Thanksgiving - it is a catalyst for the practice of gratitude

A Note From John Rosensteel

Every Thanksgiving our family gathers around a table overflowing with way too much food. As we fill our plates, each person at the table is given space to express thanks for a few of their favorite gifts from the past year. This is what I love most about Thanksgiving - it is a catalyst for the practice of gratitude. 

For followers of Jesus, the practice of gratitude is not optional. We are called to give thanks to the LORD. (1 Thess. 5:18; Eph 5:20, Col 3:17) Why? Because God is the source of everything that is good, beautiful, and true. Paul captures this idea with a question for the church at Corinth – “what do you have that you have not been given?” (1 Cor 4:7) King David reflected this in a prayer, “everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” (1 Chron 29:14a) Notice the Latin root for “gratitude” is “grace.” At the heart of the practice of gratitude is the realization that “all is grace.”

When we practice gratitude, it causes us to turn outward from ourselves. Our thanksgiving is proof positive of God’s presence and provision. Thankfulness presumes a Giver of all good things. As G.K. Chesterton once quipped, “the worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has no one to thank.”

The Jewish people sing a song every Passover called Dayenu. The Hebrew word “dayenu” means “it would have been enough.” The song has 15 stanzas. Each stanza expresses thanks to God for a good gift – freedom from slavery, manna, Torah, the Temple. After every stanza each person at the table shouts – “dayenu.” It would have been enough. This unique practice of gratitude acknowledges that each gift from God - breath, sustenance, laughter, sunsets - would have been enough. And yet, God keeps giving. God will never stop giving. The Kingdom of God is a placed of abundance, not scarcity. 

This Thanksgiving if you happen to find yourself at a table remember that it is a table of grace. It is the Lord’s Table. May it a provide an occasion to remember all that we have been given. May we rehearse for that great feast to come when people from every language, nation and tribe will proclaim, “give thanks to the LORD for he is good, his love endures forever.” (Psalm 136, 118, 100)