Gratitude into Advent

Thanksgiving can be a complicated holiday, especially when we pay attention to the way its history has been told. The first people who came to America from overseas did not have an overwhelmingly positive—nor peaceful—relationship with the people who were here first. I won’t ignore that reality just to see the hopeful side of this holiday. But that doesn’t mean we should throw the day out entirely. There is still something meaningful to glean from it, and certainly for Christians.

What I want us to notice is the feast many of us gather around. The turkey and dressing (or stuffing), the mac-n-cheese, the potatoes, the green bean casserole, the sweet potato casserole, the corn casserole, the vegetable casserole, the cornbread casserole—whatever you want, there’s a casserole for it. And we know it’s a feast because we go back for seconds and thirds and there’s still more waiting. There is more than enough to satisfy our stomachs.

What was your favorite dish this year?

When I think about this overflowing table, I’m reminded of our liturgy every week when we bless the communion meal. As often as we gather around that simple table and celebrate Christ’s love for us, we wait with hope-filled anticipation for the feast of God. That weekly meal is a placeholder—an appetizer—for a heavenly banquet where one day we will sit and truly be satisfied. Do you ever wonder what that meal will be like? Whatever it is, it should be clear that all the Thanksgiving meals that have ever taken place can’t compare to that feast we’re waiting for.

And yet, I can't help but wonder how much waiting we’re supposed to be doing.

In our own community at KUMC, there were a couple of homes—like the one pictured above—that made extra plates of Thanksgiving food so that those without a home or family could gather and celebrate. Two of those homes were right here in our congregation. I celebrate these families for their work of creating a feast that looks a little more like God’s feast, where all are invited. These families decided not to wait for that day to come, but to start building that longer table today.

And for them—and for every glimpse of God’s kingdom breaking in—I give thanks to God.

Will you Pray with me?

One of my favorite church figures is Dorothy Day, a Catholic and activist who never stood still when there was justice to be won. She had a heart for the vulnerable and certainly those who never experienced a feast from the world God had created. She fought for those with little and next-to-nothing to experience God’s abundance, and challenged society in America to change for their benefit. Here’s a prayer written in her inspiration:

Lord, make our gratitude generous—

not content to linger at full tables

while neighbors hunger.

Teach us to see you in the stranger,

to welcome you in the weary,

and to build a longer table

where all may find a place and be fed.

Amen.

“Listening is the first act of loving.”

Steph