Howard Thurman (1899-1981)Today, I make my Sacrament of Thanksgiving.I begin with the simple things of my days:Fresh air to breathe,Cool water to drink,The taste of food,The protection of houses and clothes,The comforts of home.For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day!I bring to mind all the warmth of humankind that I have known:My mother’s arms,The strength of my fatherThe playmates of my childhood,The wonderful stories brought to me from the livesOf many who talked of days gone by when fairiesAnd giants and all kinds of magic held sway;The tears I have shed, the tears I have seen;The excitement of laughter and the twinkle in theEye with its reminder that life is good.For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this dayI finger one by one the messages of hope that awaited me at the crossroads:The smile of approval from those who held in their hands the reins of my security;The tightening of the grip in a simple handshake when IFeared the step before me in darkness;The whisper in my heart when the temptation was fiercestAnd the claims of appetite were not to be denied;The crucial word said, the simple sentence from an openPage when my decision hung in the balance.For all these I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.I pass before me the main springs of my heritage:The fruits of labors of countless generations who lived before me,Without whom my own life would have no meaning;The seers who saw visions and dreamed dreams;The prophets who sensed a truth greater than the mind could graspAnd whose words would only find fulfillmentIn the years which they would never see;The workers whose sweat has watered the trees,The leaves of which are for the healing of the nations;The pilgrims who set their sails for lands beyond all horizons,Whose courage made paths into new worlds and far off places;The saviors whose blood was shed with a recklessness that only a dreamCould inspire and God could command.For all this I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.I linger over the meaning of my own life and the commitmentTo which I give the loyalty of my heart and mind:The little purposes in which I have shared my loves,My desires, my gifts;The restlessness which bottoms all I do with its stark insistenceThat I have never done my best, I have never daredTo reach for the highest;The big hope that never quite deserts me, that I and my kindWill study war no more, that love and tenderness and all theinner graces of Almighty affection will cover the life of thechildren of God as the waters cover the sea.All these and more than mind can think and heart can feel,I make as my sacrament of Thanksgiving to Thee,Our Father, in humbleness of mind and simplicity of heart.
- Light a candle to remember Christ's presence with you.
- Sit five to fifteen minutes in silent meditation paying close attention to the deep breath.
- Inhale God's goodness, giving thanks for the many ways God blesses you.
- Exhale hatred, bitterness, fear, anxiety, or tension
- As you inhale, open yourself to God.
- As you exhale, let go of anything keeping you from God.
- Rest in the arms of God.
- Take time to be fully thankful.
- Be held in thanksgiving.
- Smell thanksgiving.
- Taste thanksgiving.
- See thanksgiving.
- Hear thanksgiving.
- What is God's message for you?
- Give thanks to God for this time in prayer and for any new insights you have received.
- Share as you feel led in the reply box below the lectionary texts.
Joel 2:21-27
21Do not fear, O soil;be glad and rejoice,for the Lord has done great things!22Do not fear, you animals of the field,for the pastures of the wilderness are green;the tree bears its fruit,the fig tree and vine give their full yield.23O children of Zion, be gladand rejoice in the Lord your God;for he has given the early rain for your vindication,he has poured down for you abundant rain,the early and the later rain, as before.24The threshing floors shall be full of grain,the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.25I will repay you for the yearsthat the swarming locust has eaten,the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,my great army, which I sent against you.26You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,and praise the name of the Lord your God,who has dealt wondrously with you.And my people shall never again be put to shame.27You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other.And my people shall never again be put to shame.
Psalm Psalm 126:1-6
1When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,we were like those who dream.
2Then our mouth was filled with laughter,and our tongue with shouts of joy;then it was said among the nations,"The LORD has done great things for them."
3The LORD has done great things for us,and we rejoiced.
4Restore our fortunes, O LORD,like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5May those who sow in tearsreap with shouts of joy.
6Those who go out weeping,bearing the seed for sowing,shall come home with shouts of joy,carrying their sheaves.
Second Reading 1 Timothy 2:1-7
1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,
2for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.
3This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human,
6who gave himself a ransom for all this was attested at the right time.
7For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Gospel Matthew 6:25-33
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith? 31Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' 32For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Thursday, November 22, 2012, Thanksgiving Day, Year BJoel 2:21-27 Psalm 126:1-6 1 Timothy 2:1-7 Matthew 6:25-33If you use these prayers in other groups, please give credit to author. Permission to use in not-for-profit settings The Rev. Lil Smith, M.Div., DASD
