thanksgiving | while today

The Habit of Thanksgiving

May 16, 2014

N.T. Wright in his mammoth work on Paul notes the practice of thanksgiving in Christian living. He writes:

Thanksgiving isn’t just a way of being a bit less grumpy and a bit more cheerful. It is a habit of the heart which indicates the nature and particular shape of the worldview. It is closely associated with joy, which for Paul is one of the primary signs of the spirit’s
work.¹

What kind of a worldview elicits this thanksgiving? It is the view that God is the creator of the universe. Because there is a creator, there is someone to thank.

Wright cites a wonderful quote from the rabbis on giving thanks to God.

On comets, and on earthquakes, and on lightning and on thunder, and on storms say, “Blessed [be He] whose strength and might fill the world.” On mountains, and on hills, and on seas, and on rivers, and on deserts say, “Blessed [is He] who makes the works of the beginning.” R’ Yehuda says, “One who sees the great sea says, ‘Blessed [is He] who made the great sea,’ only if he sees it occasionally.” On rain and on good news say, “Blessed is He who is good and does good.” And on bad news say, “Blessed [are You] the true judge.”²

When we turn to the Bible, some form of the word thank, thanks, or thanksgiving occurs 170 times. Thanksgiving peaks in the Psalms for the Old Testament, and it peaks in the New Testament in the letters of Paul (the high point in Paul is in 1 Corinthians). Looking at these many occasions of thanks instructs us on how to be thankful.

The wisdom of learning to be thankful is important. The nineteenth century hymn lyrics by Johnson Oatman, Jr. pictures learning to be thankful even in times of discouragement. Because God is our creator there is always something that the Lord has done for which we can be grateful.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

“A bit less grumpy and a bit more cheerful” is good way to be when it is deeply rooted in the view that God is my creator. It is not just a doctrine to add to the check list, but a practice to live. It is a habit of the heart, the habit of thanksgiving.

____________________

¹Paul and the Faithfulness of God, p. 412.
²Mishnah Berakhot 9:2

Leave a Comment » | Creator, thanksgiving | Permalink
Posted by Russell Holden

It’s Not Black Thursday

November 22, 2013

My daughter is a speech language pathologist in a school with early elementary students. Last year in the days before Thanksgiving, she told of a fellow speech pathologist who asked her students, “What holiday is this week?” The out of the mouths of babes answer came: ”Black Friday!”

Black Friday has entered our vocabulary. It is the day after Thanksgiving with all the great sales. The typical explanation for the term goes like this. Retailers may be operating in the red for much of the year. The red refers to red ink in an accounting ledger indicating that the store is operating at a loss. This shopping day puts them in the black (operating at a profit), hence Black Friday.

But a post for the American Dialect Society traces the phrase to Philadelphia in the 1960s. The police would refer to the shopping day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday due to the increased headaches for them from traffic congestion and pedestrian jay-walkers. They didn’t mean something positive by it. When a newspaper reporter picked up on the phrase from the police, retailers were not happy. They wanted to call the day “Big Friday.”

The phrase, however, caught on and spread to other cities in the 1970s. By the 1980s, the retail explanation of operating in the black became firmly attached to the phrase. At some point, stores began to open as early at 6:00 a.m. In the late 2000s, the opening times began to be earlier — 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. In 2011, a few stores opened at midnight, and last year, some stores opened on the evening of Thanksgiving Day.

While reporting on the stores opened on Thanksgiving Day last year, I heard a reporter call the day “Black Thursday.” I suppose the phrase was inevitable, and I don’t blame reporters for tying to be clever. But I wanted to talk back to the TV, “Excuse me, the day already has a name — it’s Thanksgiving Day.”

I’m not opposed to retailers operating in the black. I’m not opposed to shopping. I’ve had fun looking at sale fliers and searching for bargains too. Yet, I know that things change over time, ever so slowly so that we don’t even notice it, unless we stop and reflect. The trends in our society suggest that we must guard our hearts against materialism and greed.

Recent definitions of Thanksgiving Day have often seemed watered-down. I’ve read descriptions that say “a national holiday celebrating the harvest and other blessings.” Historically, we have said a day of Thanksgiving to God, our creator. If blessings don’t turn our hearts to God in thanksgiving, then the lack of gratitude will turn our hearts away from God. It’s Thanksgiving Day. It’s not Black Thursday.

Leave a Comment » | Black Friday, Black Thursday, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day | Permalink
Posted by Russell Holden

What Makes Thanksgiving Thanksgiving?

November 16, 2012

Last year for Thanksgiving Day I was in New Zealand. I’ve had a number of New Zealand Thanksgivings through the years. I remember searching the grocery store for canned cranberry sauce last year ‑ my contribution to the Thanksgiving feast. I finally had to break down and ask where it was, but I was thankful that they had some.

The reason is that Thanksgiving in New Zealand is a different experience. Obviously, the fourth Thursday of November in New Zealand is a normal work day. The Americans gather on a Saturday to have our Thanksgiving. Not everything we may be accustomed to is easily found. For example, turkey is too expensive, so it is usually chicken.

One year David and Mary Nelson searched the stores for Karo syrup for pecan pies to no avail. Mary decided to use Blackstrap molasses as a substitute. I won’t say that the pie was bad, but through the years that pie has been better as an amusing anecdote than it was to eat. That was followed by my tip to New Zealand when I carried Karo syrup in my checked luggage. It was interesting explaining to New Zealand customs what Karo syrup is. I think my suitcase also had some French fried onions for the green bean casserole too.

David always has a video of a Dallas Cowboys football game sent from the states by his brother-in-law. Watching it may include comments from New Zealanders like, “American football sure is slow — not like rugby.”

What makes Thanksgiving Thanksgiving? A few ingredients seem to be essential. First, we gather with family and friends even when we “adopt” family on foreign soil. Our table has often included those who are not our biological family, but are family none the less.

Second, we make wonderful memories. I suspect our traditional foods are one of those ways. Listen to people planning a Thanksgiving meal as they try to decide what are the non-negotiable items — the things you must prepare. It usually has to do with our memories of the past. It has to do with our traditions that link us with family. You may have other ways of making memories for that day — festive table cloths and candles on the table to football games in the afternoon.

Third, and most important of all, we thank God for our blessings. I have no patience for definitions of Thanksgiving Day that only say it is a day for celebrating the harvest. For me, it is a day “to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God” as in the words of George Washington from 1789.

But for you, what makes Thanksgiving Thanksgiving?

Leave a Comment » | Christian living, thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day | Permalink
Posted by Russell Holden

Thanksgiving Day

November 20, 2010

We live in a land of abundance. Here are a few facts from the U.S. Census Bureau as you begin to think about your Thanksgiving Day menu.

The U.S. produced 242 million turkeys in 2010. That’s 2% less than 2009. In 2009 the turkeys produced weighed 7.1 billion pounds altogether and were valued at $3.6 billion.

The U.S. is expected to raise 735 million pounds of cranberries this year.

The U.S. produced 1.9 billion pounds of sweet potatoes in 2009.

The U.S. produced 931 million pounds of pumpkin in 2009 at a value of $103 million.

The U.S. is expected to produce 2.2 billion bushels of wheat this year.

The US contracted 736,680 tons of green beans produced this year.

Yet, abundance has a risk. Gary H. Hall writes, “The road from dependency [on God] to self-centered sufficiency is paved with material wealth.”[1] When abundance is present, we may fail to see beyond the gifts to the Divine Giver.

Moses warns against just such a danger in Deuteronomy 8. He reminds the people, “…man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3b, ESV). Moses looks forward to the abundance of the promised land, but he warns the people, “…lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God…” (Deuteronomy 8:12-14a, ESV).

I noticed some recent definitions and comments on Thanksgiving Day: “…annual national holiday in the United States and Canada celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year…The holiday associated with Pilgrims and Native Americans has come to symbolize intercultural peace, America’s opportunity for newcomers, and the sanctity of home and family.”[2] It seems very easy to leave thanking God out of the picture.

May our abundance turn our hearts to God in thanksgiving!

[1] Gary H. Hall, The College Press NIV Commentary: Deuteronomy, p. 171.

[2] “Thanksgiving Day,” Encyclopædia Britannica 2005.

Leave a Comment » | thanksgiving | Permalink
Posted by Russell Holden

On the Shoulders of Others

March 9, 2009

It is not a biblical proverb, but I still like it.

Do not make fun of one who is ill-bred, or your ancestors may be insulted. (Sir 8:4, NRSV)

“Ill-bred” renders a Greek word that simply means uneducated. (By the way, I’ve know some people who lacked formal education who were wise and accomplished.)

The proverb reminds me that we stand on the shoulders of others. Do you have an education? Wonderful! But you didn’t get there alone. You likely had parents who encouraged you and teachers who trained you. There may be others in your family tree, who didn’t have your opportunities, but helped provide yours.

My father grew up on his uncle’s tenant farm. His Dad passed away when he was only a toddler, and there was no Social Security at the time. My Grandmother Holden and he moved in with his uncle and aunt. They were poor.

But the intellectual life of this tenant farm family was rich. My Great Aunt and Grandmother were avid readers all their lives. My father was also a lifelong reader. It may have been only a tenant farm, but a world of ideas was available in books.

How did they afford their books? They didn’t.* They used the public library. It was one of the many public libraries built in the U.S. by donations from Andrew Carnegie. It was a grand structure built in 1905 for $12,500. It was the same library I went to as a child. My Dad graduated from the University of Illinois in 1939, the first college graduate of his family.

Are there people who have helped you get where you are today? We stand on the shoulders of others.

*The exceptions were a well worn copy of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and the Bible.

Leave a Comment » | thanksgiving | Permalink
Posted by Russell Holden

Recognizing Blessings

February 10, 2009

Counting our blessings is important so that we have an attitude of thankfulness. But it is easy to overlook blessings because we take certain things for granted.

My wife has some Guardian Service Cookware that belonged to her grandmother and mother. Guardian Service Cookware was manufactured from the mid 1930s to 1956. For Christmas, our daughter gave her a Guardian Service cookbook that was purchased used on the Internet.

The beginning of the cookbook is striking because it tells how to set the burners for the correct heat. It gives instructions for gas, electric, wood, coal, kerosene, and gasoline. Yikes! What’s the MPG (meals per gallon) for a gasoline stove? And would I really want to be the one to light it? If you are interested in how to set medium heat on a wood stove, use one section from the fire box or a fairly hot fire.

Do you suddenly see a few more blessings in your life? My coffee is getting cold, I think I need to visit the microwave and ponder this.

1 Comment | blessings, thanksgiving | Permalink
Posted by Russell Holden

while today