Giving Thanks

Colossians 3:12-17; Matthew 14:13-21

 A few years ago, an American and a British journalist were discussing Thanksgiving on a British radio program. The American asked if Thanksgiving was celebrated in the United Kingdom.

“Yes,” the British journalist replied, “but we celebrate it on the 6th of September.”

“Why then?” asked the American.

“That’s when you chaps left,” the Brit answered good-naturedly.

I have heard many people say that Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday.  The stores have yet to commercialize it.  It brings out the unselfish side of people because it is all about giving thanks, not asking for or expecting something.

In a sermon by King Duncan I learned a little piece of Thanksgiving history:

Thanksgiving in the U.S. is usually traced to 1621 when a Pilgrim leader, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of feasting to commemorate the first harvest after a long year of suffering. What you may not know is that, as the colonies grew more prosperous, the people forgot all about Thanksgiving and the meaning it held for their ancestors. For generations Thanksgiving was celebrated sporadically, if at all, with no set date.

Then in 1822 Sarah Hale, a young widow from New Hampshire, decided to revive this important celebration. Sarah, a mother of five children and an editor of a women’s magazine, began a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents to get Thanksgiving officially recognized as a national holiday. Three Presidents turned her down. Her obsession became a reality, however.  President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as an annual celebration of Thanksgiving. (1)  Did you know what year he did this?  1863!  Right in the midst of the Civil War.

Think about that one for a minute….  In the midst of a war between people in America , the President proclaims, we need to be thankful.  Actually I find that quite strategic.  People who had worked together to create this new world and had faced some really difficult times together are now fighting and killing one another.  I wonder if Lincoln thought that maybe seeing that they had something in common to be grateful about could bring them together.  Even though the war continued through 1865, I wonder, did the people in either the North or South take even a moment on the last Thursday of November in 1864 to give thanks for the land that they called home?

So here we are in 2015, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, busy as always, but hopefully, we are taking time to focus on the real reason for this holiday…giving thanks.

I was wondering why do we give thanks?  How did this custom of, saying, “thank you”, come about?  In a web search I found this information on the webpage, “Brain Pickings”:

In English, “thank you” derives from “think.”  It originally meant, “I will remember [think about] what you did for me” …In Portuguese obrigado is a form of the English “much obliged” — it actually means “I am in your debt.” The French merci is even more graphic: it derives from “mercy,” as in begging for mercy; by saying it, you are symbolically placing yourself in your benefactor’s power — since a debtor is, after all, a criminal.

This article gave me the origin of the words (and I have to admit it gave me a lot to think about) but I was still wondering when it became a custom to give thanks.

How far back does the custom go?

If I look to the Bible for an answer to that question I can see that unlike many things, giving thanks did NOT start with Adam and Eve.  They definitely were not grateful.  In a word search of the Bible the first time the word “thanks” is found is in Leviticus 7 when it is speaking of a thankful offering.

Giving thanks is not something that comes automatically.  Think about an infant.  They don’t say thank you for feeding them, changing them, or rocking them to sleep.  There is not a lot of gratitude there – accept of course the big smile that they might give to show they feel better.  Is giving thanks something that is learned then?  I know that when my kids were little one of the first things I taught them was to say “please” and “thank you”.  Even for Samuel, who is deaf, those were two of the first signs he learned.

Giving Thanks is a sign that we not only appreciate what we were given but we also recognize the person who gave it to us and the thought behind it.

One year for Christmas, Phyllis Wohlfarth’s husband gave her a gold lapel pin. Phyllis said she only took a second to thank her husband for his gift. A week later, as she put on the lapel pin to wear to an event, she reflected on her husband’s thoughtfulness. With more sincerity, she thanked him again. Her husband explained that the pin had belonged to his grandmother, so it was very special to him. Phyllis noted that if she hadn’t offered the second “thank you,” she might have never learned the significance of the pin. It was only when she took the time to reflect on the gift and offer a more sincere “thank you” that she really learned to appreciate her husband’s gesture.

This is a reminder that we should give thanks even for the smallest of blessings.  This is made clear in our Gospel reading this morning.   Jesus gave thanks for the simple offering of 5 loaves of bread and two fish.  If he had been feeding just himself and the 12 disciples – it would have been something to be thankful about but to feed 5000 people?!

The scriptures tell us…Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

5,000 people – fed by 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread! For years when I read this story I was so focused on the numbers I skipped right over this important phrase, “HE GAVE THANKS”.   I am not sure when it was but years ago as I was reading this story that phrase jumped out because it reminded me of Jesus’ words at the communion table.  He broke the bread and gave thanks..

Those things for which we give thanks can seem as insignificant as the fish and loaves or as amazing as Jesus giving his life.  Giving thanks is about acknowledging the blessing we have been given.

Have you ever been in a place or time of your life that you were in real need?  Maybe it was financial, maybe it was physical, or maybe it was emotional but in any case you were in need.  In the moment that you are given something that fulfills that need, even in the smallest way, brings a grateful heart.  Jesus didn’t look at the fish and loaves and scoff saying “what’s this going to do?”  Jesus looked to heaven and gave thanks and in that moment something happened.  An insignificant gift became more of a blessing than anyone imagined possible.

A doctor recently wrote a letter of thanks to a teacher who had challenged him and encouraged him 30 years earlier. The following week he received a reply written in a shaky hand which said:

“My dear Willie: I want you to know what your note meant to me. I am an old lady in my 80s, living alone in a small room, cooking my own meals, lonely, and seeming like the last leaf on the tree. You will be interested to know, Willie, that I taught school for 50 years and in all that time, yours is the first letter of appreciation I have ever received. It came on a cold, blue morning and cheered my lonely old heart as nothing has cheered me in many years.”

Did Doctor Willie have any idea that his simple letter of thanks would make such a profound difference to a teacher?  Oh, and did that teacher 30 years earlier think that her simple challenge to a young boy in her class would make a profound difference to his future?

What if on Thanksgiving we take a moment to consider every blessing we have been given?  I would dare to say that as you start to name the blessings, each one will lead your mind to another and then to another.  Let me try this once, I give thanks for this church, which reminds me of the many friends I have made here, which reminds me that the Bishop and cabinet saw fit to send me here so I am grateful for them, and I would have never met them if it were not for the fact that God called me into ministry and so I thank God for that and so on and so on…

Recognizing our blessings leads us to giving thanks which opens our eyes and minds to the multiple blessings we are given.

I believe we are all pretty good at giving thanks for the big things – our family, friends, jobs and churches but let us not forget the small blessings that are a part of the big or may even lead to the bigger ones.

Let us give thanks for each seed that grows.

The seed of grains and fruits that grow and mature to bring us food.

The seed of life that begins in the womb.

The seed of friendship that leads to love.

The seed of encouragement that leads to success.

May this week remind us to give thanks not only on the last Thursday in November but every day of our lives.