Most of us know what Lincoln said “four score and seven years” after our country was founded: the Gettysburg Address. But do you know what he said at “four score and eight years”?
On October 3, 1863, he gave a proclamation that the last Thursday of the month of November should be set apart as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise. If you wonder to whom Lincoln thought we should render thanks, then read this brief excerpt from the proclamation:
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.
If you wonder ’thanks for what?’ then read this excerpt from the same proclamation:
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God….Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
The last two weeks in Foundations we’ve been talking about distraction and how it is easy during this time of year to become distracted by all the important things we are doing and other things we feel we are supposed to do. I’ve labeled this brief time before Advent as the “calm before the storm.” It’s a time when we have the opportunity to pause, enjoy the last few weeks of the fall season wearing orange and brown before we pull out all things red and green. If we tend toward distraction as we move toward Advent, and if we’re looking for the calm before the storm, we need to listen to God tell us about grace.
So look, as we did in Foundations, at the trustworthy saying of Titus 3:4-7 and root yourself again in the context of God’s grace toward us. In v. 4 and 8 see that the goodness and lovingkindness of God our Savior appeared in the Incarnation of Christ. What does this mean? First and foremost we are reminded that the Incarnation (and thus the whole of Advent) means grace! Grace has come to us in the person of Christ and comes to us based on His goodness and not our own striving.
This week as we approach Thanksgiving, we continued in Foundations with that theme of finding calm before the storm by remembering thanks. We want to remember first the thanks we give to God for His great salvation, and secondly we want to remember the thanks we owe Him for our everyday blessings. While American Thanksgiving is a terrific holiday on which to do this, it is also easy to find a Biblical precedent to give additional warrant for such a time of remembering and thanks. It can be found in Leviticus 23:33-38 surrounding the Feast of Booths (or the Feast of Tabernacles). This feast signaled the end of the agricultural year in ancient Israel. After everything was gathered in, the Israelites spent a week celebrating by living in ceremonial booths they constructed. The purpose behind the feast was to remember that at one time they were a wandering people waiting to be brought into the promised land by God. God had brought them out of Egypt. He kept them safe and sound and they followed Him through the wilderness until they came to the more permanent settlement of the promised land. Remember the Lord and give thanks for His salvation. In commenting on the significance of the feast John Calvin wrote:
Hence we gather that, though the ceremony is now abolished, yet its use still exists in spirit and truth, in order that the incomparable power and mercy of God should be constantly kept before our eyes, when He has delivered us from darkness and from the deep abyss of death, and has translated us into the heavenly life.
If you’re looking to be less distracted during this time of year, let me encourage you to remember thanks. Each year on Thanksgiving I read Lincoln’s proclamation and even though it is very short (about one page long) I cannot get through it without choking up. You also might put Titus 3:4-8 on an index card and keep it in your purse or wallet. Stick it as a daily reminder to pop up on your smart phone or electronic calendar. Finally, let me encourage you to come to Foundations this week and hear Cara Kidd and I discuss a very practical tool you can use during Advent to keep Christ and the whole story of Scripture before in the midst of this season of distraction.
Happy Thanksgiving,
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