Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is more than just an act of love. Thanksgiving is love. It is the fabric of the communal experience that holds us together.

Think about a football game. When a quarterback makes a touchdown, one side stands up and cheers. They are giving thanks. True, they are led by girls in short skirts instead of ministers in robes, but the action is the same. Those who are fans of one side rejoice. Their affection for one side, expressed in gratitude for their successes, is the common experience that makes them one. This support of one side might be the only thing that holds them together, but that is enough.

Think about a family saying grace in a restaurant. What distinguishes them from the other diners? Simply that they gave public thanks for the meal. The act of giving thanks in sincerity is enough to make them all one.

Unity comes about through common experience experienced with the same emotions. We are held together by love, hate, lust, or desire, but in this we are one. Mostly, though it is what we are thankful for that makes us one.

I think we could make a case for saying that the act of giving thanks to each other brings us together. AS we express thanks for another, we are accepting them as one. Together we become one family, one circle of friends, or one people. The more thankful we are, the more we will express it. The more we express it, the more thankful we become.

Thankfulness to god is especially important. When we give thanks to God, we acknowledge the rightness of the world. We declare ourselves in harmony with the Creator. We cannot grumble or complain that the world is not to our liking when we thank God for what he is done.

So this next week, let's thank God for our blessing. But let's also give thanks to one another for the blessings we have received. This will strengthen our bonds with each other, and make us more truly a family, a nation, and a harmonious society.