Dear Evergreen family,
Thanksgiving is going to be different this year. Maybe by a little, maybe by a lot. I am hearing stories of families planning brief outdoor gatherings of just a few people. I am hearing stories of families planning to intentionally exclude people in order to protect them. I am hearing stories of people planning to cancel the day altogether.
Even if we could all get together, it’s harder to give thanks this year. We’ve lost things. School is not school. Jobs have been trimmed. People have been ill. Depression is on the rise.
Maybe all of this is just helping us focus better. It is right and good to give thanks for the passing gifts that we receive in this life: work, companionship, shelter, sustenance, and more. However, its much more right and much better to give thanks for, and not just to, the giver of those gifts. Let’s listen to the Apostle Paul express this kind of thanksgiving at the beginning of the book of Ephesians:
“How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.” (Ephesians 1:3–6)
In this spirit, have a very blessed Thanksgiving, Evergreen Church!
Don’t forget to join us tonight for the first session of our Advent study, “Incarnation.” Click this link at 7:00 p.m. to join in! The passcode is 692543.
May God bless us all.
Your Fellow Minister in Christ,
Mark