Before it was a noun, “thanksgiving” was a verb. The difference matters.
A desert father once said:
“If you have a chest full of oranges, and leave it for a long time,
the fruit will rot inside of it.
It is the same with the thoughts in our heart.
If we do not carry them out by physical action,
after a while they will spoil and turn bad.”
Living thankfully is not essentially about feeling thankful, or even being thankful. To live thankfully is to act differently day by day because we are compelled by the Spirit to participate in the generous life of God-with-us, constantly practicing thanks-giving.
“Have a good Thanksgiving,” we say to one another beforehand. And afterward, we ask, “How was your Thanksgiving?” assuming the word to be a noun.
But as a verb, as a spiritual practice, what is thanksgiving all about?
Giving thanks is actually central to the practice of Christianity.
It is a golden thread, woven through and uniting all we do as Christians.
At Thanksgiving, we celebrate the gift of the harvest. We do so actively. As Charles Winters put it in his wonderful prayer, which is offered by many just before the Great Thanksgiving in celebrations of the Eucharist:
“We make, O Lord, our glorious exchanges.
What you have given us, we now offer you,
that in turn, we may receive yourself.”
From "Sermons That Work," Steve Kelsey, missioner of the Greater Hartford Regional Ministry in Connecticut.
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