Thanksgiving

“Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.”  Luke 14:15

Recently, someone told me they no longer celebrate Thanksgiving because of the ugly truths hidden behind its myths. Popular belief holds that the Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrated the first Thanksgiving like one big happy family after a successful harvest in 1621. This belief distorts the truth beyond recognition. Another Thanksgiving myth honors our brave ancestors who came to America to uphold religious freedom. However, that “freedom” was limited to white men with a stern, regimented belief in a God who ordained them to power.   

This is not a history to celebrate.  But we can unlearn the childhood lessons that included Pilgrim hats and feathered headdresses made out of construction paper. Unlearning can be disorienting, earth-shattering, and world rocking.  It calls us to re-examine who we are, and to question the wisdom of teachers we fondly remember.  But unlearning can clean our plates so God can serve heaping portions of love and hope to a starving world.  

A theocracy of domination and oppression is not the banquet Jesus envisioned.  He spread a divine feast of love.  The only folks who couldn’t find a place at Christ’s table were the ones who refused to unlearn the lessons taught by stern, regimented religious folks who loved power more than people.  

Since the dawn of an agrarian society, people have celebrated the end of harvest season.  For a few days, workers pause from their toil to give thanks for the earth’s bounty.  That’s a Thanksgiving worth celebrating.  

A hungry world awaits my friends.  Let’s unlearn together and generously share the feast of God.   

Gratefully yours,
Pastor Katheryn