On Thanksgiving Day

I hope that everyone is spending time embracing peace and togetherness, hope, even in the midst of adversity, faith and gratitude, mercy and compassion - thanks and giving.

I also want to say Happy Hanukkah - I am grateful for the spiritual knowledge and understanding I have learned from our brothers and sisters in the Jewish faith.  It has only strengthened my knowledge of God and my Christian faith.

I'll admit that I am a bit incensed by the media spin about the holiday.  They focus the megaphone and headlines on shopping as stores open on Thanksgiving Day and the Black Friday sales.  Yes, the holiday shopping season is an important part of the season.  It is fun to pick out gifts for friends and steal a deal or two on an item we desire.  The problem is when we put consumerism and greed above the needs of our neighbor, allowing excess and entitlement to guide our intentions.  We all fall into the trap.  Thanksgiving becomes a time of deadlines and pushing and shoving to get ahead in the race.  I entreat us all to take a step back and focus on 'Thanks' and 'Giving.'  Think about the other before the selfish.  Do you really need to shop at The Dollar Store of all places on Thanksgiving? 

That isn't to say that going to the movies or out to eat on this holiday is selfish.  Certain businesses and their employees are geared towards working on this holiday.  I was grateful for the opportunity to serve guests on Thanksgiving when I worked at various restaurants.  Many of the families were displaced or didn't have a kitchen big enough to cook a sandwich, let alone a meal.  I enjoyed being part of their celebration.  I think we cross the line when we place merchandise above people and demand service on a day that minimum wage employees get off to spend with their family.  Most of these employees cannot afford to take a vacation.  They need a day off to have time with their family and time to reflect.  Going into Target, Wal-Mart, Sears or any other chain on Thanksgiving is selfish because it puts consumerism above individual needs and humanity.  I know this is a fine line and is up for much debate. There are exceptions, but I think it is telling when all the major news outlets discuss about the holiday is 'money' and 'consumerism.'

I wish that the media would focus more on the nature of Thanksgiving and the American values it stands for.  It isn't a religious holiday, though I think as a Christian we find the meaning of Thanksgiving - Great and humbling - it is the heart of the Christian ministry (and Jewish) to be Thankful and to Give up ourselves in service.  Thanksgiving is a holiday that though secular is based on more than consumerism and popular culture, it is about the core truce of bringing people together, of all classes and creeds, feeding the hungry, tending the sick, finding hope in the abyss, overcoming bigotry and pride to move forward in humble service and thanks.  It is breaking bread with strangers and friends. 

I am always inspired by the real-life run of the mill, yet extraordinary instances, of people giving up themselves in the holiday season for the other.  In Bozeman MT at the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, an anonymous couple distributed $100 gift cards to homeless, low-income and hard-working, but down on their luck families.  The givers refused acknowledgment, they were merely grateful that these families could have food and sustenance.  We might not all be able to hand over gift cards, but we can feed our neighbors, donating $5 worth of food per grocery trip each week to the food bank is a start.  I don't have a lot of extra money, but I am willing to have a little less to ensure someone else gets the food and sustenance they need.

I read an article a few years back about doctors and dentists having free exams and treatment on Thanksgiving.  In the medical world of cost and lack of concern for the patient, this is hope and a living testament to the call to tend the sick.

Churches and Synagogues coming together to host Thanksgiving Meals to the public is a great celebration of the harvest of the season.  Participants in these dinners come from all walks of life, parishioners to addicts off the street looking for a meal and compassion so they can rise above their trial.  Conversations are told and stories and lessons revealed.  This is the spirit of Thanksgiving that we should all focus on.

It is interesting that this American holiday is celebrated in a colorful array of traditions from Asian nuances to Southern traditions and Northern cuisine, Hawaiian cookouts and Alaskan salmon bakes...the color and tapestry of the holiday, bound in the spirit of thanks and giving, friendship and respect, adds a new dynamic to the celebration - embracing our differences and common core through love and forgiveness, breaking bread and sharing in a humble meal.

There is also of course football (for me it college basketball feast week - I'm a CBB addict); movies, board games and other countless family traditions.

I'll close out this post with a few things that I am grateful for:

1. My mom
2. Our National & State Parks and all the beauty of the earth
3. The food and harvest that sustains us
4. College Basketball
5. God's steadfast love and sure foundation

The list goes on....

Collect from BCP for Thanksgiving:
'Almighty and gracious Father, we give thee thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them.  Make us, we beseech thee, faithful stewards of thy great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen