Poem/Reflection for Thanksgiving Day St. Andrew's Church, Nags Head, N.C. November 28, 2019 Thomas E. Wilson, Supply Clergy
The Thanksgiving
Gathering
My father used to have a saying. He had been a Major, a field grade officer, in the Marine Corps in World War II. When he was looking at his two oldest sons, trying to make them into gentlemen, instead of the louts we were acting like, he would say, “I was made an officer and a gentleman by an act of congress. It is really going to take more than that with you to make you two gentlemen.”
For number of years when I was growing up our family would make a trek to New Jersey to have thanksgiving with our cousins. The first trip was when I was in the 4th grade, Paul and I were instructed to act like little gentlemen. My sister was always perfect, so she did not need reminding and my little brother was only four at the time and he had an excuse because of his age but he was a sweet kid anyway, unlike the terrors of his two older brothers.
It was a lot easier because my cousins were always polite and positive to us. There were four boys and two girls in that family of cousins. There was Len, at least a dozen years older who had a convertible and was SO COOL. He took us for a ride as Paul and I stood up in the back seat to catch all the wind There was Mike who laughed so much. There was Joe who had a collection of Buddy Holly records and opened for us the, to us, hidden world of Rock and Roll. Then there was John, who was so well manned because he was the one who was most religious, and we all knew he would end up being a Priest. Susan and Anne Marie were younger and so well behaved and played with my sister Anne Louise but they were used to putting up with boys and were gracious to us. They acted at least as if approved of us. It was as if the whole family was thankful for us and they went out of their way to make room for us during our visits. Being thankful, it did not take much for us to be kind in return.
Today is Thanksgiving Day, a day passed by an act of Congress, but what will it take for us to be truly thankful. How much is enough? How much more do we need? Every year this day rolls up, and every year, after we have stuffed, eaten more than we can possibly digest, we begin a season of frantic shopping for more stuff. How much is it going to take?
In the lesson from Deuteronomy for today, the Hebrew children have been brought into the “Promised Land”, a “land flowing with milk and honey” but it does not seem to be enough for them to be truly thankful and to act in love and charity with our neighbors. Instead they tear apart the fabric of the society to build bigger barns to hold all the stuff they are withholding for caring for the needy. Their injustice and greed with end up destroying them. They end up with nothing because they thought they could never get enough. How much is it going to take for them to be thankful?
In the Gospel lesson, Jesus has fed the multitudes and they are back for more. He goes to the other side of the lake to get away from their grasping for more. He says to them: "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”
We tend to think of “eternal life” as life after we are dead, which is not bad, but I think that Jesus uses that phrase as meaning living right here and right now as if we were in the presence of the eternal. The eternal is infinite, more than we can possibly measure. It is beyond more. When we know that we are in the presence of that which is beyond more then we don't need to stuff ourselves and our lives because we are afraid of not having enough. In the presence of the eternal we begin the process of emptying ourselves, unburdening. Jesus says, “Come unto me all of you who are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.” Refresh – make us new again without all that baggage we do not really need. How much is it going to take for us to be thankful?
My oldest cousin, Len, more 15 years older than me, was so open in welcome and I thought he was so gifted and knew everything would go right for him. He led a very good life but not everything was perfect. One of his children was a daughter who is a Thalidomide survivor. Thalidomide was a drug now used for cancer treatment, but a half century ago it was given to pregnant women for relief of morning sickness until it dawned on the government that it caused malformations in limbs of the babies. Carolyn does not see herself as a victim, which would make the drug company the winner, but she sees herself as a survivor, having the strength to meet each new day for which she is thankful. When I read what she writes, I hear my cousin Len, and I think, “She comes from good stock.” Her life could have easier if the drug companies would have been less greedy, but that is not the world we live in right now. She keeps making choices to be thankful. How much does it take for us to be thankful?
Thank you for coming here to take the time to say we have more than enough for which to be thankful for being in the presence of the eternal.
The Thanksgiving Gatherings
The counters are sagging with weight of the meal
Bringing together those different family and friends
Waiting for stories to pause, parade coming to ends.
Latest babies passed around making pictures real.
The empty places speaking of conflicting agenda
And repositioning members through the mazes
of relationships. A religious ceremony amazes
new friends acting as this year’s new addenda.
Folding tables and chairs are borrowed to give
Each an awareness that all belong in this gathering
Of noisy laughs, kisses, hugs, even some blathering,
Finding a seat and voice to all coming here to live
In this day long moment of giving God Thanks
While regretting our yearlong posing as cranks.
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