Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - THANKSGIVING

 THANKSGIVING

Many cultures have for centuries celebrated fall harvests with festivals and ceremonies. Thanksgiving as such apparently developed during the time of the Protestant Reformation as a harvest festival and from there spread to other locals.

In the US, this day was apparently first associated with a 1619 event at Plymouth in present day Massachusetts. In the same year, the arrival of a group of settlers in Virginia, under the auspices of The London Company, ended with a religious celebration as dictated by the group’s charter. It required “that the day of our ship’s arrival the place assigned…in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God.”* In Plymouth, the pilgrims, in association with the native people, celebrated a good and plentiful harvest.

Some say, in Canada, the first celebration of Thanksgiving occurred during the 1578 voyage of Martin Frobisher from England in search of the Northwest Passage. But the first official Canadian Thanksgiving occurred on April 15,1872, when the nation celebrated the Prince of Wales’ recovery from a serious illness**

Thanksgiving was initially a holy day of thanksgiving to Almighty God. It was a day of giving thanks for bestowed blessings. But today it has become for many just a holiday; a day of rest, a day off from work, a day to finish up those last summer projects, and to perhaps start needed winter preparations. And of course, a day to have a dinner with family, a special dinner to enjoy but probably without really thinking about the ultimate provider of such a meal. We have so much we should be giving thanks for: we live in a part of the world which is essentially free from major climatic problems, no earthquakes, or major flooding, no excessive fire or drought. We for the most part have adequate food, fuel, shelter and comfort and although there certainly could be improvement, there are hundreds of millions of people who have much less. For the most part, however, we take it for granted as if we’re entitled to what we have.

We are told “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). In fact the word “thanks” occurs 75 times in the NKJV of the Bible and the phrase “thanks to the Lord” occurs 17 times in Scripture. In addition “thanks to God” is written a further 4 times and “give thanks” a further 39 times in the Bible

In many ways, praise is only another way to say thanks to God or to someone to whom you are grateful. Giving praise for something received implies thanks for the same and we are told to “…continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God…giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

This Thanksgiving “continually give praise” and “in everything give thanks” are expressions we should be more aware of as we consider all the blessings we have been given in this part of the world. Everything may not be ideal, but compared to many we have been endowed with what some would certainly call a bountiful harvest. 

It’s something we should be constantly thinking about.