Thought for Today
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God;
Psalm 78:4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.
Matthew 16:9 Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered?
Mark 8:18 Do you have eyes, and fail to see? Do you have ears, and fail to hear? And do you not remember?
Once again, for everyone who missed the memo, this Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. Once again, Thanksgiving Day is on my mind. Today, I’m thinking about repetition and remembering. There is a reason why we celebrate this day every year. Athletes are taught that the secret of success is repetition. Swing the bat the same way every time. Block the opponent the same way, kick the football or soccer/football the same way each time. Yes, there are variations in each instance depending on what you are attempting, but consistency is bred by repetition . . . so long as you are practicing and repeating the correct technique.
Most of us learned in school the value of rote memorization and of drilling over facts and techniques until we had built up the same sort of ‘muscle-memory’ in our brains that athletes train for their bodies through practice. Even the much-dreaded homework is an exercise in repetition and remembering. Athletes practice and train to help them ‘win the big game.’ Students practice and train to help them ‘pass the test.’
What has any of this to do with faith? With Christianity? With Thanksgiving Day? Everything! Irrespective of which offering of thanksgiving in our history you are certain was the very first one, all of them were deliberate, purposeful celebrations thanking our Creator God for the bountiful Creation God has provided. Those celebrants were acutely aware that only the providence of God had sustained them through perilous journeys, through privation on those journeys, and had protected them from the deprivations of weather, hunger and the hostility of others. Thanksgivings to God.
Our earliest ancestors-in-the-faith preserved the collective memory of their Creator God who rescued them from slavery, led them into the wilderness of Sinai, protected them as they wandered in that desert and then provided them with a ‘land of milk and honey.’ Theirs were deliberate, purposeful celebrations thanking our Creator God for God’s immutability. Even today, Jews still celebrate Passover. At heart, Passover is a Thanksgiving Day.
Why do we go to church each Sunday? Why do we celebrate our holidays each year? Christmas, Easter and all of our other liturgical holidays? Worship and celebration help us build up faith ‘muscle-memory.’ Once in a discussion with a family member, I mentioned that I was teaching an adult Sunday School class. He commented words to the effect that he had learned “all that stuff” as a child and didn’t need to go to Sunday School as an adult. Most of us learned “all that stuff” as children. We still read and study “all that stuff” in part to strengthen our faith ‘muscle-memory.’
Everything about this coming Thursday, from the history of the holiday to the roasted turkey, the stuffing and the pecan pie is a part of my own personal history. It is all a re-creation of my past. Yes, some things have changed; other things have been modified. Greta and I have made subtle changes to personalize our own celebration. But, Thanksgiving Day remains for us a deliberate, purposeful celebration thanking our Creator God for the bountiful Creation God has provided. We will acknowledge that only the providence of God had sustained us through our own journeys, has protected us from the deprivations of weather, hunger and the hostility of others.
Every holiday, every Sunday worship service I am reminded of our Creator God, God’s immutability and God’s promise to always be with us. Each day, I recall the promise of God’s Son, “Matthew 28:20 . . . And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." And, I am thankful.
Stay safe, remember and be thankful, trust God,
Pastor Ray