by Fred Moleck
Thanksgiving Preparation
Many of you, if not most of you, minister at a parish or community where the celebration of Thanksgiving Day is an important day.It seems to have attained a regional day of festive giving of thanks without the church’s elevating it to a holyday of obligation or solemnity.
Folks gather in the morning of the fourth Thursday in November in the United States to give universal thanks and praise.
I just learned that Abraham Lincoln released the proclamation on October 3, 1863, when the War between the States was in its highest horror.
Since then, the celebration has taken on a life of its own with special pageantry in civic celebrations, eucharistic liturgies in churches, and eating marathons at family tables.
What I offer below is a hymn text by the marvelous writer in New Zealand, Shirley Erena Murray, “Leftover People in Leftover Places.”
(I knew that would get your attention!)
When I planned and managed Thanksgiving Day celebrations during my full-time ministry days, there was a temptation to make it a national holiday of patting ourselves on the backs to say how God loves us so much.
Deep down I wondered, Does that mean that God doesn’t love other countries as much?
In today’s preparation and planning by many liturgical ministers there is a sense of social justice underlying the ritual development and choice of texts.
I don’t know of any church that does not have a collection for the food bank during the weeks before Thanksgiving. Those offerings are exhibited near the altar.
There are numerous parishes whose outreach committees prepare and deliver dinners to the homebound and to those in shelters for the homeless.
There is a lot of busyness that goes on getting ready for Thanksgiving and “doing” Thanksgiving.
What I offer here is the full text of the hymn I mentioned above. I find it a powerful reflection on what we do and why we do it.
Leftover People in Leftover Places
The Least of These
Leftover people in leftover places,
troubled, disabled, the needy and sad,
scavenging crumbs from society’s plenty,
sick to the soul when their life has gone bad,
these are the ones in God’s upsidedown kingdom
deemed to be worthy and called to the feast,
soup-kitchen people invited to banquet,
valued as greatly as royal and priest.Leftover people, disposable people,
locked into prisons of drugs and despair,
poverty’s children in poverty’s spiral,
locked out of learning and earning their share,
these are the ones in God’s upsidedown kingdom
these are the Christ in their shabby disguise,
these are the least and the highly unlikely,
given a hope and new light in their eyes.Here is God’s testing of true Easter people,
spirited people with service to give,
taking to heart the compassion of Jesus,
feeling how others must struggle to live,
we are a part of God’s upsidedown kingdom,
we know the heart of the gospel’s demand,
taking our part with the leftover people,
widening the space of the lines in the sand.Words: Shirley Erena Murray
© 2007 The Hymn Society (Admin. Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188).
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can reach Fred Moleck via email at fmoleck@comcast.net