Thanksgiving

I went to the faculty staff Thanksgiving chapel at Nyack College, Nyack last week. Dr. Elio Cuccaro gave the message on the theme of thanksgiving. I don't remember what he said very well, but he mentioned that Jesus only said "thank you" three times. Also he noted the importance of giving thanks in the Pauline epistles, but the lack of thankfulness in the list comprising the fruit of the Spirit.

I wish I could remember better, but he talked about the need for actions that show thankfulness, more than merely repeating a saying. Like little kids who are required to "say sorry" but don't really feel or act sorry, saying "thank you" can degenerate into a ritual that doesn't have a real response of thankfulness. He mentioned something about the prayer of thanks that Jesus gave at the feeding of the 5000. It would have been the standard Jewish prayer, "Blessed are you Yahweh our God who brings forth bread from the earth" (baruk atta adonai elohenu melek haolam asher motzi lehem min haaretz). There is no "thank you" in this prayer, but rather an acknowledgement that God is the source of the food. It is a confession.

Dr. Bryan Widbin of Alliance Theological Seminary has often observed that there is no word for "thank you" in biblical Hebrew. Modern Hebrew uses "todah" which is really a confession, not of guilt, but an acknowledgement of what the other person has done. Rather than a generic "thank you," there is a specific acknowledgement of the deed, and the source of the deed. In the "grace," it is confessing that God is the source of the bread (i.e. not ourselves).

I love thanksgiving and harvest season. Thanksgiving helps me to count my blessings and focus on the good things in my life... and the source of those good things. Blessed are you Lord Jesus Christ who has filled my life with so many blessings. Thank you.