The elements are all there…
The table – lavishly set, fine china, candles, flowers. It beckons.
The feast – magnificent, abundant, colorful, decadent.
There is bread. There is wine.
Family. Gathered from near and far – and from varied stations in life… together.
Tradition, calendars and culture tell us it is the one day of the year to come together, to break bread, to share wine, to indulge in feasting, to sit at a table. To be… and give Thanks.
And so we do. We gather and we eat and drink and tell stories and reminisce and offer our thanksgivings.
But the elements around us groan to us from within. They speak of something more. They move us into something even deeper than tradition, or calendar, or culture.
They cry out to Presence.
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” – Psalm 100
The “gates” of the temple marked the initial threshold – by which one passing through – was now approaching God. The “courts” were drawing ever closer to the Holy of Holies.
The Psalmist knew that the Presence of the Lord was entered into in a posture of thanks and praise. Blissfully, God no longer resides in a temple, to be approached through gates and courts and doors and veils. He dwells in us. Nevertheless, giving thanks to Him opens our eyes – the eyes of our hearts – to see what, and Who, always was and is… Present.
The Table of the Lord is indeed set. We all have a place.
He is the Feast. We are invited to indulge.
The Bread of Life is true food. The Wine is a River of Living Water, true drink.
His Family has gathered. Sons. Daughters. Brothers. Sisters.
The calendar may indeed read “Thanksgiving Day,” but in His Life, in His Kingdom – giving thanks is a way of living. Thanks-living. He is ever-present. His Table is always prepared with His Feast, Bread and Wine – for His Family. Our thanks-living reveals a picture, a glimpse of the reality of His eternity… now.
Heaven on earth.
Can you see it? Can you see Him?
From my family to yours – Happy Thanksgiving, and Joyous Thanks-Living.
Brandon
{Image Credit: Mr. T in DC on Flickr Creative Commons}
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