Thought for the Week

When I ask our good friend John McConahy to do our Thanksgiving illustration, it will likely be a Thanksgiving table loaded with celebratory food. He will do a great job as usual. He might feature a large turkey with the carving tools beside it. There could be a number of steaming bowls, dishes, and platters of food and of course the place settings for the family. He might even include people. There could be grandpa with caving tools in hand and his family gathered around him. This would certainly be beautiful and bring pleasure to you as you view it. He could do a much better job if we enabled him to add color but that is not possible. Suppose we asked him to do a picture of preparation for Thanksgiving? That would bring a broad range of possibilities. There could be a scene with a vacuum cleaner, dust cloth, moved furniture, etc. for certainly preparing for Thanksgiving involves cleaning. Or, we could have a scene of a table with cook books, a shopping list, and a proposed menu. Or, we could have a kitchen scene with lots of pots, pans, bowls, measuring cups and spoons, an open bag of flour, peeling potatoes, yams, and a scattering of vegetables. But what if we asked him to do a preparation scene for giving Thanks to God? What would he, what would you as the artist, include in such an illustration. It could include a cleaning scene, with someone on his or her knees, confessing sin so their hearts would be clean for God. Scripture tells us that a person should have clean hands and a pure heart, in order to come before God in worship. We might want to consider the menu we will present to God. I believe He would enjoy having the ripe fruit of the Spirit: He could feast of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. He most certainly would want to see His children gathered around His table and exhibiting these fruits toward others, whether they are family members, strangers, or even enemies. I don’t remember seeing any Thanksgiving meal settings with a baby on the high chair but I could certainly picture, in my mind, a mother spoon feeding her little one. God would be very pleased to see in our preparation someone feeding the hungry. We note in St. Matthew 25 that Christ has special reward for those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, etc. It is a blessing to His heart and He in turn has a blessing to give to those who do such things. Now, of course, He wants us to do these things not just at Thanksgiving but most especially it is a demonstration then of a thankful heart. In the Old Testament economy, sacrifices were an obligation. People may have made those sacrifices but it may have been grudgingly. It seems from my understanding, God is less blessed by people meeting an obligation than by people joyfully or cheerfully giving with a truly thankful heart. So, as we come to the Thanksgiving table we set before the Lord, let us bring the sacrifice of praise unto the Lord. Let me just insert this: In some families and homes, there is a prayer before the meal (a prayer of blessing) and there is a prayer after the meal (a prayer of thanks for the bounty received). In our family meal on Sunday noon, when we again have family gathered, we sing a song of praise. I want to believe we honor God.

Scriptures to Read

Psalm 24:1-6

Psalm 24:7- 25:7

St. Matthew 25:34-40

II Corinthians 9:6-12

Galatians 5:22-23

St. Luke 14:12-14

St. Luke 7:36-50