The message of Thanksgiving and the message of Christmas are always packaged into one message – so, on this Thursday, as Thanksgiving is always observed on Thursday…
Homily
Norman Rockwell longed to use his artistic abilities to support the war effort. It was his desire to display the “big idea,” summarizing the ideal for which Americans were fighting. Months passed without an inspiring thought. Suddenly at 3:00 AM on Thursday, July 16, 1942, Rockwell sat bolt upright in bed with the answer. President Roosevelt, in his State of the Union address, pronounced “four essential human freedoms” that justified the nation’s engagement in armed conflict. Rockwell would place these four freedoms on canvas, translating the spoken ideology of the president into commonplace scenes everyone could understand.
Freedom of Speech portrayed a man standing, speaking openly at a New England town meeting. Freedom of Worship depicted a group of people in prayer, each of a different faith. Freedom from Fear pictured two children being tucked into bed, safe and secure as father held the evening paper, headlines reporting the bombing of Europe. Freedom from Want placed a multiple generational family around the Thanksgiving dinner table, prominently displaying a turkey upon which all would feast.
During the season of Thanksgiving, we recognize and celebrate our cherished freedoms. The public rejoices for the peace and prosperity that spans the country. Grateful for the civil liberties guaranteed every citizen, we respect our religious traditions and are mindful of the sacrifices made on our behalf.
The blessings we enjoy today are inherited from generations of men and women who relentlessly protected the Republic: statesmen and commoners who refused to be compromised; soldiers and townsmen who would rather die than relinquish the principle of justice.
Patrick Henry stood at the third pew in St. John’s Church. He looked older than his 39 years, dressed in a black suit, adorned in a white scarf, wearing a wig common to his day. He spoke to the Richmond Convention without notes, but it was obvious to all the speech had been prepared beforehand. The Continental Congress convened in March 1775, debating if a militia should be organized to defend the colonies against the tyranny of King George III. It was the third day of the convention and the representatives were still undecided. Many wanted to succumb to the rule of the monarch, even offering to write a letter of apology, while others demanded to be self-governing. The burgess from Hanover spoke clearly, calling for the formation of a militia, challenging the delegates’ patriotism with these thunderous last words, “Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” The speech was greeted with a somber silence. Awed, no one applauded. The resolution passed and a militia was enlisted.
Individuals standing forthright have guided America through the decades. Each patriot’s act of bravery has protected this nation’s sacred honor. The freedoms of the land prevail this day because of personal acts of heroism and sacrifice that were borne by previous generations of soldiers and civilians alike. It is a mantle that has been entrusted to us, and one that must be faithfully borne until passed onto the next.
In 1943 Eleanor Roosevelt toured the battle-scarred island of Guadalcanal. With sadness she viewed the endless field of grave markers. At the nearby hospital the First Lady conversed with the countless wounded, smiling to each, signing bandages, promising to telephone wives and mothers. Reflecting on her visit, Mrs. Roosevelt wrote, “On the island of Guadalcanal there is a cemetery, and as you look on the crosses row on row, you think of the women’s hearts buried here as well.”
Thanksgiving is a day to be solemnized with prayer and worship. Assembled in the sacred place of a church sanctuary we recall the struggles and triumphs of our ancestors, dedicating ourselves to preserve their legacy. On this day we acknowledge our accomplishments, invoking God’s mercy upon our pilgrimage, confessing that only a God-fearing nation will endure.
We do not debate the religious birthright of our nation, for that discussion was concluded long ago during a period of national crisis and despair. The religious sentiment aroused by the War Between the States resulted in this instruction, penned in a letter dated November 20, 1861, from Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase to James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a God-fearing motto: “No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.” The words “In God We Trust” were thus inscribed.
We are a pluralistic society, recognizing the right of each individual to ascribe to any personal belief of choice. But individual freedom does not transcend corporate consciousness that God has always been imprinted upon our heritage. Thanksgiving, as a national religious holiday, is that testimony.
Buoyed by the Union victory at Gettysburg the sixteenth president acknowledged that one’s attention in a time of national turmoil must be directed heavenward, with a thankful and contrite spirit. Thus, on October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Thanksgiving. The President established the fourth Thursday of November for this observance, as he concluded that this day on the calendar had no other conflicting religious observances. With the Proclamation, Lincoln summoned the nation to prayer with these words:
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. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.
Societies, the same as individuals, require a “moral compass” by which to govern public affairs and individual behavior. As accommodating as we desire to be of all religious orientations, a nation absent of true north will wander in the desert of despondency. The Israelites, unable to raise their praises to their Deliverer and focus on the Promised Land, rambled aimlessly for forty years. Afraid and seemingly abandoned, the people doubted. The Hebrews was questioned God, aware yet unaware that God did provide guidance: “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” (Ex 13:21) If we keep forefront that the Christian God must always be our national foundation, we will journey through the sands of time, not with despair, but as a living testimony to the “four freedoms” that enriches the lives of all and that justice will persevere over tyranny.
The POW’s huddled together in the C141, unable to comprehend their journey to freedom. Years of captivity and abuse had now come to an end. The flight from Hanoi to Clark Field in the Philippines would bring the men home. Commander Jeremiah
Denton, the senior officer aboard the transport, was invited to make a statement on behalf of the retuning airmen. The commander borrowed paper and pen from a nurse, composed a short speech, committing it to memory. Soon the spokesman was standing on the tarmac before the reception. Surprised by the large crowd, overcome with emotion, the few prepared words seemed inadequate. The written word could not express what Denton really felt in his heart. Emotional, unrehearsed words slipped from his lips, “God bless America! Land that I love.”