Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5 NIV

What comes to your mind when you think about Thanksgiving Day? For many, it will be family gatherings, lots of food that you get only one day a year, and lots of laughter. Singer Amy Grant writes, “Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.”

Thanksgiving is rich in traditions spanning the generations, traditions beyond food and family to such things as football games and parades. The Detroit Lions have played continuously on Thanksgiving Day since 1934 except for five years during World War II. Naturally, Thanksgiving wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t include watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade which has been part of the celebrations since 1924. Now for the truly brave at heart, there is Black Friday to end the celebration. Black Friday allows those brave hearts, who venture out into the malls and shopping centers of America, to be part of an indescribable shopping frenzy.

Memories are embedded into our minds as we reflect upon Thanksgiving celebrations from the past. In these past Thanksgivings, we set aside time to remember the gifts of gratitude, love, and fellowship in our lives. Author Jonathan Safran Foer wrote, “Thanksgiving is the holiday that encompasses all others.”

The third stanza of Edgar Albert Guest’s poem, Thanksgiving reflects well on cultivating your mind for Thanksgiving. Guest has been called “the poet of the people” as his poems presented a deeply sentimental view of everyday life.

Bowed are our heads for a moment in prayer;

Oh, but we’re grateful an’ glad to be there.

Home from the east land an’ home from the west,

Home with the folks that are dearest an’ best.

Out of the sham of the cities afar

We’ve come for a time to be just what we are.

Here we can talk of ourselves an’ be frank,

Forgettin’ position an’ station an’ rank.

 

Cultivating One’s Mind for Thanksgiving looks beyond the superficial traditions. I enjoy the football games on TV and watch some of the Macy’s Day Parade but what counts is family, faith, and fellowship. Through the years we all have planted memories into our minds from the countless Thanksgiving meals as we gathered around tables, chairs scattered throughout the house or anywhere we could find a space to sit.

I never could relate to Charlie Brown’s quip, “I can’t cook a Thanksgiving dinner. All I can make is cold cereal and maybe toast.”  Growing up in Oklahoma, our little four-room home became Grand Central Station as family and occasionally a few strangers gathered. Whoever came found a place at the table to enjoy a feast that my Mother lovingly and skillfully prepared.

Cultivating One’s Mind for Thanksgiving looks for ways to express gratitude. However, to truly express gratitude it has to come from a mind that knows God as the ultimate giver of gifts. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)

John Milton wrote, “Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life.”  It is in this time of thanksgiving that we express gratitude, not only for what we have but for what we are becoming. We come to where we can “Taste and see that the LORD is good, blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Ps 34:8).

Cultivating One’s Mind for Thanksgiving needs to have a mind that is filled with the only One worthy of Thanksgiving. “The more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for.” (Norman Vincent Peale) As our minds become focused on God, we can then say “I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” (Ps 63:5)

Centuries before the American version of Thanksgiving, David proclaimed a call to set aside time for a celebration of thanksgiving as the Ark was finally coming home to Jerusalem. “After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman.” (I Chron 16:2-3 NIV)

David closed out the celebration with a prayer of praise, ending with the words, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior’ gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the LORD.” (I Chron 16:34-36)

Cultivating one’s heart, soul, and mind for Thanksgiving Day can draw us closer to family, friends, and most importantly to God. Hopefully, as the days were marked off in November you have found sacred moments to reflect upon being thankful. “To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.” (Johannes Gaertner)

Happy Thanksgiving Day.

God is great!

Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? James 2:15-16 (NIV)

Barbara was struggling to get up the stairs of her son’s Washington D.C. apartment building carrying a couple of bags of groceries. There was no elevator and she was dealing with orthopedic issues; how would she make it? A total stranger would make a difference in her life that day. Unnamed and unknown, a DC Metro bus driver, got off her bus, came over to where Barbara was carrying her bags, grabbed them, and carried them to the top of the stairs. (1440 Daily Digest)

John Sotelo was just doing his job stacking cases of water in a Clovis, CA Costco when he saw an envelope lying on the cases. To his surprise, it contained $3,940, a nice day’s work except he knew it wasn’t his money. He immediately informed his supervisor and they were able to find the person who dropped it, returning the cash to the woman. (USA Today).

IHOP server Tulio Maldonado got a much-needed lift and surprise when the $1,000 Breakfast Club of Saugus, Massachusetts happened to be at one of the tables. The group of 10 friends gathers every couple of months and surprises their server with a huge tip, at least $1,000. Club member Jeffrey Paris said, “You don’t need to be a millionaire or famous celebrity to make someone’s day. I’m pretty sure this guy will never forget this.”  (WCVB News)

An act of kindness, does it make a difference? Princess Diana said, “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward.” Jesus said it better, “And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:42)

There are countless studies and articles on how and why our current culture has become so angry and suspicious of others. A new level of mean-spirited hatefulness has risen in the country. I’m sure you can find any number of reasons for the cultural crisis depending on your point of view. However, we can learn a few lessons from the early church on living in a hostile society.

The modern church is often characterized by having the best-educated leaders in church history, magnificent edifices to meet in on Sundays, and tremendous financial resources. However, statistics reflect massive declines among all denominations – a trend that is especially true in the United States and Europe. In comparison, the early church was characterized as being poor, powerless, and politically marginalized, yet it changed the course of the world. Sociologists estimate that Christianity grew at an incredible 40% per decade from this rag-tag band of 1000 or so followers to more than 34 million Christians by the third century.

Luke writes of the early Believers in Acts “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:44-47)

Compassion characterized the early church members as they lived in their hostile and doubting world. Jesus wasn’t just a slogan for the early church, He was the reason for existence. The Good News of Jesus really did become Good News.

“Christianity served as a revitalization movement that arose in response to the misery, chaos, fear and brutality of life in the urban Greco-Roman world…To cities filled with the homeless and impoverished, Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers, Christianity offered an immediate basis for attachments. To cities filled with orphans and widows, Christianity provided a new and expanded sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife, Christianity offered a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires, and earthquakes, Christianity offered effective nursing services.” (Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity)

I am not sure that just one act of kindness will turn the tide of cultural hostility but millions of acts of kindness could create a tidal wave of change. “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” (Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu)

It was these acts of kindness moments that took a poor, powerless, and politically marginalized group of men and women to change the world. Their love and compassion created an openness to talk about Jesus and the hope He brought. Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate was so impressed by the selfless acts of Christians that he wanted his pagan priesthood to imitate Christian institutions and practices. Early church historian, Eusebius recorded that “All day long some of them (the Christians) tended to the dying and to their burial, countless numbers with no one to care for them. Others gathered together from all parts of the city a multitude of those withered from famine and distributed bread to them all.” (Matt Crawford, Biblemesh)

This small band of resurrection-focused and Spirit-filled Believers took the words of Jesus to heart as they impacted their communities. These early Christians didn’t just make a difference in their homes, communities, and countries, they made the world a different place.

I think we can agree that changing the landscape of our current society will not be an easy task. However, we do have some good examples from this group of poor, powerless, and politically marginalized men and women in the early church who literally shook up their culture. Could it be that simple acts of kindness might be one small step that is needed to open the door to change? It’s worth a try!

God is great!

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.” Matthew 14:25-26

You just ordered your tall Pumpkin Spice Latte, extra hot, skim milk, one pump with no whipped cream but as you are heading toward your chair to savor your drink, you notice someone familiar. You know you’ve seen the young woman before but from where? She is not from work, not from your church, and doesn’t live in the neighborhood but you know you know her. I am sure that is how a lot of customers felt on a Saturday morning in an LA coffee shop when Kelly Clarkson shocked everyone with an impromptu flash mob performance of her new song from her upcoming album. You never know what surprises await you in life!

Surprised was most likely how Zacchaeus felt on that warm, sunny day when Jesus found him up in a tree on a dusty road to Jericho. The story about Zacchaeus is familiar to most people since most of us have probably sung his theme song at one point or another. “Zacchaeus was a wee little man; And a wee little man was he; he climbed up in a sycamore tree; For the Lord he wanted to see; And when the Savior passed that way; He looked up in the tree; And said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down; For I’m going to your house today!; For I’m going to your house today!’; Zacchaeus was a wee little man; But a happy man was he; For he had seen the Lord that day; And a happy man was he; And a very happy man was he”

You can thank me later for putting those words in your mind that will keep popping up all day long!

It had probably been a long time since Zacchaeus had heard his name without someone spitting on the ground as they said it. The Bible doesn’t tell us why Zacchaeus decided to become a tax collector. Maybe it was the only job he could get at the time or he knew he could make money by being one. Whatever the reason it had been a long time since Zacchaeus had lived up to the meaning of his name: pure and innocent. Yet on this particular day, while hanging onto a tree limb, he heard his name, not laced with profanity, but with love.

“When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.” (Luke 19:5-6 NIV)
Jesus was no stranger to pulling off impromptu flash mob performances. Months earlier Jesus had been walking through town and stopped at the tax collection booth where Matthew worked. Unlike Zacchaeus who had made the effort to see Jesus, Matthew kept working, that was until he heard his name and an invitation, “Follow me.” Matthew was surprised but it didn’t take him long to put down his pen and leave behind his lucrative profession to follow Jesus. (see Matthew 9:9-13)

What do you do when you hear the new song that Jesus invites you to sing? You throw a party! “While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.” (Matt 9:10). If you are a Matthew or a Zacchaeus then your list probably will not include the social elite, the powerful or the “righteous” but they will include people you want to hear Jesus’ new song.

It is incredible how many stories there are about tax collectors in the Bible! Jesus had told a parable in Luke 18 comparing the self-professed righteous religious leaders with a tax collector. The religious leader prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” (v11-12). However, the tax collector stood at a distance and pleadingly prayed, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (v13)

Guess which one had center billing in Jesus’ story? “I tell you that this man (the tax collector), rather than the other (the religious leader), went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (v14)
“When people are empty of Christ, a thousand and one things come and fill them up: jealousies, resentment, a worldly outlook, worldly pleasures. Try to fill your soul with Christ so that it’s not empty.” –St. Porphyrios

When Matthew heard his name called by Jesus, he closed up shop and followed Jesus. When Zacchaeus heard his name called by Jesus, he climbed down from the tree and went with Jesus. Overwhelmed with grace, he changed his business practices as he made right the wrongs he had done to others.

Tax collector, sinner, and outcast may have been considered synonyms among the religious and elite society of Jesus’ day but not for Jesus. Jesus looked into a booth and invited Matthew to finally come home. Jesus looked up into a tree and invited Zacchaeus to finally come home. We may have someone or a group in mind that is our synonym for tax collector. However, Jesus doesn’t because he is looking into the nooks and crannies of life with the same invitation of hope and life, “Follow me”

God is great!