Thanksgiving 2020
Thanksgiving 2020
We have heard it said that this Thanksgiving will be like none other. Our family gatherings will probably be limited to the people in our immediate household. We remember the over 260,000 Americans that have died the last eight months. We are aware that people who are sick are overwhelming our hospitals at present. We are fearful that we may be the next victims of COVID. We are also cognizant that many people face difficult economic futures right now. We might ask why we should give thanks today.
It might be helpful to remember past Thanksgivings. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the pilgrims 1621. The colonists had survived a year in the new world. Fifty percent of the people who sailed from England to begin a new life in America were dead. The pilgrims had made friends with Native Americans who had taught them to survive on the frontier. The pilgrims, that first Thanksgiving, were not comfortable, but they were alive. A feast was held, and prayers of thanks were offered.
Another Thanksgiving to remember is the Thanksgiving that was commemorated in 1789. After years of war as well as many struggles to birth a new nation George Washington, our first president, issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation.
Later in 1863 in the middle of a bloody civil war Abraham Lincoln established the fourth Thursday of November as the Thanksgiving holiday. The battle of Gettysburg had just been fought. During the civil war 620,000 soldiers lost their lives. The number of civilians who died has never been calculated. The citizens who heard Lincolns proclamation probably asked the question, “Why be thankful?”
We also remember how during the great depression the Thanksgiving Holiday was moved a week earlier in 1939 to stimulate the economy. The unemployment rate at the height of the great depression reached 25% and there were 33 million people out of work. People stood in bread lines. Homelessness was rampant. Yet, Thanksgiving went on.
As one writer puts it, “We are reminded this day that American Tradition does not celebrate Thanksgiving because life is easy and carefree, but because people have the strength to endure hardship without losing spirit.”
What we have learned through almost 250 years is as a nation is that we will survive. We give God thanks this year, not for prosperity, but for each other. We thank God for the health care workers who will be nursing the sick in our hospitals and nursing homes today. We thank God for the first responders who carry on despite their low pay and long hours. We praise God for the educators who try to instruct our young people when their lesson plans keep changing hourly. We thank God for everyone from garbage collectors to bus drivers who keep our society functioning.
Yes, we thank God for many heroes and heroines in our midst today. The best way to thank such people is to make the little sacrifices necessary to stop the spread of the virus. We seek to live with the Spirit of Jesus who suffered without complaining and with a sense that one day soon life will get better.
Reflection Questions:
- Have my Thanksgivings always been happy? What was my most memorable Thanksgiving?
- How often do I make prayers of Thanksgiving? Why are they important?
Dear Parishioners,
I hope that you have a good day. May the wine be sweet, the potatoes not be lumpy, the turkey be succulent, the pie be scrumptious, and the cranberries not be too tart. And may you be preserved from all indigestion.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Fr. Mark