A Thanksgiving Feast I Will Never Forget

I stepped into the community room of my dorm and saw a loaf of fresh baked bread and a bottle of wine on the table. I set down my own pot of potato cheese soup. In walked a girl with another hot dish. "I hope everybody likes squash, I grew it in my garden last summer." A fellow from down the hall brought in a roaster pan.. "Who wants wild turkey? I shot it last weekend." A Native American student brought in a large salmon he had caught and smoked over the summer. A moment later, fifteen students joined hands around the table and someone offered a Thanksgiving prayer. Suddenly, I felt like one of the original pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, giving thanks with all the home grown vegetable and wild game on the table.

What is the connection between the our Christian faith and the American celebration of
Thanksgiving? Of course, there is a historical link when we remember that the first Pilgrims who settled in Massachusetts had come to America to escape religious persecution. Those who survived the harsh winter and lived long enough to help bring in the harvest were ready to celebrate their good fortune with a Thanksgiving Feast.

The Pilgrims called this good fortune Providence. They believed God had been with them and provided them with an abundance of the fruit of the ground and the wild animals of the forest for food. True to Old Testament principles they invited their new Native American friends to join them for their Sabbath day of rest - feast included. The modern word for providence is blessing. So when we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, we pause to pray and return thanks to God for our freedom and our material blessings. Before we partake of the feast we continue both a Christian and an American tradition.

But there is a far deeper and richer connection. In Old Testament times the Hebrew people celebrated Thanksgiving with a special Sabbath and festival in the Spring. They called this festival Pentecost. They brought the very first fruit of the ground to the Temple as a special offering. As they presented their offerings they remembered how God had fulfilled his covenant, liberated them from slavery and brought them into the Promised Land. And they returned thanks to God in anticipation of the bountiful harvest which was yet to come.

Christians also participate in a ceremonial Thanksgiving feast every time they take Communion. In fact, the theological word for the Lord's Supper is "Eucharist" which is the Greek word for Thanksgiving. So when the bread is broken and the cup is blessed the pastor or priest reminds us of the covenant which God gave us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A covenant or promise to be present with us at all times and to provide all that we need. Let us remember not only the Pilgrims, but all our Biblical history as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving.



Dr. Greene is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a resident of Richmond, IN. He is also the author of Benjamin's Dog Joseph, Feeling Better: The Wisdom of the Doc, You Can Feel Better: How to cope with chronic pain and physical disabilities, and co-author of Walking Free: the Nellie Zimmerman Story.

For further information about his books, please visit www.densmorereid.com

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