Thanksgiving Day: By Prayer and Supplication with Thanksgiving

Today's Scripture Readings

Deuteronomy 26:1-11 (NRSV)

When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us." When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

Psalm 100 (BCP., p. 729)


Philippians 4:4-9 (NRSV)

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

John 6:25-35 (NRSV)

When the crowd found Jesus on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Blog Reflection 

Agricultural festivals are of great antiquity, and common to many religions.  Among the Jews, the three pilgrimage feasts, Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, each had agricultural significance.  Medieval Christianity also developed a number of such observances none of which, however,, were incorporated into the Prayer Book.

Our own Thanksgiving Day finds its roots in observances begun by colonists in Massachusetts and Virginia, a tradition later taken up and extended to the whole of the New American nation by action of the Continental Congress.   (Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, p.700).

These words in Holy Women, Holy Men strike a consonant and a disonant chord for me.   It is a wonderful thing to give thanks for all that God gives us by gathering with family, friends and sharing in the abundance together.   On the other side of the coin, is the reality of how much wanton destruction the pilgrims and white Christians brought to the Native communities.  The history of what colonization has meant to those who were oppressed and robbed cannot be justified.  Their cries for justice are valid.

St. Paul tells us "Do not worry about anything, but with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  It is much easier for us who have been given so much to pray with thanksgiving, and make our requests to God, than those who are still pleading for deliverance from violence and prejudice.   Yet, it is often those who live under such situations that teach us to be thankful to God in ways that shake us to our bones.  When a hungry child looks up at us and says thank you at the Thanksgiving meal at the soup kitchen, she is sincere.   Where as many who have an over abundance, have the greatest difficulty expressing appreciation without complaining that he may lose his investments in his portfolio because the Affordable Care Act is helping the poor to have health care for the first time in decades.  

In the Ninth Conference on Prayer, St. John Cassian devotes a majority of that Conference to the different kinds of prayer mentioned by St. Paul in our reading from Philippians today.   Abba Isaac breaks down what Paul writes as four different kinds of prayer.  Prayer, supplication, intercession and thanksgiving.  Each of these are dependent on the other.  Yet, they each have a different function in prayer.  Prayer itself, Abba Isaac suggests, is vowing or an offering of something to God of and from ourselves.  Supplications is a form of confessing our sins and asking for sanctification and deliverance.   Intercession is pleading with God on behalf of others, and thanksgiving is expressing our heartfelt thanks to God for the grace we receive in Christ Jesus.  

If we take the words of our Scripture Readings today seriously, and celebrate this Thanksgiving as St. Paul and St. John Cassian suggest, then we must take into account our responsibilities to each other, and seek God's consolation and opportunity for conversion that this holiday calls for.  Our giving thanks for all that God has given in abundance out of God's great love, must come with supplication for our sins and/or participation in the evils of injustice and cruelty, and a renewed offering of ourselves in prayer for change and transformation.

In today's Gospel Reading, Jesus tells us that He is the Bread of Life.  Every time we gather together for the Eucharist, we celebrate in thanksgiving for the great gift of our salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ.  God's greatest gift to Christians, is Jesus Christ, God's perfect revelation of Self.  In Christ, we have the awesome example of how God responds to our brokenness, by offering Himself in sacrifice to redeem us.  The Real Presence of Christ, invites all of us to share the Goodness of God with others around us, to find forgiveness of our sins, and the grace to be transformed and to transform the world beyond ourselves.  In thanksgiving for all that God gives by the great gift of faith, we are invited and welcomed to become participants in the Holy Spirit's work of "renewing the face of the earth" (Psalm 104:31 BCP).

May we all give thanks to God today, with supplication and prayer to recommit ourselves to helping to heal the wounded community of humankind.   Let no person's dignity be dishonored.   May every person know of God's extravagant and inclusive love, in which there is no distinction or exception.

Amen.


Prayers

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the
fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those
who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of
your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and
the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p.246)


Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.  (A General Thanksgiving, Book of Common Prayer, p.836).

On a personal note, today I am very thankful to Almighty God for the gift of faith.   I am thankful for the Eucharist.   I am thankful for the Anglican Communion and The Episcopal Church.   I am thankful for the opportunity to be a Clothed Novice in the Companions of St. Luke/Order of St. Benedict.   I am thankful that I am legally married to my husband Jason, and for all that Jason is to me.    I am thankful that we now have 15 States where there is the freedom to marry.   I am thankful for the opportunities to share my faith and hope in this blog and for all who read, and gain something from it.  I am also thankful for those who read my blog and struggle, or just pass it by.   I am thankful that there are loving and caring people out there who care about the marginalized including LGBTQ people, and many more.  I am thankful for these things and many more that I cannot name or remember.

Thanks be to God.   Amen.