Did you know that in 1783 President George Washington (1732-1799) declared a “Thanksgiving Day” because the American Revolution was over? In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) proclaimed the last Thursday in November “a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father.” Each year afterward, for 75 years, the President of the U.S. formally proclaimed the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day. That all changed in 1939 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) set it one week earlier. Thanksgiving was observed on the fourth Thursday, not the last Thursday, because he wanted to help the struggling economy by lengthening the shopping season. It wasn’t until 1941 that congress declared the fourth Thursday of November a national holiday – Thanksgiving! That takes us to our traditional reading for Thanksgiving, Luke 17:11-19.
We find ourselves in the seventeenth chapter of Luke. The Master is traveling between the border of Samaria and Galilee. As he travels, he encounters various people. In that list of people are the ten lepers. You may know their story. Leprosy was a highly contagious skin disease caused by a certain bacterium. The disease still exists in our world today. In the United States approximately 100 cases are reported annually. However, today it is treatable. In the days of Jesus, it was not. In Jesus’ day victims of leprosy were forced to live in isolation, away from family and friends, in leper colonies. This is the story of the ten men in the scripture lesson. They are living with leprosy without any hope of a cure. Then, they hear news that gives them hope: Jesus is coming! They have heard of his healing power, and so they run toward Jesus. However, they can’t invade his personal space. They are mandated by law to keep their distance. The best they can do is yell at Jesus as he passes by. This is the good news: Jesus not only hears their desperate voices, but he heals them. As was required by the Jewish law, Jesus instructs them to go to a priest for inspection. The priests had the authority to grant them permission to re-enter society. On that day ten men were healed. However, this is the sad truth: only one man returned to Jesus to say, “Thank you.” The other nine never returned; the other nine just resumed their lives. They never said, “Thank you!” Never underestimate the power of gratitude. How many truly grateful people do you know?
History tells us the billionaire, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), gave a distant relative whom he had never met a one-million-dollar gift. At the same time, he gave $365 million to various public charities. The relative cursed Carnegie because he received such a small gift. How can anyone survive on a million dollars? That is like receiving approximately $35 million in our world today. Maybe that is the story of our time? God has given us so much, but we complain because we want more. I hope that is not your story.
In this blog, I want to help you cultivate a grateful heart. I want you to be like that one leper who came back to say, “thank you.” I am going to help you by asking you three questions. These questions are not original, they came from the Japanese self-reflective practice called Naikan. You will find a balance in these three questions. If you answer these questions honestly, then you will find yourself more grateful. Let me begin.
Thanksgiving is rooted in hardship. Historians tell us the first recorded Thanksgiving took place in Jamestown, Virginia. The winter of 1610 was harsh at Jamestown. Many settlers died. The group that once totaled 409 had been reduced to 60. Tradition tells us the survivors prayed for help, without knowing when or how it might come. When help arrived, in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God. There is no mention of a feast. Maybe that is why it is not the famous Thanksgiving?
The famous Thanksgiving took place eleven years later, in 1621. Do you remember the story? The Pilgrims left Southampton, England in 1620. They wanted religious freedom. There was trouble from the start. As they sailed around the southern tip of the British Isles one of the ships, the Speedway, was ruled unseaworthy. The two ships stopped and some of the Pilgrims went home. However, some of the Speedway’s passengers boarded the second ship, the Mayflower. The ship was crowded. Maybe the extra weight caused the ship to sail slower. History tells us the trip took longer than the estimated 66 days. They had navigational problems too. (They must have hired Gilligan.) They wanted to go to Virginia, but they arrived in New England. It was November and the weather was growing harsh. There was no time to build permanent shelters, so they survived that first winter in this new world in crude temporary housing. In time, disease came, and the death toll began to rise. Only 51 of the original 102 saw the spring. The dead were buried in unmarked graves so the local natives would not know how small their numbers had become. When spring came, they were forced to make a painful choice. The Mayflower was a rented ship and had to return to England. Would they stay in America or return to England? They decided to stay, and their luck began to change. Friendly Native Americans helped them plant 30 acres of wheat and build permanent shelters. By the fall of 1621, their homes were built, and their crops were harvested. They decided to observe a day of thanksgiving to thank God for his blessings. Thanksgiving is rooted in hardship.
This is question number one: what have you received? One of the perks of being in the ministry is being with people during life’s most sacred moments. Sometimes, it is a wedding, birth, or baptism. Sometimes, it is rooted in some of life’s most challenging moments. I talked regularly about others’ health and disease. I visited nursing homes and visited people who couldn’t remember their name. I heard about others’ broken relationships and disappointments. I spoke about death daily. You must be a little different to be in the ministry. You would think that would have warned me, but the opposite happened. At the end of the day, I walk into my house and think to myself, “I have no problems”. The problems I heard made my little problems disappear. I learned long ago; bad times make you appreciate the good times. That is what makes this Gospel story so perplexing. How many blessings do you take for granted? That leads us to the second question.
Henrietta “Hetty” Green (1834-1916) was a stockbroking legend. Nicknamed “the Witch of Wall Street”, she wore a long flowing black dress. It was her only piece of clothing. When she died in 1916, her net worth was $200,000,000. Today, that comes out to be about $5.8 billion. She was so wealthy she bailed out New York City three times. However, despite all her money, she hated buying anything. She left her apartment and lived in her office. People hated going to her office because she turned off the heat to save money. For a long period of time, she only ate cold oatmeal because heating it cost too much.
W. Clement Stone (1902-2002) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He once said, “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” That is exactly what he did – he gave away over $275 million in his lifetime. He gave to civic groups, mental health groups, Christian organizations, the Boys Club of America, and the National Music Camp. He once said, “All I want to do is change the world.” Can I ask you a question? Are you more like “Hetty” Green, cheapskate? Or are you more like W. Clement Stone, philanthropist?
This is question number two: what have you given? You don’t have to give a million dollars away, but you must give something away. It is all part of being in a community. It is all part of being a Christian. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, Let all your things be done in charity.” What are you going to give away to help someone else this Thanksgiving? That leads us to the next question.
On the front page of my local newspaper today is the ugly story of two men who tortured a woman in their basement. They kidnapped her at gunpoint off the street, then they took her to the basement. Once there, they duct-taped her to a pole, beat her and burned her. Once they got bored with the torture, they blind folded her and released her into the local woods. Once safe, the woman reported the two to the police. They will spend years in prison for their actions. I would like to say the ugliness of that story is unique in my area, but I cannot. I would like to say the ugliness of this story is unique to our world, but I cannot. Our world is filled with ugliness.
This is question number three: what harm have you caused? I am not talking about that level of harm. I am talking about unreported harm. The kind of harm the world dismisses. Let’s be honest. Everyone causes harm. Roman 3:23-24 tells us we are all sinners. So, let me ask you the question again. What harm have you caused? In each one of us are elements of the seven deadly sins. Do you remember them? 1. Pride, 2. Greed, 3. Lust, 4. Envy, 5. Gluttony, 6. Wrath, 7. Sloth. Which one of those seven do you relate to the most? What harm have you caused?
Martin Rinkart (1586-1649) was a Lutheran minister who lived in Eilenberg, Saxony. The hardest years of his ministry came during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648). The walled city of Eilenberg saw a steady stream of refugees pour through its gates. The Swedish army surrounded the city, and famine and plague were rampant. Eight hundred homes were destroyed, and the people began to perish. There was a tremendous strain on the pastors who had to conduct dozens of funerals daily. Finally, the pastors, too, succumbed, and Rinkart was the only one left—doing 50 funerals a day. Do the math. If you gave him a day off and he did not bury on Sundays, that is still 13,000 that year. When the Swedes demanded a huge ransom, Rinkart left the safety of the walls to plead for mercy. The Swedish commander, impressed by his faith and courage, lowered his demands. Soon afterward, the Thirty Years’ War ended, and Rinkart wrote this hymn, Now Thank We All Our God.
Do you remember the words? This is the first verse:
Now thank we all our God,
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things hath done,
in whom this world rejoices;
who from our mothers’ arms
has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.
Now, if Martin Rinkart could write those words after surviving such hardship, then you can surely come up with something to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving. Orthodox rabbis teach, if you can’t come up with one thing to be thankful for each day, then you are an ingrate. I think they are correct. God has been so good to us. When was the last time you thanked God for what he has done for you?
Russ Adams 