Life Matters - November 27, 2024

If the Pilgrims, of Plymouth Rock Massachusetts fame, could be here to experience what their hardships, sacrifice, and then providing a feast of thanksgiving to their American-Indian benefactors and in praise to Almighty God in 1621, hath wrought, they would indeed be astonished. They must have been a hardy lot. One hundred and two people had left the relatively safe shores of Holland (having fled England because of religious persecution a few years prior) and committed their lone, sail-driven, laden ship to the unknown waters and winds of the Atlantic Ocean. Two had been buried in those waters, their lives taken at sea by sickness. Of those 102 people, 100 and a new baby arrived at Cape Cod in November of 1620. On the Mayflower. The Speedwell had been left in Europe, having proved itself unseaworthy. Another baby was born on the Mayflower while she lay at anchor. Now here they were, close to land to be sure, but winter was setting in. The men reassembled the landing boats which had been disassembled for transport and to add room.  

Using the boats for transport between land and ship, the men worked hard, building small but sturdy log houses during the day and joining their families on the ship at night. By spring they were in their houses. But the toll had been rough. Only ½ survived that first winter. Many of the dead had died of starvation. Those who survived were weakened physically. Nor did they have the knowledge or wherewithal to grow crops in this new world, from which there was no turning back. Their need was desperate.  

Hope arrived at their doors. Hope clad in leather and wearing leather moccasins. English people and American natives joined forces in a collective effort. English learning survival and Native Americans teaching survival. They must have been good teachers with good students. By the end of summer, with healthy crops and a bountiful harvest, the Pilgrims had regained health and vitality, food was in storage for the winter, and seeds stored for spring planting.  

What followed was from the outflow of thankful hearts. The Pilgrims got their heads together to plan a feast of appreciation for their Native neighbors and a time of thanksgiving to Almighty God for His provision. A hardy lot? Yes indeed. A thankful people? Very thankful. And they are still proving to their descendants and observers that true thankfulness is the natural outflow of experiencing the hope, grace, and deliverance that only God can give. The story of the Pilgrims is a remarkable story of survival, of resilience, of courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Their houses were still small. The work was still hard. As were their chairs. The average American home today is a soft and easy palace in comparison to a 1620s Pilgrim home. The Pilgrims have taught us, by example, that thanksgiving from the heart is a spiritual thing, it is not subject to an abundance of possessions. They exemplified what the inspiration of God taught us when He said, ‘’…having food and raiment, let us be therewith content.’’ (1 Timothy 6:8) Contentment is a spiritual thing, an attitude of the heart and a direction of the mind. As is thankfulness. Neither is passive. Out of contentment flows thankfulness and out of thankfulness flows the giving of praise to God and the caring for those in need.  

It is worthy of note that the Pilgrims, in most of their practices, were a minority form of Puritan. While the larger body of Puritans stayed a part the state Church of England, (Anglican) believing they could reform it from within, the group that came to be known as Pilgrims separated from the state church and were known as separatists, believing they needed to be set apart for the Lord’s work and doctrinal purity. Subsequently the Pilgrims were a persecuted minority group without the business connections and monetary wealth enjoyed by the larger group of Puritans. The Pilgrims struggled their way to America, struggled their way to survival, and eventually prospered. The Puritans soon followed, forming a company in the Massachusetts Bay Colony that, among other enterprises, bought and sold furs, creating a market opportunity for the hearty trappers of early America. From their prosperous beginnings the Puritan prosperity continued.  

It is also worthy of note that while the Pilgrims, the poor, gave us the example of today’s nationally commemorated Thanksgiving Day in the early part of the 17th century, (1621) it was the wealthy, the Puritans, who gave us the Salem Witch Trials in the latter part of that same century. (1692-93) Those horrific trials, driven by fear-driven spectral ‘’evidence,’’ that resulted in death by hanging or stoning—executed by the Salem authority structure—upon 19 ‘’witches’’ who were exonerated post-execution, are a stark reminder of how deadly a mix is the combination of fear and power. Fear-driven personal lives are fraught with anxiety and negative reactions. Fear-driven politics are dangerously deadly, robbing the soul from those who give in and often robbing the body from those who don’t. The witch hunts of Salem aided the devil in the dark fog of unbelief that has settled upon the New England states in general and upon Massachusetts in particular. Fear has consequences.  

In stark contrast, Thanksgiving Day has become a national holiday for traditional family get-togethers. A day of commemorating, appreciating blessings of the past and of the present. A day for the re-connecting of family relationships. A day to be home. A day of contentment. Love and thankfulness have consequences.  

May God’s blessings be upon all. Food, fun, family, friends, with the oil of spiritual gladness. Thanksgiving from the heart. 

Life Matters!