Katrick: Wishing you abundance, this Thanksgiving
One of the things that continually amazes me about Thanksgiving is the lack of space for hot and cold serving dishes.
No matter how much advance planning you do, and how many extra tables you set up, there just doesn’t seem to be enough room for everything. Something or the other always seems to get left behind in the kitchen, and brought out later. In my family, it was the cranberry sauce (which was okay with me because it’s my least favorite thing).
The St. John’s UCC parsonage in Genoa, Ohio, where we lived when I served as Associate Pastor, had a big den with a picture window. It has the look and feel of a place where you could put out almost any amount of anything!
One particular year, members of all sides of our families were invited there, including a distant cousin of mine from Slovakia named Monica. So we brought in a long, fold-out table from the garage and set it right next to another of equal size. There still wasn’t enough room for everyone and everything, included the requisite card table for the kids.
So the main courses, including the turkey just out of the oven, got to stay on the kitchen table until the last possible minute. This was more than okay with Monica, as she was unimpeded in carrying out her duties as official sampler.
Such abundance must be hard to imagine in some parts of the world and even in some parts of our country, where items from the most basic of food groups are hard to come by. This is not meant to be some guilt-giving preacher kind of a thing. We are only doing what most everyone else does - celebrating the most popular holiday of the year in the United States. One survey on www.statista.come had Thanksgiving coming in first at 81% with Christmas next at 77%.
I believe Jesus does not want us to feel guilty. In Luke 14:15-24, he tells the parable of one who prepares a great banquet and invites many guests (verse 16). But all his invited guests make all kinds of excuses as to why they cannot attend (verse 18). Jesus goes on to say how in the Kingdom of God, the Lord God likes his tables full of hot and cold dishes and a seat for every guest.
In other words, God does not wish to see empty places and spaces at God’s table, especially when there are people out there on the streets and in the alleys, the country roads and lanes (verses 21 and 23) who are desperately in need of food for the body and the soul.
Wherever and with whomever you celebrated yesterday (or even today or tomorrow), I hope and pray that you had to set up extra tables, for members of all sides of your family who were invited, and that your designated turkey sampler was kept very busy.
Most importantly, I pray that whoever was chosen to give the blessing, took the time to bless the One who is responsible for this great feast and the fellowship we share. In the Advent and Christmas seasons, may we go quickly to the streets and alleys, to roads and country lanes, to wherever a child of God is hungry, and share the wealth with our brothers and sisters.
Mark Katrick is a pastor and spiritual director.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Katrick: Wishing you abundance, this Thanksgiving
