Hebrews 13:16 (Thanksgiving)
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:16).
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated in the Unites States which commemorates the first harvest banquet between Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag natives.
Sandwiched between Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving is often remembered as the calm before the shopping storm begins, as Black Friday has overshadowed its significance and become infinitely more popular in the last few decades.
Indeed, Thanksgiving has lost much of its original luster, which is a shame, because it personifies and celebrates character qualities such as selflessness, unconditional love, and sacrifice which are rare commodities in today’s “me-first” culture.
If only we would take a moment to stop and consider the historical significance of Thanksgiving, perhaps we would realize what a blessing it is to give far more than monetary gifts to those in desperate need of saving.
For that is the true meaning of Thanksgiving, and we are wise to recognize how kindness and generosity towards others may inevitably require everything we have, including our lives if need be.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12–13).
HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
On September 6, 1620, 132 passengers and 30 crewmembers boarded a small ship called the Mayflower and treacherously sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Plymouth, England, for 66-days in search of religious freedom and prosperity. However the Pilgrims did not anticipate how difficult and costly their voyage to the “New World” would inevitably be.
Plagued by exposure to harsh, winter conditions and various, contagious diseases living aboard their docked ship throughout the season, half their original population died before the first spring. Moreover, faced with malnutrition, impending starvation, and a lack of environmental knowledge, catching fish, cultivating crops, and avoiding poisonous plants, the Pilgrims were destined for failure.
However, the most unlikely of heroes came to their rescue in the form of two English-speaking natives from the Abenaki and Pawtuxet tribes. These men single-handedly ensured the survival of the remaining Pilgrims by teaching them the skills they needed to survive, and helped them forge an alliance with the Wampanoag tribe to ensure their well-being and safety.
“All great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and both must be enterprised and overcome with answerable courage”
It was an incredible act of selflessness the two men displayed as they had enough compassion for their fellow man to step in and do something to help when they could have easily walked away.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3–4).
Therefore, in celebration for their first successful harvest of corn, the Pilgrims held a feast in November, 1621, inviting members of their native alliance to join them in thanking God for their bounty of blessing and friendship which lasted three full days.
CREATION vs. CREATOR:
It is interesting to reflect upon what could have happened if those two native men chose differently. Undoubtedly, the remaining Pilgrims would have perished before their second winter had come to fruition. Why then did they choose to love their neighbors over self-preservation?
Or perhaps if they had known what the inevitable fate of indigenous people in the United States would one day be, would they have made the same decision to help those whose future ancestors would take their lands and drive them out? Conventional wisdom says, “Absolutely not!”
The only thing we can be certain of is that God’s sovereignty reigned supreme, for He ensured the Pilgrims’ survival. Keep in mind, the native men’s decision to help was not independent from His control but led by His mighty hand. For all Creation is subject to the power and majesty to the Author of life, and these men respected their Creator and responded in love and respect for their fellow man.
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).
Unfortunately, we live in a world today which holds contempt for God and scoffs at the notion a divine Creator exists. No wonder chaos and confusion have quickly overtaken society and compelled people to question what is even right or wrong today.
We have lost our identity, our truth north, even though Creation itself is all we need to know God is ever-present, real, and maintains sovereign control over the world in which we live.
“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not. Do you not fear me? declares the LORD. Do you not tremble before me? I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it” (Jeremiah 5:21–22).
ANSWERED PRAYER:
Hebrews 13:16 teaches us to help those in need, sacrifice our time, and share our resources freely with compassionate hearts so that God may be glorified. In other words, it’s not about us, but rather paying forward the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to those in desperate need of salvation (literal and eternal).
The beauty of what those two native men did in the Spring of 1621 echoes the Biblical application of Hebrews 13:16, for their random acts of kindness were a beacon of light and an answer to prayer for those Pilgrims who were crying out to God for help.
“Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24).
Sometimes, we lose focus of the miraculous ways God uses ordinary people to accomplish His mission in life. When we see a need, we often look the other way expecting someone else to handle things when God has placed the opportunity directly before our path for a reason.
Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). How then can we claim the name of Jesus for our salvation and turn a blind eye to our fellow man?
“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17).
HUMILITY AMID DESPERATION:
What is quite ironic is that when unbelievers are faced with insurmountable trials and calamity, in their desperation they will cry out to God in prayer as a last resort. Granted, their request for help is self-served, but is their focus that much different than our own? Were we not once of the same depraved mind before we came to faith in Christ?
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned” (Romans 12:3).
It’s key we not think more highly of ourselves than we ought and miss a golden opportunity for God to teach us a valuable lesson this side of heaven. Granted, it takes humility to put the needs of others before our own, but that is our calling as followers of Christ to give selflessly.
Those two native men had all the skills and knowledge to know how to live off the land and survive the environment in which they dwelt. They also knew their displaced neighbors did not and were destined to fail if they did not intervene.
That is why their sacrifice is such a powerful example of humility amid desperation. They held in their grasp knowledge which determined whether the Pilgrims would live or die. However, they did not deny their conscience but shared their wisdom to preserve the lives of their enemies.
“Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another” (Mark 9:50).
BOTTOM-LINE:
Thanksgiving is far more than a holiday opportunity for Americans to gather together, share a meal, and watch football. It should be a time for humble reflection where we celebrate the selfless example of two extraordinary men as we examine our hearts and reflect upon how we can love and serve those in our respective communities as well.
For there is no shortage of needs in our world today which God has sovereignly equipped us to specifically meet, and we are wise to examine the resources He has graciously bestowed upon us so that we too can be the light of Christ in a dark and hopeless world.
“Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me’” (Matthew 19:21).
Granted, that will require us to step outside our comfort zone and in certain circumstances, love our enemies as well. However, there is no substitute for doing the right thing, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient it may be.
Therefore, whether we celebrate Thanksgiving or not, the principle behind what it stands for can be a powerful reminder for us to emulate the example of those who have gone before us by being the hands and feet of Jesus to those who desperately need help and hope for a brighter tomorrow.
“If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:15–17).
