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About half of the individuals who were aboard the Mayflower died
during the first winter of 1620-1621. At harvest time in 1621, those
who survived, 53 in all, celebrated the harvest with what has been
recognized as America's first Thanksgiving. Through the years, the
group aboard that ship and the settlement at Plymouth,
Mass., even though some were "strangers" while others were
"saints," have all become known as "Pilgrims."
Through the years into modern America, the celebration of
Thanksgiving has not only endured, but flourished. It was Abraham
Lincoln who began the tradition of a national Thanksgiving in 1863.
Prior to that, some state governors proclaimed the day, and some
presidents encouraged a day of Thanksgiving; some did not. In modern
times we celebrate Thanksgiving as a day to be grateful for all the
blessings we have, not only nationally but individually as well.
It is easy to reflect on the presence of Thanksgiving, especially
since we can see a direct tie to the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony
celebrating along with their Indian neighbors at the bountiful
harvest experienced in 1621. Besides the great harvest, however, the
Pilgrims would have known the true source of Thanksgiving. They were
a God-fearing, loving people who would have been very familiar with
the teachings of the Bible. A prayer of Thanksgiving
Beyond a doubt the Pilgrims would have been familiar with the
passage in Psalm 100 that calls the people to give thanks.
Psalm 100
Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with
joy! Enter his presence with joyful singing! Acknowledge that the
Lord is God! He made us and we belong to him; we are his people, the
sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his
courts with praise! Give him thanks! Praise his name! For the Lord
is good. His loyal love endures, and he is faithful through all
generations.
— Psalm 100:1-5 The psalmist saw the faithfulness of God directed to His children,
the Jewish nation, and called the people from all over the nation to
celebrate with him. The Children of Israel had been blessed by God,
and the psalmist recognized the relationship between God and His
people and wanted to praise God and give Him thanks. Likewise, the
Pilgrims had seen the faithfulness of God to them, His grafted-in
people, grafted by the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His work on
the cross.
Emerging from a very difficult voyage from England, a very tough
winter, with the loss of nearly half of their company through death,
with each family having lost a loved one and touched by the
harshness of the times, God had now come through with a bountiful
harvest, much better health, and the Pilgrims felt the blessings flow
through their hearts. With those who took leadership, and those who
were following, they collectively with one heart began to see the
importance of remembering a custom they had practiced in their home
country, and they planted a new custom in this new-found land that
would bathe each of them in thanksgiving to their Creator for
delivering them into a new life of freedom and abundance. Worship
was not just an act of singing or raising hands to heaven. It meant
serving God and each other. It meant serving those upon whose land
they had rested. So along with the great Indian King Massasoit and approximately 90 of his men, the Pilgrims sat down to
a meal and communed together, giving thanks to God Who had seen their
struggles and had brought them through it, and now even with
abundance. It was a joyful acknowledgement that they entered into their worship
of praise. They acknowledged that God had created them and had given
them abundance of life. He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
and they, even now, as His servants, each belonged to Him. He was
all-powerful and sustaining even in the face of adversity and
hardship. It was His doing that their morning had come with joy and
sunshine, even with the fruits of their labor. He had blessed them
with the harvest for which they were thankful. So they lifted their
faces and hearts with praise and thanksgiving, knowing that God loved
them and He would endure forever. They set into motion on this new
land that would ultimately be called America the precedent of
worship because of the promise they knew to be true that God endures
forever and to each of the generations that would follow in their
footsteps.
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With hearts full of thankfulness, how could the Pilgrims not heed
the call to worship and celebration? No doubt they continued with
their freedom of belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as they rehearsed
the psalmist's call to worship:
Sing for joy
Psalm 95
Come! Let's sing for joy to the Lord! Let's shout out praises to our
protector who delivers us! Let's enter his presence with
thanksgiving! Let's shout out to him in celebration!— Psalm 95:1-2
The people remembered they were to sing for joy and remember the
Lord Who made them. The admonition was to joyfully shout, praise and
worship with service, but also never to rebel against the Lord. The
first Thanksgiving was likely a fairly noisy celebration among those
who had survived the harsh winter with God's hand of protection and
deliverance and with those whom the Lord had introduced as Natives
in a new land who joined in the celebration of a bountiful harvest.
The practicing Christian
Finally, the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving no doubt understood
that Christians must practice their faith. They must turn to God and
allow Him to work through their hearts and think about His ways and
worship Him as their Creator and Sustainer. With thankful hearts and
the wisdom they found in their New Testament Scripture which had
been translated by King James of England just a few years
(1611) prior to their Mayflower voyage, they knew through the writings of
the Apostle Paul in his letters recorded in their new Bible
that Christians ought to always be thankful.
Philippians 4
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice! Let everyone see
your gentleness. The Lord is near! Do not be anxious about anything.
Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with
thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that
surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy
of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy,
think about these things. And what you learned and received and
heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be
with you.
— Philippians 4:4-9
The first Thanksgiving was celebrated with people who were close to
God. Their hearts were full of joy and they celebrated that joy,
deliverance and protection from God. They exhibited the gentleness
of spirit and leading of the Holy Spirit as those who came from this
native land joined them in their celebration. They left their
anxiety behind them with the fading of the past winter winds and
moved forward into the spring and summer of the joy that comes in
the morning. Now their harvest of plenty was reason to give praise
and thanks. They yielded their spirits over to the God of plenty
with their corporate thanksgiving and individual requests of
blessings through personal prayers. They settled in to bask in the
SON-shine of peace and understanding that filled their hearts with
the love of Jesus Christ.
As we look to our own 21st-century Thanksgiving celebrations, may we
first remember that we are the creation of God, and we are to
celebrate by giving Him thanks and worship in spirit and truth,
reflecting on the vastness of grace that He has given us through His
work on the cross to secure the salvation He offers. To Him be
praise and glory forever!
[By JIM KILLEBREW]
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