This is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. It is Harvest-time’s end. As the hymn, Come Ye Thankful People, Come, states it, “All is safely gathered in ere the winter storms begin.” Many of the leaves have fallen, and the corn and grain have been harvested. “Lord of harvest, grant that we wholesome grain and pure may be.” For some this is a time that can seem a depressing end of the year. So a time of expressing the goodness of the preceding year and celebrating the abundance of God’s blessing with the savory and sweet tastes of that abundance is quite appropriate, even if the table is groaning from that abundance as we ourselves may also be.
Celebration is a gift from God which we share with each other reminding us we need not fear the winter’s blast in the warmth of the Heavenly Father’s love. It is a time of sharing, an opportunity to care for those who may be in need, and to plan to help beyond this season when the real needs may be manifest. This year with rising cost of groceries and other necessities there will be more hungry people among us than perhaps in recent memory. The richest among us will fare alright while Jesus’ words, “the poor will always be among you,” are going to be proven yet again. The gospel of Jesus Christ is aimed at the whole person with the goal that all persons may be fully whole.
I am thankful when I am able to share even a cup of water in the name of Jesus. I remember, “I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you clothed me.” I have never done as much of this as I should have, but every year Thanksgiving reminds me to consider deeply what I have done for others.