The story of the first Thanksgiving
celebration in this country has been learned by countless school children. I’m
not sure how well they learnt it, though, since here’s a composite of things
children say about Thanksgiving. “The penguins landed in their big boat. They
gave things to the ‘Nature’ Americans. They remembered being seasick a long
time. They invited everybody to dinner. Then they all said thank you God.”
Okay. Wrong species, but I guess the important things got remembered.
What about our biblical story from
Deuteronomy tonight? The story teaches us about the biblical tradition of
thanksgiving. And, the story helps us learn how to express our thankfulness for
God’s blessings. In Deuteronomy, what people do is this:
·
Giving
·
Remembering
·
Celebrating
First comes giving.
You might notice in their giving, the
Israelites were told to give their first
fruits to God. “First fruits” meant the finest and the best. It meant the first
picking of the ripest, best looking, and tastiest of all they had grown. It is
apparent God does not like the last scrapings or the leftovers.
Next comes
remembering, that is, history. Who are we? Where did we come from? How did we
get here? It is apparent that in the Israelites’ afflictions, God is the
deliverer. And, in the Israelites’ new inheritance of the land, God is the
agent who made it possible.
Finally, there is
celebrating. And the celebrating is done together with both the citizens who
now rule the country, and with the resident aliens. The celebration takes place
for all with all the bounty God has
provided.
How would our
Thanksgivings be different if we followed our Israelite forbears in the faith?
· If each year we gave
first?
· If we remembered
who we are and how we got here?
· If we celebrated by
inviting those we know and the resident aliens among us?
Giving,
remembering, celebrating. I think that’s what most children I talk to have in
mind. It might still sound like this. “The penguins landed in their big boat.
They gave things to the ‘Nature’ Americans. They remembered being seasick a
long time. They invited everybody to dinner. Then they all said thank you God.”
But in the end, what children get out of
the story is giving, remembering, and celebrating. So whatever way you remember
is okay too. Even if it’s some version of, “The penguins landed in their big
boat. They gave things to the ‘Nature’ Americans. They remembered being seasick
a long time. They invited everybody to dinner. Then they all said thank you
God.” Because giving, remembering, and celebrating is how we respond to God’s
grace with grateful hearts. AMEN.
The Rev
Nicolette Papanek
©2016