As a Christian, as a believer in God Almighty, and in the redemptive process of Jesus’ atoning death, it is pretty much a given that you are bathed in blessings and have a lot to be grateful for. So, the North American Thanksgiving holiday theme is pretty much the easiest holiday for me to wrap my head around. Be thankful, be grateful, no problem. The words of the famous song, ‘We gather together’ show just how ensconced in the Judeo-Christian ethos this holiday is. This year is a little different.
Over the years, I have gathered bare, fallen tree branches from my autumnal New York garden and put them in a vase. Then, I would cut leaf-shaped patterns out of construction paper and print the words: ‘I am most grateful for” and then leave an empty space. Family and guests would then write what they were most grateful for on that paper leaf. Next, we would look at the tree with its’ pinned on leaves and talk about how God had blessed us. Every one at the table had different challenges and different blessings every single year. What we all realized is how enormously important it was to take time to focus on just what blessings we had at the moment. Many families have similar traditions.
But, this year in New York, the hottest holiday accoutrement is the plastic window sticker featuring New York governor Andrew Cuomo peeking in your window to see if you have less than ten people at your gathering. This year, there will be no fanfare, no plane trips or long car rides for me. Zoom replaced in-person contact. The supermarket seemed eerily empty. Usually a week before Thanksgiving means waiting on long lines and coping with an increase of traffic jams. Not this year. Even if I had decided to get on an airplane, it wouldn’t seem the same. The fun is drained from such activities. I would have to get q-tips shoved up my nose, endure wearing masks all day, and face possible quarantines.
I have learned that being a believer doesn’t mean you have to be serendipitous. That thought led me to the book of Ruth in the Bible and the story of Naomi. Having endured drought, relocation, the death of her husband and sons, and then reestablishing herself in the land of Israel as an old woman, she remarked, call me Mara for I am bitter. Some poor woman just welcomed her home, and at that moment all of Naomi’s emotions came gushing forth. Ruth 1:20-21 Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.
I relate a lot to Naomi’s plight this Thanksgiving. We know that Naomi’s husband and sons had died in the land of Moab. Did they die of starvation? Or, did they die of some disease ravaging their camp. A virus like Covid-19 perhaps? I know that we all can relate to Naomi’s feelings of loss as we go through life but doesn’t it have special meaning this year as we all deal with Covid-19 and its’ effects?
Naomi had gotten to the end of her rope and she was bitter. I love the word, bitter. It is so evocative. I think of food that doesn’t taste quite right. Babies frequently give that scrunched eye look and push food out with their tongue when they think it is bitter. A well that has been polluted in a sense is bitter.
Bitter can also be a state of mind. One who is jaded and has turned pessimistic is bitter. Bitter also means resentful of a circumstance. It could be a marital situation, a job loss, an illness or an injustice. Whatever it is, it has the effect of turning your life from sweet to sour. This year each and every one of us faces the possibility of becoming bitter.
The pilgrims must have had a lot of negative thoughts and feelings which they had to combat. Yet, all those years ago, they chose to have a period of prayer and thanksgiving to God Almighty and focus on what they could be grateful for. They put down their farming and building tools, they left the hard work of life aside and found some joy. Amid the difficult times that we are facing, we must learn lessons from the life of the pilgrims and from the Book of Ruth.
The pilgrims were instrumental in establishing the United States. Because of them, the country was founded with religious principles. They sought “freedom of religion” and had a desire to follow in the holiness model that God had set before us. Because it is written, Be ye Holy for I am Holy - 1 Peter 1:16. Everything the pilgrims did was to establish God’s kingdom on earth. They reverenced God and the precepts of the Bible along the way and so they helped established godly principle in the founding of the United States. It is written in our constitution and other founding documents.
So too, Naomi had her place in establishing the coming of the Messiah Jesus Christ. But, neither the pilgrims nor Naomi knew at the time where their little faithfulness would lead. They may never have known how important that staying the course and following God was. They walked in faith and so must we because it has enormous meaning.
Both the pilgrims and Naomi had to work very hard because of the situations they were in. Maybe you must too right now. Every time we struggle in the moment let us have a vision of the future and what God can do. Even if it looks grim now, God’s promise says our life and struggles have meaning.
And God shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age- Ruth 4:15a
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