“Come, ye thankful people come, raise the song of harvest home; all is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin. God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied; come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.” - United Methodist Hymnal, no. 694
Thanksgiving. For me, the word conjures times spent with family around a table laden with food. As children we were asked to name that for which we were thankful. I have no memory of what that may have been. I did know, however, in at a very young age, the day marked the beginning of the holiday season. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day was a seeming whirlwind of activity as the days rushed by.
I remember Thanksgiving, too, as a time when we collected food for families who would not have the resources for the bounty from which our family would partake. At an early age we were taught the value of sharing what we had. Oh, maybe my grandmother, Meemaw, would mention the “starving children in China” (the Lottie Moon Offering was very important to we Baptists), or the need not to be wasteful. We learned that providing for the needs of others, whether food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education, etc. was what Christians did.
Christians throughout the history of the church always have been called to serve those among us who are the poor and those who live on the margins of life. Too often we decry certain groups as slackers, etc. It becomes our “excuse” for not serving. It’s been stated many, many times that if one gives money to a “panhandler” he/she will just buy alcohol/drugs with it. Maybe so, but it’s not our decision to make. That is between the person and God. Ours is the share the resources God has entrusted to us.
This Thanksgiving, it behooves us to remember those who Luke might call the least, the last, and the lost among us. As James said, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:14-17).
How will you celebrate your Thanksgiving? I pray you have a joyous time with family and friends. I pray, too, that all of us, will remember the less fortunate among us, and will take steps, if we’re not already, to begin to serve the un- and underserved. That’s Jesus’ command to us. Happy Thanksgiving, and see you on the journey!
Grace and peace,
Mike
November 22, 2015