Give thanks in all
circumstances;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tomorrow
our nation will pause to give thanks. It’s a tradition dating back more
than 400 years when Governor Bradford, of the Plymouth Colony gave these
instructions to the citizens:
"Inasmuch as the great Father has given
us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes
and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea
with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of
the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom
to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscious.
"Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim
that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye
meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on
Thursday November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and
twenty-three and the third year since ye pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock,
there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all
His blessings."
170 years later, George Washington made a
public proclamation establishing:
….a
day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with
grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God. . .
In 1863, in the middle of the Civil War,
President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of Thanksgiving to be
observed on the last Thursday in November.
A Proclamation.
The year that is
drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful
fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed
that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been
added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to
penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever
watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled
magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite
and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations,
order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony
has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that
theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the
Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful
industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or
the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines,
as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more
abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding
the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and
the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is
permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No
human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great
things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing
with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has
seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and
gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American
People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United
States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign
lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of
Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to
Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble
penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender
care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the
lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently
implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation
and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the
full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I
have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be
affixed.
Done at the City of
Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand
eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the
Eighty-eighth. - President: Abraham Lincoln
Every president after Lincoln, has
issued an annual proclamation, to set aside a day of national Thanksgiving. In
1941a joint congressional resolution officially set the date as the fourth
Thursday in November.
Yesterday President Obama continued that
tradition:
On Thanksgiving Day,
Americans everywhere gather with family and friends to recount the joys and
blessings of the past year. This day is a time to take stock of the fortune we
have known and the kindnesses we have shared, grateful for the God-given bounty
that enriches our lives. As many pause to lend a hand to those in need, we are
also reminded of the indelible spirit of compassion and mutual responsibility
that has distinguished our Nation since its earliest days.
Many Thanksgivings have offered opportunities to celebrate
community during times of hardship. When the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony gave
thanks for a bountiful harvest nearly four centuries ago, they enjoyed the
fruits of their labor with the Wampanoag tribe – a people who had shared vital
knowledge of the land in the difficult months before. When President George Washington marked our democracy's first Thanksgiving, he prayed to
our Creator for peace, union, and plenty through the trials that would surely
come. And when our Nation was torn by bitterness and civil war, President Abraham Lincoln reminded us that we were, at heart, one Nation,
sharing a bond as Americans that could bend but would not break. Those
expressions of unity still echo today, whether in the contributions that
generations of Native Americans have made to our country, the Union our
forebears fought so hard to preserve, or the providence that draws our families
together this season.
As we reflect on our proud heritage, let us also give
thanks to those who honor it by giving back. This Thanksgiving, thousands of
our men and women in uniform will sit down for a meal far from their loved ones
and the comforts of home. We honor their service and sacrifice. We also show
our appreciation to Americans who are serving in their communities, ensuring
their neighbors have a hot meal and a place to stay. Their actions reflect our
age-old belief that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, and they affirm
once more that we are a people who draw our deepest strength not from might or
wealth, but from our bonds to each other.
On Thanksgiving Day, individuals from all walks of life
come together to celebrate this most American tradition, grateful for the
blessings of family, community, and country. Let us spend this day by lifting
up those we love, mindful of the grace bestowed upon us by God and by all who
have made our lives richer with their presence.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Barack Obama,
President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in
me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States,
do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 22, 2012, as a National Day of
Thanksgiving. I encourage the people of the United States to join together –
whether in our homes, places of worship, community centers, or any place of
fellowship for friends and neighbors – and give thanks for all we have received
in the past year, express appreciation to those whose lives enrich our own, and
share our bounty with others.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
thirty-seventh. – Barack Obama
We
are still thankful for the blessings of Almighty God and mindful of the Grace
He has bestowed upon us..
I
pray that all of you are enjoying the gifts of family, friends and home this
Thanksgiving. Give thanks!
