Thanksgiving 2022

When the crowd found Jesus on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:25-35

It's a complicated thing, this Thanksgiving. What we were taught in school was not true. Many friends will gather in Plymouth for the National Indigenous Day of Mourning, which highlights the genocide and land grabs which are central to our American history. Rightly so, and I would like to be there with them. And yet, from my feeble, mending place, when a week ago I almost died, I can do nothing but be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving. I am home and mending, more mobile than I could have hoped. Despite our human greed and cruelty throughout history, God is doing good things and setting a table for us all. "I am the bread of life!"

Wondrous Creator, source of life

you are flowing rivers of healing

you are bounty is a scarcity world

and you have promised to feed us.

This Thanksgiving, humble us all

so that we might know our true history

so that we might turn away from greed

and live lives of service and love.

You said, "I am the bread of life"

let us come to you and learn from you

the ways of your bounteous love

found in true service and true gratitude. Amen.