The national holiday Thanksgiving has to do with a lot of things that may or may not include gratitude, such as food, football, family, shopping and arguing with your family about food, football, family and shopping. Sure, there’s the obligatory moment to pause for a prayer before the overeating begins, but really, we’ve got other things on our minds. There is a difference between Thanksgiving with a capital “T” and thanksgiving with a lowercase ‘t”. The lowercase kind of thanksgiving occurs every day if our hearts and minds remain focused on our blessings rather than our resentments. For the Christian, every day is a day for thanksgiving.
My text for Sunday was Colossians 3:12-17 where the
Apostle Paul gives instructions for Christian behavior. He caps off his list of
instructions with the words “and be thankful.” (all quotations from NRSV) In
case there is any doubt about what a Christian’s thanksgiving should look like,
he goes on to say, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Every
moment is a moment for thanksgiving. We may not be thankful for everything that
happens to us—quite the contrary!—but blessings remain even in our most
difficult circumstances. Remembering reasons to be thankful may be the best strategy
for enduring the painful moments in life.
It's worth noting why Paul says a Christian should be thankful. He
begins his list of instructions for Christian behavior with the words, “As
God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved. . . “ Paul reminds his audience they have
been chosen by God. Down through the centuries, the word ‘chosen” in the New
Testament has sparked all sorts of theological debates about predestination,
Christianity’s relationship to Judaism, etc., but I prefer interpretations that
deal with the social situation of the Colossian Christians. They needed to be included.
At the time Paul wrote his letter, the Roman Empire
experienced rapid urbanization. The policies of Rome resulted in people moving
from rural communities where people were known as a part of family and clan to
urban centers where they were alienated and alone. These migrants were of the
lower classes ignored by people of money and power. The early house churches
quickly grew because people were hungry to be included in a community. They
discovered that in Christ, as Paul explains, “there is no longer Greek and Jew,
circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free.” They
belonged. They were chosen.
Folks who have been in churches for a long time forget
the blessing of being “chosen” or welcomed into a community. This is why
churches die, because they forget their purpose is to welcome the alienated and
unknown into community and choose instead to become a private club. Similarly,
those of us blessed with families can become so consumed with the joys and the
stresses of holiday gatherings we take no notice of those who are alone on such
days. Not every family is healthy enough to welcome outsiders to their holiday tables,
but I always admire the ones who do.
You may have read about the grandmother who in 2016 attempted to text her grandson about coming over for Thanksgiving dinner but texted a complete stranger instead. When Wanda Dench mistakenly texted Jamal Hinton, he explained
he wasn’t her grandson but joked, “Can I still get a plate?” Dench replied, “Of
course you can! That’s what grandmas do. We feed everyone.” Hinton quickly
understood Hinton was serious and decided to join her and her family for
Thanksgiving. Six years later, Jamal and his girlfriend are still attending
Thanksgiving dinner with the Denchs. They have received national press coverage
and thousands of followers on social media who count down the days each year
until Thanksgiving. People love this story, because everyone wants to be
invited, included, and chosen. It speaks to the truth embedded in the cosmos
that we—all of us—are chosen by our Creator.
As a pastor, I am well aware during the holiday season
that not everyone is feeling festive and bright. There are people isolated from
family and many who experience grief over loved ones who have died. I need you
to know that whether or not you have a place to go this Thanksgiving, you are
chosen by God. The pain of this life may leave one doubting this chosen-ness,
but it is real nonetheless. Henri Nouwen explains this truth well in his book The Life of the Beloved:
“Every time you feel hurt, offended, or rejected, you have to
dare to say to yourself: “These feelings, strong as they may be, are not
telling me the truth about myself. The truth, even though I cannot feel it
right now, is that I am the chosen child of God, precious in God’s eyes, called
the Beloved from all eternity, and held safe in an everlasting embrace.””
May
your every day be a day of thanksgiving because God has chosen you!
Grace
and Peace,
Chase
