Practiced Gratitude Fills the Boat With Joy
Acts 27:33-38 (NIV)
"Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board. 38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea."
This passage of Scripture where Paul offers thanks for food and eats along with others who are strengthened by it takes place on a boat, in a storm,
The ancient ancestors of many of the Indigenous people of America are believed to have walked over a frozen land bridge between what is now Russia and Alaska. Except for them, before the invention of the airplane, everyone who came to the American continent came by boat. Have you ever thought about that? All of our ancestors came across the oceans to this continent on boats. They may have come for different reasons, with different motives, and in different circumstances, but they all came by boat, and many of them came by or because of hardship. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “We all came in on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now." The English idiom, "We are in the same boat," means to be in the same unpleasant situation as other people. We are very blessed to live in the United States, but even here, we do face some difficulties.
"When Americans are celebrating the Thanksgiving Month of November to thank God for His saving and guiding the earliest English Pilgrims to their dream-able freedom, All Vietnamese Boat People who are presently living in the United States are always reminded their journeys of thousands of miles crossing the oceans for freedom few decades ago to give thanks to God for saving and bringing them to the destination." (Pastor Chon Tran, DMin.)
In 1620, a small group from England packed their belongings and headed across the Atlantic Ocean for the New World in search of religious freedom. They called themselves "Saints." We know them as "the Pilgrims." A pilgrim is someone who journeys in foreign lands or one who travels to a shrine or holy place to worship. The Pilgrims were headed to what is now Delaware but were blown off course by storms and finally landed in Plymouth in December of 1620. It was here that these colonists and refugees first encountered the peaceful yet cautious Wampanoag Native American tribe the following spring.
At the time, the two very different groups of people got together and tried to find common ground. The Wampanoag tribe was hospitable. Like most of the Indigenous people who once lived across the continent, they believed the land was big enough for them all. In April of 1621, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag signed a treaty pledging to come to the aid of the other in case of attack. After losing nearly half of their settlers to sickness during their first winter in America, the English were about to be extinct. The Wampanoag were also in an awful position because between 1616 and 1619, diseases introduced by European colonizers killed up to 90 percent of New England’s Native population in an epidemic now referred to as the Great Dying. Significantly weakened, the tribe also needed help to fight off another Indigenous tribe, Narragansett, who was attacking them.
That fall of 1621, there was a feast. At the feast were the Pilgrims and Wampanoag, who were still living. They were still learning about one another. They did not completely understand one another's language or ways. But they were all facing life's difficulties. There is only a short paragraph in American history that describes this feast. But, what we do know is that the Natives and the Pilgrims, both facing the hard realities of life, sat down together at a common table that was big enough for them all. They sat down together to make peace and to seek the peace of those around them. They were seeking to make their alliance strong. They knew that they would be in trouble by themselves, but together they could do more and live longer, share their resources, and protect one another. They were all in the same boat. They were all facing similar difficult circumstances. But they took time to get together with one another and give thanks.
This is one of our stories. This is why Americans get together the last Thursday of November each year to celebrate and to give thanks. This evening there are people here in this building whose ancestors came on different boats to the shores of this continent. Some here are even very recently come to the U. S. We are here now, and we want to spend a few moments this evening offering thanks to God because of our liberty and freedom.
There are places all over the world right now where people cannot freely choose to get together like we are doing to offer thanks. There is a lot of food on the tables that we will share. We have much to be grateful for. There is clean water that we can drink. We have much to be grateful for. It is comfortable in the building even though it is cold outside. We have much to be grateful for.
Sometimes people face depression-a deep sense of hopelessness or sadness. Sometimes people face anxiety, a fear, and dread of what they cannot understand. Some people worry about the potential for war. Some people worry about the economy. There are many difficulties that we face together. We may have all arrived on different ships, but we are in the same boat now. The story of the first Thanksgiving, like the story of Paul in the boat, teaches us some things that are helpful for today:
The Wampanoag and Pilgrims both had weaknesses and strengths. Where one was weak, the other could be strong. The Wampanoag knew the land and the difficulties.
We can protect one another. When we combine our resources and efforts, we can do more.
There is more on the table because we have combined our efforts. There are new things that we can enjoy, because we all have something different to offer.
Finally, the story we tell about the first Thanksgiving teaches us something the Bible tells us. Practicing gratitude brings joy. Joy can chase away our depression and anxiety and help us even when we are facing the same difficulties. When we practice gratitude together, the Holy Spirit enters the situation and helps us.
The Bible says that "the joy of the LORD is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). We are stronger when we are joyful, and offering thanks as we do this evening strengthens us. I am grateful for you all.
This evening we give thanks to the Lord, in Jesus's Name.
