Thanksgiving Thoughts

My son got to be a 'turkey' in his school's Thanksgiving play – talk about type casting! Watching the scene on video was priceless. He shook his tail feathers to "I'm a Little Turkey" and gobbled to "Albuquerque Turkey." I love Thanksgiving, but it has become strangely placed in contemporary times. It forms in grocery stores like a flash mob between Halloween and Christmas – surprising and enthralling us seemingly out of the blue before disappearing again into the fog of the retail holidays.

The stories behind Thanksgiving are vast and ripe with historical import, but are mostly an afterthought to the turkey, cornbread dressing and cranberry sauce (jello?) many of us enjoy on the fourth Thursday in November. The traditional narrative – the school play version – is something simply akin to the Pilgrims and "Indians" making nice. The tale goes a bit deeper than that, but we have a way of de-contextualizing history to avoid the messy details. We forget that these early colonies, though often imbued with religious purpose, were in themselves business ventures. They were indeed imperial usurpers of lands that did not belong to them. And they brought with them germs, diseases and practices that ravaged the Native Americans and the landscape. This makes the 'First Thanksgiving' in November 1621 all the more significant. The three day celebration was an accord of peace in the midst of universal crisis. The Plymouth Colony did not have a superb go of it in the beginning. Unprepared and under supplied, their first winter in America was brutal and bore a great human toll. Yet, the Wampanoag tribe and their leader Massasoit, though much maligned by the English presence, played a pivotal role in helping the settlers learn how to survive in this 'new' land. Establishing peace in the spring they celebrated the first harvest of corn (maize) in the fall of 1621. From turmoil, peace (though tragically temporary) was born among those willing to respect and care for one another.

In light of the current political turmoil in our nation it is of no little significance that Thanksgiving was proclaimed an official holiday at the height of the American Civil War in 1863. Abraham Lincoln, in his address, called on God to "heal the wounds of the nation." May those words be on our heart this Thursday. Our woundedness is evident – in our nation, in our towns, in our homes, and in our relationships. We will all bring baggage to the table, not unlike the disease and cultural strife our forbearers brought to this land so many years ago. Yet, here we are…together. We can either live in distress and conflict or we can seek peace by finding ways to give thanks for one another. I believe love and loving actions have the power to create unity among the most divisive factions. Let's give thanks for those we are in conflict with this week, and begin the process of creating bridges built on care, respect and admiration to all the peoples who inhabit the global landscape.

Thanks to the Wampanoag and all Native Americans – may we begin to offer healing for the sins of the past.

Thanks to the Environment and Agriculture we enjoy – may we find redemptive ways to enjoy your bounty.

Thanks to our political and cultural foes – may we find peaceful solutions that benefit all of humanity.

Thanks to the God that is Love – may we engage you in the positive transformation of the world for people of all nations, cultures, races and beliefs.

-D. Christian Nix, 11/24/2010

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"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." – Colossians 3:15 (NIV)