Thanksgiving In Feast And Famine
Thanksgiving Message, Perth Bible Church, 11/25/07
Rev. Todd G. Leupold
Introduction
Ah, Thanksgiving – big, fat juicy turkey, prim pilgrims in their ’Sunday best,’ oodles & oodles of fun, gentle Indian friends, beautiful outdoor picnic . . .! How could they NOT be thankful? How thankful are we?
It was in the fall of 1621 that colonial leader Edward Winslow initiated what is widely considered the first ’Thanksgiving’ – a day dedicated to applauding the “goodness of God.” What circumstances must have led to such joy and gratitude? Let us review history together, starting a year earlier in the Mayflower.
On September 6, 1620 about 102 passengers joined 25-30 crew members and various other hired personnel aboard a converted cargo ship that was likely only about 90-110 ft. long and 25 ft. wide and headed out across the vast, unforgiving Atlantic Ocean to settle the little known wilderness of the Jamestown settlement and off the Hudson in “North Virginia.” Originally, they were supposed to have departed in early August and occupied two ships. However, due to sailor sabotage, they were delayed a month and restricted to one ship built for cargo – not passengers.
So began a 66-day journey together, leaving their homeland and remaining family & friends never to return, intimately sharing together a bath-less journey over treacherous waters. During the journey westerly gales ripped open seams in the deck and the frightened passengers were drenched in icy waters. But, not before already suffering through rampant sickness, scurvy, typhus, and loss. Finally, on November 11 the tattered, sickly group arrived at . . . the tip of Cape Cod – a far cry from their “North Virginia” destination, far from any other known settlement, and just in time for the beginning of a brutal New England winter! Yippee!!!
Without much other choice they spent that winter mostly confined to the ship, with the sick stretched out in a makeshift storehouse. The ship which was supposed to bring them food and relief, instead brought 35 more mouths to feed and bodies to clothe and care for. When winter finally broke, only half of the original pilgrims and half of the crew were still alive. Thirty of those who disembarked were children. Amidst the common English names given to the newborns, there were those such as Resolved White and Wrestling (with the devil) Brewster.
Surely, then, Spring brought new life and vitality? Hardly. During that first Spring, 12 of the 18 married women died and those who survived – men or women, young or old – barely had the strength to plant next year’s crop. Seven times as many graves were made for the dead as homes for the living. Spring and Summer laboriously passed as the pilgrims began establishing themselves. So much so, in fact, that eventually Wrestling Brewster’s father, William, was able to praise God “for the abundance of the sea and the treasures hid in the sand.” That was after feasting on a dinner consisting of a plate of sandy clams and a cold glass of water. That first Fall after their arrival, each pilgrim was allotted the bountiful allowance of 5 kernels of corn per day. Eventually, with the generous help of the Wampanoag Indians, they had something of a first harvest and some success hunting waterfowl and deer.
And, so, to mark the end of this first year in the New World that brought such comfort, warmth, joy and riches (NOT!), Gov. Wm Bradford declared a special Day of Thanksgiving to acknowledge God’s goodness, provision and sustenance!!! You see, even to the pilgrims, Thanksgiving was much more about the heart than the stomach, perspective than pie, and more faith than football!
Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Prayer
GIVING THANKS WHILE FEASTING – Psalm 100:1-5
This psalm (song of praise) was given to the people of Israel as a prompting to the appreciative response for a people, after wandering around the desert for 40 years due to their own sin and disobedience have been given salvation in the form of a land of amazing bounty and provision.
In essence, the LORD is saying, “I have brought you salvation, kept my promises, and blessed you with a future of comfort, peace and prosperity beyond anything you have experienced before. When you have all you need or previously desired, when your stomachs are full, your homes dry and warm, your lives established, and your families healthy and happy, do not forget to thank me in those times as well. I am not only your Savior from disaster, destruction and even yourselves, but I am the provider of all you will ever possibly have. Don’t forget where all good things come from!”
Alex Haley, the author of Roots, has an interesting picture on his office wall o a turtle perched atop a fence post. Whenever he was asked about it, Haley would answer: “Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words & think they are wonderful, and begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post and remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help.”
How? In What Manner Do We Thank Jesus When We Have No Real Needs?
1.SHOUT IT! v. 1
Not just any ’ol shout, but a triumphant shout!
The kind that comes from the deepest part of our being.
The kind that is so full, that has such a powerful force of joy and gratitude that it cannot be in the least way contained. Blast it out!
When’s the last time that YOU gave a shout of thanks like that unto the LORD?
2.SHOW IT! v. 2A
Don’t stop with a shout. Back it up. ’Work it out.’
Show your gratitude through attitudes and actions of service unto your Ultimate Benefactor.
3.SING IT! v. 2b
Again, not just any ol’ way, but with great joy!
You’ve already shouted it, you’ve expressed your gratefulness through service, now celebrate! Enjoy it and enjoy Him!
4.DON’T FORGET IT! v. 3
Lose this perspective and you’ll lose your gratitude. Lose your gratitude and you’ll lose your joy.
5.ENTER & ENJOY HIS PRESENCE vv.4-5
There is no better, no more joyful, no more blessed, prosperous or beneficial place we can ever be than in the precious presence of the LORD God Almighty!
GIVING THANKS AMIDST FAMINE – Philippians 4:4-8
verses 4-5 ALWAYS!
Remember the Mayflower pilgrims? Reflecting on them, Melvin Newland points out: “Has it ever occurred to you that no Americans were more underprivileged than that small handful from the Mayflower who started the custom of setting aside a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God? They had no homes and no government agency to help them build homes. They had no means of transportation but their legs. Their only food came from the sea and the forest, and they had to get it for themselves. They had no money and no place to spend it if they’d had any. They had no amusements except what they made for themselves, no means of communication with their relatives in England, no social security or medicare. But anyone who dared to call them underprivileged would probably have ended up in the stocks, for they did have 4 of the greatest human assets: initiative, courage, a willingness to work, and a boundless faith in God.”
ALWAYS, we are to rejoice in Christ – who He is, how He has provided and where He has brought us – even in times of great ’famine’! . .
Times of hunger, pain, suffering, loneliness, cold, betrayal, and even great loss.
How? In What Manner Can We Be Thankful At Such Times?
1.WORRY ABOUT NOTHING v. 6a
When we know & remember who our Father, Benefactor, Provider & Protector is and the fullness of His character and faithfulness, then we know that we have nothing to worry about!
Does this mean that if we know Jesus, we should always be happy and fulfilled with our lives and circumstances on this earth? Have all we could ever want? Never experience suffering, heartache or disappointment?
Of course not! But even in the worst of times, we can live without worry and with thankfulness.
Consider the example of one little old lady. This old lady, in a failing, pain-filled body, all but abandoned by family and shut in a nursing home, sat at the table one Thanksgiving when the director asked everyone to express what they were thankful for. As others expressed thankfulness for their families, strong minds, generally good health, etc. there was great anxiety when it became this lady’s turn. What come she possibly be thankful for? Proudly, she replied: “I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw that match so that I can chew my food.”
2.PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING v.6b-7
Even in times of famine (whether physical, emotional, or spiritual) we can not worry and be thankful because we have a Father, Lord & Savior who tells us to talk to Him about anything and everything!
By the way, the context isn’t just to go to Him to ask but rather in everything go to Him in thanks borne of faith in who He is and what He will yet do!
One of the Christian ascetics of the Middle Ages, Fenelon, explained it this way:
Tell God all that is in your heart as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its
pains, to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him
your joys, that He may sober them, tell Him your longings, that He may purify them;
tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you conquer them; talk to Him of your
temptations, that He may shield you from them; show Him the wounds of your heart,
that He may heal them; lay bare your indifferences to good, your depraved tastes for
evil, your instability. Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity
tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself as to others.
If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what
to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who
have no secrets from each other never want subjects of conversation. They do not weigh
their words, for there is nothing to be held back; neither do they seek for something
to say. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration, just what they
think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God.
Through faith-filled prayer, we may transition from anxiety to peace!
3.’FEAST’ ON CHRIST v.8
He and He alone is the perfect embodiment and example of what it true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and praiseworthy!
When we think upon Him, when we focus on Christ and devour all we can in His infinite variety and goodness, then are we guaranteed fullness of joy, power and thanksgiving.
Then, we can have an unassailable “Attitude of Gratitude”!
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER – Philippians 4:9-13
1.INGEST CHRIST v. 9
2.DIGEST HIS WORD v. 9
3.BE WHAT YOU EAT v. 9-10
4.APPRECIATE THE ’TABLE’ v. 11-12
5.LIVE STRONG! v. 13
