The best part to me about Thanksgiving is that it is a holiday where you can eat and drink well and generally just hang with those you love, be it your blood relatives or the chosen family you've made amongst your friends. There is generally an "up tempo" kept by the commotion of cooks in the kitchen creating those culinary delights of turkey, sweet potatoes, greens and other veggies, and of course pie (and that would be apple pie with slices of cheddar cheese, please)!
All to be shared... in the same way that we share at the communion rail. That, too, is a time of thanksgiving. Like the food that we eat at the holiday table, the bread and the wine served at the Eucharist are products of the earth: wheat and grapes. In our belief system, this bounty from the earth becomes the symbolic representation of Christ. We draw together with family and strangers to remember the sacrifice Christ made for us and to give thanks for that love by coming to the table and receiving God into ourselves.
In the gospel lesson, we hear Jesus reminding his followers that the manna their ancestors ate in the wilderness was a gift of God, a banquet provided so that they may not perish, but live on in thankfulness to God.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.--John 6: 33-35
A biblical literalist might read this passage to say that only through Jesus will one never be hungry or thirsty. That is true for Christians... and it is true only if you believe that Jesus is more than the man, but is also really God. The "I am" statement is one that recalls the conversation Moses has with the burning bush in which we learn that God will be called "I am". And "I am" is the first-person singular of the verb "to be". "To be" is the state of right now, the present, that has both a past and a future but has it's primary focus on the moment. And it is in this "To be" state in which we will never be hungry and never be thirsty. This is the state of God as embodied in Christ.
On this Thanksgiving day, take a moment to pause and to be. Give thanks for the opportunity to have food and drink, friends and family. And give praise for the One who continuously provides us with a banquet out of love and compassion for the world.
1 comment:
And to be able to be in contact with those family and friends who are far away.
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