The eCrozier

The word thanksgiving implies that we’re thankful. That’s the thanks in thanksgiving. The other part is giving. That means we’re giving thanks to someone (or something) beyond ourselves. Thus, thanksgiving directs us away from ourselves and to someone else. In our individualistic and sometimes selfish culture, the simple act of giving thanks is shock therapy, reminding us that we’re not alone; that we’re always dependent upon someone (or something) beyond ourselves.

In our faith tradition then giving thanks is a confession of our humility before God. It’s recognizing that without God we’re lost; that we’re always dependent on the grace and mercy of God. This way of approaching thanksgiving is for all seasons, not just for one day a year. For if we see thanksgiving as foremost an act of humility before God, then we must conclude that we’re to give God thanks in all things. We give God thanks for those things that satisfy and delight us, but also for our failures and losses, because they lead us to a deeper sense of our dependency on God. In fact, for us every Sunday is Thanksgiving Day. The word Eucharist literally means thanksgiving.

I was a high school wrestler and as Garrison Keilor says about children in Lake Wobegone, I was “above average.” In my senior year everyone knew who would win the championship in my weight class and it wasn’t me. I was up against a kid who hadn’t lost a match in 4 years. He beat me every year. My friends use to bet on which round and time he would pin me. In the finals, alas, I was up against Mr. Unbeaten. And he beat me. At the awards ceremony local media interviewed him because he had set a record that day for the longest unbeaten streak. I’d become an asterisk in the records like the pitcher who gave up the 715th home run to Hank Aaron. Anyway, in his interview he said: “I just want to thank God for giving me this victory.” My coach turned to me and asked, “What’s God got against you, Scott?” Thanksgiving isn’t about winning. It’s about the One to whom we give our thanks. I don’t believe in a God who manipulates the outcome of sporting events, although some Bulldog fans may dispute that.

A while back I read an article by the novelist & essayist, Tom Wolfe. In it he described the breakthroughs scientists have made in understanding brain chemistry. From those Wolfe reached the conclusion that humans are simply carbon-based computer systems, no more, no less. If that sort of Darwinian reductionism is true, then to whom should a carbon-based computer give thanks? This sort of reductionism leads us to what Nietzsche concluded when he proclaimed the “death of God.” He decided there was “no ultimate someone” to whom we owed thanks. Nietzsche predicted this would bring the human race to a future crisis point. And maybe we’re reaching that crisis point.

Thanksgiving can bring us back from that crisis point. I’m an enthusiastic advocate of this holiday. I’d gladly eat turkey and stuffing every day if it would help promote thanksgiving. Even though every day should be Thanksgiving Day, I’m thankful we have at least one day a year when we ask: What are we thankful for and to whom should our thanks be directed.

+Scott