Thanksgiving Memories

Alba 11-23-2024

THANSGIVING MEMORIES

Philippians 1:3-8

Jeanne Newby had an article in the Webb City Sentinel last year (published on November 29, 2023) about Thanksgiving. Here is some of what she wrote:

“Thanksgiving… just the word conjures up memories! When you hear the word Thanksgiving, your mind often jumps to food or family… a perfect combination. Now in years past, let’s go back all the way to the 50s, Thanksgiving was a holiday on its own. Thanksgiving did not have to share the weekend with Black Friday or be the beginning of the holidays. The only thought that went with Thanksgiving was stuffing ourselves with Turkey, taking a nap, and enjoying the company of family. Everyone tried to make it to the family dinners. The question was always on the tip of the tongue, “Where are you spending Thanksgiving?”

“The Thanksgiving menu was adapted to each family according to tradition, heritage, locale, and favorites. The common food theme included the old Tom Turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.

“Activities ranged from napping to telling favorite family stories to looking at old family photos. We only had two television stations so there was only an occasional football game on the tube.”

She says, “So let’s think of an old fashioned Thanksgiving and pull out the photo albums, family movies and memories that are laying somewhere deep in our thoughts waiting to escape! And when one person starts in with 'Do you remember the time…?' it will open a memory for someone else, and what fun and laughter will fill the house. We have lots of things to be thankful for, but it is up to us to count them and make them memorable.”

So, do you have some good Thanksgiving memories that keep coming back, year after year? Hopefully you do. But even if you do not, are there any memories in your life that cause you to be thankful? Maybe there is someone that you know or have met at sometime, and memories of them give you reason to be thankful. Such was the case with the apostle Paul.

While he was a prisoner in Rome for preaching the gospel, he wrote to the church in the city of Philippi in Macedonia Greece. Paul was the first to bring the message of the gospel to people in that city. And he had fond memories of them. Which is clear because he starts his letter in Philippians 1:3 this way: “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”

At any time that these people came to mind, it gave him a reason to be thankful. Now that may seem strange when you think about it. Oh, I am sure that he had a lot of good memories when thinking about the Christians in Philippi. But it isn't like everything had gone smoothly when he was there.

Because if you go back and read in the Book of Acts about Paul’s first visit to Philippi, you’ll find that some very bad things happened to him while he was there. He could have said, "I remember Philippi and that demon possessed slave girl who followed us around and harassed us. I remember how they arrested us, and beat us, and put us into chains, and then tossed us deep into that dark and dirty dungeon. Oh yes, I remember the terrible experiences we had in Philippi."

"But no," instead he would say, "I remember Lydia and how she and all her household became Christians. I remember casting a demon out of a slave girl and seeing her set free. I remember the Philippian jailer and his family, and all those other people who are now followers of Jesus. And when I remember, I thank my God for you."

Like Paul, we all have a choice. Positive and negative things happen every day. You can focus on the negative and become an unhappy grumbler if you want. But if you’ll focus on gratitude, wonderful things can happen in your life. The apostle Paul focuses on two main things in the first verses of this letter that give him thankful memories; fellowship and affection. So lets see what he says about...

1. Fellowship

In verses four and five Paul says he thanks God “in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.”

Thankful for fellowship. What does this mean? Much more than cookies and Kool aid, or coffee and donuts. The Greek word (koinonia) means a joint participation. The New International Version has verse five thanking them for their “partnership in the gospel from the first day until now”.

Paul is writing this letter while imprisoned in Rome under what we would call "house arrest." Today, courts enforce "house arrest" by attaching electronic monitors on the wrist or ankle of prisoners. But back then, they simply chained the prisoner to Roman soldiers 24 hours a day. Now that was usually better than being in a dungeon, but Roman soldiers could be cruel, and "house arrest" was not something to desire. Yet, Paul’s letter is filled with thanksgiving because of the fellowship between himself and the Philippian church.