Thanks-giving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  Because of the historical nature of the national holiday, we mostly hear this only at this time of year, but it seems to me that this is something we should be doing absolutely every single day - remembering and giving thanks.  It is good and appropriate for families and friends to gather each November to enjoy company and remember with gratitude all our forebears did for us, but if we broaden it to include, not just the holiday, but daily blessings, we do just that! 

There is an obscure churchy word that we never hear, but we do every time we celebrate the Eucharist (which, by the way, is the original New Testament Greek word for giving thanks, or The Great Thanksgiving, if you look in the Prayer Book on p. 333/361): that word is “anamnesis,” which means “remembrance,” especially during the part of the Eucharist in which we remember that “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again,” and when Jesus took the bread and wine, blessed them, and shared them among his friends - a defining moment when we accept our Lord’s invitation to receive the holy food and drink of his Table.

All of these - the holiday, our weekly Eucharistic remembrance, our daily life - gives us the opportunity to remain focused on ways to give thanks for what Jesus has done for us.  And so I hope everyone has a blessed time, not only at the end of this month on our national holiday, but every single day: remembering and giving thanks.

--- Marc