Goodness
A couple of years ago I did a brief presentation for a roomful of internationals to help them understand what Thanksgiving was all about for Americans. The preparation involved a little research on my part since history was not my best subject in school. The first winter in the New World took its toll on the Pilgrims. Because they had little food and no shelter, nearly half the original Pilgrims died during those first months. In the spring a couple of Native Americans found them, lived with them, and taught them how to survive in this new place. These “saviors” brought them deer meat and beaver skins. They taught the Pilgrims to cultivate corn and other new vegetables. They instructed the “newbies” how to build Indian style houses. In essence, the generous, caring, Native Americans saved the lives of every remaining Pilgrim.
When the next fall came, the Pilgrims were prepared for the harsh winter ahead. They had food and shelter thanks to the help of their new friends. The Thanksgiving feast held that fall, was not just to say thanks to God for Divine care and abundance. It was also a genuine act of thanks to strangers who took them in and cared for them in their need. The Pilgrims were indebted to the generosity of the Native Americans and wanted to say thank you. Thanksgiving is a day for us to give thanks to God for our nation’s abundance. It is also a day for us to give thanks for the goodness of others who have helped us along our way.
I also think Thanksgiving should be a day of confession for our nation and for me personally for the ways we/I take advantage of the goodness of others. For example, over the course of the centuries after that first Thanksgiving, our nation continued to make and break treaties with Native Americans. We rounded them up and sent them on a “Trail of Tears” to a barren place called Oklahoma. That was to be their new home–at least until we discovered it was full of oil. Then we wanted it back. Am I no different when I fail to say thank you to those who help me along my way, or worse, when I exploit their goodness for selfish reasons.
God, thank you for your abundance we do not deserve. Thank you for the people who have so generously helped us along our way. Forgive us when we take advantage of that generosity for our own purposes. Forgive us for our selfish arrogance. Forgive me.
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