Once my children were old enough to go to school, I began to dread the month of November. Though it has become better over the years, inevitably one of my kiddos would come home with a “Native American craft” that they had made at school. I have made sure to tell them how the first Thanksgiving really went down, how we ended up in Oklahoma, and that we did not dress like the romanticized holiday decorations.
To me, Thanksgiving was never about the pilgrims and Indians, or Plymouth rock or gold buckled shoes. Thanksgiving was a dedicated day where we, as a family, gather to break bread. In our increasingly busy and complicated lives it is more important than ever that we cherish these moments together as family (no matter what family means to you).
Just as Christ broke bread at the last supper, may we also be reminded this holiday season that we gather not as we ought, but as we are able. Rejoice with shouts of thanksgiving for what God has accomplished in your lives not only this year, but in the age to come.
This message is excerpted from “Thanksgiving: gathering to break bread” by Miranda Searcy from the November 21, 2022, blog of the Women of the ELCA. Today we commemorate Clement, Bishop of Rome, c. 100 and Miguel Agustin Pro, martyr, 1927. Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States.
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