This time of year, lots of talk surrounds the things we are thankful for. But other questions come to mind too:  What does the word “thanksgiving” really mean? How did we, who live in the United States of America, end up with a holiday called “Thanksgiving Day”?  And, most importantly, does thanksgiving require someone (or some “agency”) to be thankful to? 

How is the word “thanksgiving” defined?  The Oxford dictionary defines thankfulness as “the expression of gratitude, especially to God”.  Merriam-Webster’s definition is:  

1a capitalized: THANKSGIVING DAY  1b:  a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness;  2:  the act of giving thanks;  3:  a prayer expressing gratitude. 

What’s the USA holiday’s history? (short version) Pilgrims leave England in September 1620 to come to America on a harrowing 66 day journey.  Survivors established Plymouth village.  Half of them that make it through the first winter and meet two Native Americans, one named Squanto.  Squanto teaches them how to plant corn and other survival techniques. He helps them make peace with the Wampanoag (not his tribe).  In 1621, the first corn is harvested, and Governor William Bradford organized a celebration to thank God for the harvest He provided.  This is what we commonly think of as the “first Thanksgiving” (Pilgrims, Wampanoag, weird hats, etc.). Within a few years, Governor Bradford called for a religious fast, asking God to end a long drought.  The second Thanksgiving celebration was in 1623, when the drought had ended.  

Other Thanksgiving days were designated one or more times per year, throughout the nation’s history.  New York was the first state to officially adopt a day annually, but it was Abraham Lincoln who finally made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, at the height of the Civil War.  Here’s how he begins his 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.” 

And for the last question, does thanksgiving require someone (or some “agency”) to be thankful to?  It makes no sense for it not to require it.  Thanksgiving, or “the act of giving thanks”, requires someone (or some “agency”) in the world that caused the event that you feel gratitude for.  For example, if your mom makes you a special birthday dinner, you feel gratitude for it.  And to show her the gratitude you feel, you say “Thank you, Mom, for that great birthday dinner!” because she was the cause of the event; thus, the cause of your grateful attitude. 

For most of you reading this (if you made it this far), there’s no question Who you will be thanking this year at your Thanksgiving celebration.  Most of you reading this probably understand that your circumstances fall under the providential hand of Almighty God; and therefore, it is Him whom you will be thanking. 

But if not, maybe this is the moment you give some thought to your reason for celebration.  Inanimate objects can’t cause events that result in gratitude.  You can be thankful to other individuals for specific things, but that’s not the cause of your overall reasons for gratitude.  Throughout history, human beings, even those who don’t claim to be “religious”, almost intuitively, speak and act in ways that seem to give a nod to some controlling force in their life.  So, why not take some time this coming holiday weekend and give it some thought?  Pick up a Bible and do a little digging?  Check out the movie “The Case for Christ”?  Go to church with someone you know next Sunday.  What have you got to lose?  Nothing.  And by doing so, you just might gain everything.  “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” Luke 17:33    

“Joy to the World, the Lord is come!” No matter how many times I hear that opening line, it chokes me up with emotion! But what does it mean? The dictionary has two definitions of joy. The noun “joy” means “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” The verb “joy” means “to rejoice.” So which “joy” is the joy that has come to the world in the form of a baby?  Let’s take a look at a few scripture verses to figure it out. In James 1:2-3, it says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” Hmm, facing trials doesn’t sound like something that would give us a feeling of great pleasure and happiness!  If we finish the verse, though, “Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance;” then we can say that joy in this case is a reason to rejoice because those of us who believe that baby is our Lord and Savior are being developed and strengthened (or sanctified). Isaiah 9:2-3 says, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.  You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy.” In this verse, “joy” could mean a feeling of great pleasure and happiness until you understand the circumstances surrounding it.  The nation of Israel had split into two kingdoms (Israel, the northern kingdom and Judah the southern kingdom)  Isaiah was prophesying to Judah who was under the reign of King Ahaz, an evil king who set himself against worshiping God and worshiped pagan gods.  He even sacrificed his own son in a fire as an offering to a pagan god.   The faithful Jewish people were truly living in darkness as not only was their king a pagan worshiper, but Isaiah had earlier warned them about an invasion coming from Assyria.  This invasion would ultimately mean the capture of the northern kingdom of Israel, but Judah, even though surviving, did not come away unscathed.   Not a lot there to invoke a feeling of great pleasure and happiness!  However, when we look at the 2nd definition – to rejoice, we can apply it here.  While the current circumstances were miserable, the people had a reason to rejoice!  There was a great light!  Isaiah is talking about the coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus, as that light! He would bring His people hope and save them from spiritual death.  In 1Peter 1:8-9, Peter writes, “Though you have not seen Him (Jesus), you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy for you are receiving the goal of your faith:  the salvation of your soul.”  Matthew Henry says this about this verse, “The chief joy of a good Christian arises from things spiritual and heavenly, from his relation to God and to heaven. In these every sound Christian greatly rejoices; his joy arises from his treasure, which consists of matters of great value, and the title to them is sure.”  In other words, the Christian’s joy has nothing to do with our earthly circumstances; it is all about our relationship with Jesus and what He has given us and done for us through His grace, His death, and His resurrection.  His grace brought Him to earth to show us the Kingdom of God and to show us our need for a Savior.  His death has paid the price for our sins so that we are no longer under God’s wrath.  His resurrection has made it so that we, too, will be resurrected after death with a new body and live in heaven for all eternity.  Not to mention, we have the Holy Spirit living in us sanctifying us, and the blessings that God the Father continually showers on us while we walk this earth.  If those are not reasons to rejoice, I don’t know what are!!  While there may not be a reason right now for you to have a feeling of great pleasure and happiness, if you belong to Christ, there is certainly a reason to rejoice!  There are many other verses we could look at, but in every one, “joy” is a verb that means to rejoice; not rejoice in your circumstances, but rejoice in the hope, grace, and love that Jesus brought to His children when He entered the world as a baby.  How do we express that joy this Christmas season?  I think Paul says it best in Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Wishing you all a blessed, joy-filled Christmas! 

The dictionary definition of Pharisee is:  a member of an ancient Jewish sect, distinguished by strict observance of the traditional and written law, and commonly held to have pretensions to superior sanctity; also, a self-righteous person; a hypocrite.

This was not always what a Pharisee was.  Pharisees originated around the 3rd century B.C.  At that time, the Israelites were being oppressed by the Greek Empire.  Like other kingdoms that had dominated throughout history over the Israelites, the Greek Empire tried to convert the Jews to their culture, beliefs, and way of life (called Hellenization).  The Pharisees popped up as Jewish teachers who saw their mission as keeping the Law of God sacred and reminding the Jewish people of it to keep them from going after the pagan gods of the Greeks.  This was a good and noble thing they were doing!!  However, like so many, they got caught up in politics and their own self-importance.  By the time Jesus arrived on the scene, they were not only preaching about the 613 laws in the Old Testament, they had added more laws on their own to further burden the Jewish people.  Some, not all, saw themselves as a god figure.  The head Pharisee, the High Priest, was more of a political position than a spiritual one.  The strode about in their fancy robes, reciting Old Testament Scripture, praying, fasting, and tithing, all the while having no love in their hearts for the very people they were leading or for God.  They were keeping the Law at the expense of the message of the Law, which is grace.  

We pick up the Sermon on the Mount this week at Matthew 5:20.  As noted, Jesus addresses believers in this sermon; however, there are Pharisees and nonbelievers present and listening.

Matthew 5:20 – For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

What was wrong with the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law?  In some instances, the Pharisees were very strict in their intent to keep the law; so strict, that they even added to the law.  But their obedience was mostly external; not an internal heart change which would lead to the real intent of the law and it’s demands….the realization that we need God’s grace because we cannot be good enough to save ourselves.  

The dead sea scrolls refer to the Pharisees as “seekers after smooth things”, due to their compromising of the law to fit their lives.  Again, their focus on the external keeping of the law left them (and those they taught) without seeing their need for grace and their dependence on God.  One example of Jesus and the Pharisees interacting about this is where the Pharisees neglected the word of God, and followed their own oral traditions.

in Matthew 15:1-9 – Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 “‘This people honors me with their lips,

    but their heart is far from me;

9 in vain do they worship me,

    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Therefore, our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees.  The Jews at that time were taught that keeping the law in an external manner was the way to heaven. Jesus rejected all ideas of human merit and works-righteousness as the way to get to heaven.  We see an example of this in Luke 18:9-14 –  9 He (Jesus) also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed[a] thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Remember, the Law is designed to show us that we need a Savior; that we cannot ever be good enough on our own. We need Jesus.

So how do we surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees?  God regenerates our hearts of stone (the internal change many of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were lacking); and when we become Christians (when we have faith that Jesus’ righteous life and death on the cross paid the penalty for our sins), we are “clothed” with His righteousness.  Romans 3:21-24 This is how God sees us from that point on….as righteous.  It’s as if we were standing there one instant in our ‘sinful dirty clothes’, but once we believe, we’re now clothed in the “pure, spotless robe of righteousness” earned for us by Christ.  The word for this is imputation.  To impute something is to ascribe or attribute something to someone. 2 Corinthians 5:21.  So, we get Christ’s righteousness imputed to us; and He got our sin imputed to Him.  It’s wasn’t a fair “trade”; but then again….NOTHING about grace is fair.  If it was, it wouldn’t be grace!