that is Higher. Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1993, p.24.
[3] http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/ednkc002.html