Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we
are his; we are his people,
the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and
his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise
his name.
For the Lord is good
and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all
generations. (Psalm 100)
My deepest
prayer for you is that today will be a day of thanksgiving, time spent enjoying
family, friends, and food in a spirit of gratitude for all that you have
received in the past year.
This year, my thoughts are
turning to the focus of our gratitude. Humanists declare that Thanksgiving Day
is a secular holiday. It’s a day we can express our thanks to all the people
and things involved not only in today’s festivities, but in our lives in
general. Here’s an example of a Humanist Thanksgiving Day “prayer.”
I offer my deepest appreciation and my most
profound apologies to the plants and animals whose lives were forfeit for
our good health this day.We give thanks to the ranchers and the
farmers, their workers and their hands whose skill, sweat and toil have brought forth this bounty
from the Earth. We are grateful to the workers in the fields
who pick our food, the workers in the plants where our food is
processed, the teamsters who carry it to market and the
stockers and the checkers who offer it up for our selection. We are particularly appreciative for those at
this table who have prepared this food with love and affection for our
enjoyment and nourishment this day. We remember fondly those who the miles and
circumstance keep from joining us today as we remember those who are no longer
with us and are grateful for the time we have shared
with them. We enjoy the warmth and fellowship that
surrounds this gathering as we share the fervent hope that people the world
over can share the good fortune, warm feeling and conviviality that embraces
this gathering.
This is a
very sad prayer. The plants and animals are dead and in their death, we have
found joy. I am sure they would rather be alive, and that they didn’t
voluntarily give up their lives, so thankfulness to them is misplaced. Thanks
for them makes sense, but that thanks must be given elsewhere. It’s of no use
to the plants and animals. The ranchers and farmers, their workers, the processors, transporters, and all the other people who have made the food available to us already have their thanks. It’s called money. We may add a polite word of gratitude when we encounter them – and we should – but they have sold us that for which we are thankful. How much more deserving of thanks is the one who gives us something?
Those who prepare the food and home for the holiday very likely prepare the food and home for every other day. Thanksgiving is due to them but it’s sad to think that the guest of honor very likely had to do most of the work for the feast given in her honor and everyone who eats of the meal has been paid for their part in it. Again, thanks is due, but they have their just reward.
None of those involved in the celebration of the holiday produced anything by themselves. Every single one of them worked with resources provided by someone or something else. Most of those involved receive recompense for their labor, and those that don’t are given no choice in the matter. There is only one who gives willingly of what belongs entirely to Him, not borrowing, buying, or stealing from another. There is only one who has not been paid in some way. Today is a day to give thanks to the One who gave us all we have as a gift, not merely a moment to realize all that goes into moving the gift from the ground to the table.
With that in
mind, here is my Thanksgiving Day Concert (once again.)
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