Some Thoughts on the "Forgotten Holiday," Thanksgiving 2023

 

“Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 8:11a)

I’ve often thought that Thanksgiving is America’s forgotten holiday. It’s wedged between the gaudiness of Halloween and the ever-increasing lollapalooza that is Christmas. I think we often consider it the dress rehearsal for Christmas while forgetting its spiritual significance. In the face of all the insanity this world has been throwing at us lately, we really need to remember that it’s not all a putrid miasma of violence, corruption, and high prices. God is still good, and spiritual wholeness requires that we slow our roll every once in a while and recognize this.

Thanksgiving, in spite of its implied significance as a day to express gratitude to God, isn’t actually a “church” holiday. It’s a one of our national holidays which began merely as tradition but became official when Abe Lincoln declared it so in 1863—which was a pretty crappy time in the US. But it’s in the really crappy times that we most need to recall the blessings of God.

Strangely, one of the best anecdotes I’ve learned about the spiritual power of gratitude came from the arch capitalist, Suze Orman. Many years ago, a faithful congregational council member suggested I take some church stewardship tips from Suze Orman’s The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom[i] I don’t have a copy of the book, so I might not have all of the details correct (please forgive me, Ms. Orman), but I think I have the basic facts down. It went like this:

The future personal finance guru Suze Orman was working for a brokerage firm. I don’t know if she was wooing investors or selling commodities or whatever, but—as happens—she managed to hit a slump in her career. She wasn’t selling, and the harder she tried, the more desperate to make commissions she became, the worse things got for her. She became depressed—so depressed, in fact, that she just stopped going into the office. I picture her at home, sitting on the sofa in her pajamas, eating Haagen-Dazs out of the carton, and watching Sesame Street.

Sesame Street, of course, is on PBS, and PBS is non-commercial and survives on corporate and private donations. A PBS pledge appeal caught Suze’s eye. She might’ve thought, “I’m going broke! Don’t ask me for money when I’m facing fiscal disaster!” Instead, she considered that, although she might’ve been going broke, she wasn’t actually broke at that moment. She recognized that she still had resources and she still had possibilities. What she needed was gratitude and faith. She grabbed the phone and made a pledge to PBS. She would later say that when one’s fist is closed, nothing more can come into it. One only receives with an open palm. She went back to work the next day and began selling again.

None of us knows what lies ahead of us. American Christianity is changing rapidly, and church just isn’t going to be like it was in the good ol’ days. But right now in this moment God is still good. We still worship in a free country. We still have the comfort of Christian fellowship. We still have the enormous capacity to see Christ in our midst, to be empathetic, and be witnesses through our generosity, advocacy, and hope. If every church in America were to close its doors tomorrow, the gospel would not lose any of its power. God is good—all the time, and we are still baptized, sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever.

In Jesus we see great love, inclusion, and forgiveness, but we also see enormous gratitude. There’s a story in John’s gospel in which Jesus experiences the death of a friend. He comes to the funeral and begins to weep just as all those around him are weeping; nevertheless, when he prays to God, the first thing he says is, “Father, I thank you.”[ii] When Jesus has 5,000 mouths to feed and—so it appears—not enough food, what does he do? He says grace over what he has. We even say in the mass, “In the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread and gave thanks.” You must admit, the night in which Jesus was betrayed was not a good night for him. All the same, the Lord saw in that small frightened gathering of followers a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven—and he was grateful for it.

In the gospel lesson appointed for Thanksgiving (Luke 17:11-19) Jesus cures ten lepers of a pretty icky disease that’s made other folks want to keep their distance from them. Nine run to show themselves to the priests to be re-admitted to society, but one, a Samaritan, returns to offer his humble, heart-breaking gratitude to the one who restored him to health. All ten lepers were cured (temporarily at least. The condition of being human is ultimately incurable), but only the Samaritan was healed—made whole—because there can be no joy without gratitude.

Jesus tells the Samaritan, “Your faith has made you well.” That’s what it’s about, isn’t it? Faith and gratitude. They go together. If you lack faith, find your gratitude and your faith will be restored. If you lack gratitude, lean on your faith and the goodness of God will drop back into your heart.

I am always grateful that you chose to read my blog each week. May you have a blessed and meaningful Day of Thanksgiving.

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[i] Orman, Suze The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom (Crown Publishers, 2006)

[ii] John 11:41a