When Gratitude Interrupts
Sometimes the dark is very dark. Sometimes the night is very long. As the year comes to a close and we begin to prepare for Advent, we can get stuck by what we see with our human eyes. The hunger, the injustice, the wars, all very real things, and we haven’t even necessarily got to what is going on in our own households. We can become paralyzed with worry and resentment that masquerades as righteous indignation. Which is why I find Thanksgiving coming before Christmas as a sort of grace.
Thanksgiving served as an interruption historically. We celebrate because after the tireless advocacy efforts of Sarah Joseph Hale, President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a nationwide holiday in 1863, in the middle of a civil war. The holiday interrupted bloodshed as we paused to reflect and show gratitude for what we did have, war or not.
Today, Thanksgiving continues to interrupt: the darkness, the over-commercialization of the holidays, differences with our loved ones, and our real or perceived lack. Thanksgiving brings people together, regardless of religion, economic background, or political affiliation. When we are at our best, we pause our “wars” to consider the goodness we have and the source of it all.
Let’s be slow this Thanksgiving and welcome interruption. Let’s put aside the arguments we’re confident we would win and the resentments that we entertained too long. Let’s look for and bear witness to the imago dei in everyone; knowing that as we respect and honor one another, we also respect and honor our Maker. We may not be able to move political mountains or solve humanitarian crises alone, but in gentleness and kindness, we retain our own humanity and point others to the Way. That good, hard work shapes us to look and act more like Jesus, together. Because when we shine like Jesus, the darkness has no choice but to recede. And for that, I am very grateful.
A Prayer of Thanks
God, I thank you that you hear me. Thank you for your provision of food, grace, and every good thing. My heart longs to reflect you. Guide my thoughts and emotions this holiday season as I recognize your image in others. Help me represent you well at Thanksgiving and every day. Please give me your eyes to see the darkness flee in myself and in our world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Meditation Verses
Contemplate these verses this week. Which parts do you see happening in your life? Which parts are prayers for the future?
Psalm 107:8-9
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
Jeremiah 30:19
Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
and the voices of those who celebrate.
I will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
Ephesians 5:20-21, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
John 1:1-5, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.