Happy Thanksgiving

It is a privilege to live fewer than two hours (by car!) from my in-laws.

The drive is quite literally “over the river and through the woods” with an extra dose of “over some mountains” thrown in for good measure. It’s not an easy drive, but it is always rewarding.

Not only do my children get to see their grandma and grandpa, but an aunt and uncle live there as well.

And so, as you can imagine, this is where we go for Thanksgiving.

I should add that it is an additional privilege that my in-laws - all of them - are wonderful people whose company is a true blessing.

So yes, I had a great Thanksgiving. Thanks for asking.

At first we gathered for the traditional game of “Marbles”, contested on a beautifully crafted, home-made wooden playing surface which has seen thousands of victories and defeats.

That got things sorted out properly, and it was soon time to sit down for another cherished tradition, the Thanksgiving Meal.

There was turkey and gravy, stuffing (“stuffing balls”, this year, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!), sweet potatoes that resembled a dessert more than a vegetable (YUM), “mac and cheese”, deviled eggs, gallons of Arnold Palmer (Iced Tea mixed with Lemonade at the “Holy Ratio” of 65/35), and more.

And yes, there were pies. With Ice Cream.

My guess is that our Thanksgiving was a lot like yours.

We ate - maybe a little more than we would normally eat - and we talked our way around the table.

The Thanksgiving Meal is, by tradition, a table overflowing with good things to eat.

I am thankful to live in a country that, for every one of my 57 years, there has been enough resources to overdo it just a little bit every year at Thanksgiving.

Thank God for the United States of America.

During our pre-meal prayer, we remembered those whose tables were less bounteous than ours (after which my children debated over the proper spelling of the word “bounteous”.)

We know that there are war-torn places in the world where the dinner table is sparse.

We know that there are impoverished populations in the world where the dinner table is sparse.

We know that there are Americans who lack the resources to fill a Thanksgiving table to overflowing.

And so the Christian Church has an important mission to consistently gather resources for distribution amongst the poor.

To fail in this task is to ignore one of the most basic commandments Jesus gave us. Feed the hungry.

And so we do.

But as we were driving home after this year’s feast, with leftover Italian Wedding Soup, leftover Fruit Salad, and other delights which will continue to feed my family for days, I was thinking about the words of Jesus, “I am the bread of life.”

I have never, ever, eaten a Thanksgiving Meal for survival.

I’ve never been truly “hungry” like that.

And so the bread our family ate was a celebration, a tradition, a holiday, a joyous occasion, a feast of plenty.

It was not the “bread of life”.

When Jesus speaks of himself as the bread of life, he is speaking to a crowd of people who were so desperately hungry that he had to miraculously provide bread and fish.

There was no pie, no fruit salad… just bread (no butter!) and fish. Might that meal have been even more satisfying than my family’s Thanksgiving? Perhaps.

One thing is for sure, that crowd of people started following Jesus the very next day.

And that’s when Jesus said to them, “you are seeking me because you ate your fill…”

Of course they are, Jesus! They’re hungry!

Anyway, hungry people are desperate.

Hungry people become thankful for whatever enables them to eat.

Hungry people will “follow” the one who feeds them.

And that’s when Jesus really had that crowd right where he wanted them.

Jesus had an audience that knows what it means to be hungry; knows what it means to be filled; knows how to identify the one who provides.

That’s when Jesus turns the theological corner.

He starts talking about himself as a kind of bread that will satisfy forever!

We all know and understand what Jesus is saying.

Just a few verses after the ones I quoted at the top of this article, Jesus clearly states his meaning.

He says that he is the bread from heaven who has come to do the Father’s will so that whoever believes in him will be raised up on the last day.

It’s just one of the many ways that Jesus talks about the fact that he will suffer and die as atonement for our sins, that he will rise again from the grave, and that he will return on the last day to claim us for himself forever.

So when Jesus says, “I am the bread of life”, he is really talking to all of us.

It can be difficult to fully comprehend the impact of the metaphor when we live amid such copious blessing as we do.

Thanksgiving is a hard time to relate to the feelings of hunger.

But there is a certain kind of hunger that every human is born with.

It’s a hunger that cannot be satisfied with cranberry sauce and lefse (yes, there was lefse).

Jesus refers to it in the sermon on the mount as a “hunger for righteousness”.

Everyone has it.

Everyone knows that things are awry in this world.

It’s not right at all that there should be hungry people.

It’s not right that there should be entire populations who are oppressed by governments and institutions.

It’s not right that families disintegrate, that thieves steal, that children get taken advantage of…

Nobody in his or her right mind is satisfied with the shape of things in this world.

Everyone hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Everyone.

And everyone seeks out some means for satisfying that hunger.

Whatever it is that they seek out, the Bible says, that thing is their god.

So yes, there are people who “worship” politicians, because they fully expect that through proper civil government all of the world's problems will be solved.

Politics quickly becomes a religion when promises are made by powerful people.

There are all kinds of mechanisms people seek out to make sense of this fallen world.

And those who have given up on the thought that the world will ever make sense will often turn to other kinds of false gods to help them cope with the despair.

Everyone hungers for righteousness in one way or another.

When Jesus calls himself the bread of life, he is staking the claim that he - and only he - can effectively and permanently satisfy everyone’s hunger for righteousness.

He is the Thanksgiving Meal.

“Come to me, all who are weary or burdened,” he says, “and I will give you rest.”

It’s a different metaphor, but it’s the same claim.

Next time you’re reading through the Gospels, try and keep track of all of the various colorful metaphors Jesus used to say the same thing:

“I, Jesus, save you. I save the world. I provide the only lasting hope. I am your salvation and your future. I satisfy you in the deepest possible way.”

And we say, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

And he does…

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!