We are approaching a National holiday this week in the US., but it is a little weird because of covid restrictions for gatherings in many states. On September 28, 1789, the First Federal Congress asked George Washington to proclaim a National day of Thanksgiving. Subsequent presidents issued proclamations for various Thanksgiving dates also. It took until the proclamation of Abraham Lincoln in 1863 for the date to become somewhat fixed as the last Thursday in November. We can make a case for another weird Thanksgiving in 1939.
Weird days
FDR noted that November had five Thursdays that year, and he was concerned there were not enough shopping days before Christmas. That year, he proclaimed Thanksgiving as the next to last Thursday. Thirty-two states agreed and issued similar proclamations. Sixteen states kept the holiday as the last Thursday in November. For 2 years in a row, there were 2 Thanksgiving Days in November, in those 16 states. In 1941 the House and Senate resolved a joint resolution to establish the fourth Thursday of November as the official holiday, to handle the calendar years when November had five Thursdays [A]. Stability for national holiday dates is a good thing. We all want life to have stability. The possibility that we could have 2 Thanksgiving holidays in one month is simply weird. I am grateful that the Bible is consistent in its declarations!
Troubled times
In Philippians 4:4-7 it says: “4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
It is not clear from reading this passage that there was a social problem going on in the Ephesian’s community. Many of the Ephesians were being persecuted. Verses 4-9 contains Paul’s recommendations on how to live with persecution in the times they are living in. It is a nice rule of life when you think about it. “With Thanksgiving, in every situation, we should bring our requests to God”. In our modern times, these words point out that how we live is determined by how we will think.
What we can do
There are periods in my own life when I have seen people who acted very suspicious and bigoted in the way they spoke or reacted. It is critical for each of us to get through these circumstances by being grateful for God’s blessings, and not to be limited in the way we react or think.
Sadly, people are always going to have points of view that are not Christian. People are not going to be fair. People are not able to set aside their prejudices. As a Christian, I can choose not to be a victim. I can choose how I will react and think. This actually may sound radical to some. If I am confronted with hate, should I not have the option to react in kind and fend off the blows of hatred? But, remember the maxim: How we live is determined by how we think. We may feel like we have the right to lash out, but do we have to think that way?
If I choose to interact with God in every situation with thanksgiving, my perspective changes. The world will still be weird, but it will look different, in a good way. I will no longer see the world as nonredeemable and without merit. I will see the world as a place where God will make things happen, and I am merely a player in a world where God is in charge. I actually love this perspective. I am grateful and thankful that I can trust in God in all things, and know that things will work out for the good.
