Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. Thanksgiving 2023 occurs on Thursday, November 23. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Native American Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

As presently observed, Thanksgiving is a day set aside to celebrate family, food, and football. Traffic jams abound and often tempers grow short as we make our way “over the river and through the wood to grandmother’s house.” In the midst of hectic packing the car or running to the airport we might want to take a moment to reflect on what it means to be thankful and to say, ‘thank you.” In that vein may I gently suggest that thankfulness is more than a parade and roasted turkey. (Although I do like turkey.)

 

In the Gospel According to Luke (17:11-19), there is a story of Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem, being approached by ten lepers begging to be healed of their malady. The disease itself forbade them from being with family, attending synagogue, and all social intercourse. They were outcasts in the truest sense of the word. Upon hearing their plea Jesus instructs them to go and show themselves to the priest as the law required (Leviticus 13). They joyfully turned and hurried off to find the priest. As they traveled, they were healed of their disease.

 

Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. (Luke 17:15-16 emphasis added)

 

Luke develops the concept of seeing in terms of both sight and insight. The leper saw that the disease was gone. In that moment of physical realization there also came a moment of spiritual insight. Having received sight and insight the leper returned to offer a simple act of praise in the words, “thank you.”

 

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Often, we rush through life without taking the time to taste and see the gifts that are ours in abundance. We satisfy ourselves with little lists of things for which are thankful without giving serious thought to the one who provides those gifts.

 

A simple suggestion to make Thanksgiving meaningful is to discover the lost art of saying “thank you.” It is all too rare to find the individual who makes the time to thank another person for a kindness done, or a thoughtful gesture received.

 

Jesus was genuinely impressed with the gracious expression of thanks offered by the individual healed of leprosy. This thanksgiving story is important enough to be included in the canon of scripture.

 

Say it. Mean it. Live into it.

 

Thank you.