As you can see, we are already in Thanksgiving mode, this beautiful cornucopia display reminds us that in a couple day we will be seated at the table maybe with family and friends or maybe alone with the purpose of giving thanks to God for all his blessings.
Ever since its origins, Cornucopia has been a symbol of abundance and nourishment. Greek Mythology offers several explanations of its origin. One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant Zeus, who had to be hidden from his father Cronus who was trying to devour him. In a cave on Mount Ida on the island of Crete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by several divine attendants, including the goat Amaltheia, who fed him with her milk. The myth says that the future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of her horns, which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.
In most of North America, Cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest. Two cornucopias are seen in the flag and state seal of Idaho. The Great Seal of North Carolina depicts two women Liberty standing and Plenty holding a Cornucopia.
Today we display this Cornucopia as a reminder that God is our provider and during this Christian year that ends today, we have received everything we need. The hymn My Tribute also known as To God Be the Glory begins with the question that it is appropriate, I believe for this Sunday, when we are preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and when it is a tradition to come together with our family to thank God for all the blessing, he has given us. The question the hymn asks is, “how can I say thanks for the things you have done for me?” And the hymn continues saying “the voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude.” Now, if the voices of a million angels cannot express our gratitude, how can we give thanks to God for everything we have received from his hand? To answer that question, I will use two stories from the Bible. But first let us talk about Gratitude.
What is gratitude? Gratitude is an expression of thanksgiving; gratitude is a transformative power, a disposition; it is an attitude; gratitude is also a discipline.
Romano Guardini, in his book, “Learning the Virtues That Lead You to God,” speaks about gratitude. Gratitude he says, is “an expression of a personal encounter in which a person has a particular need or desire met by another person. Gratitude is possible for the one who receives when a gift is freely given, or a need is met voluntarily, gratitude can only exist in a spirit of reverence for the other. The one who gives the gift must do so with reverence for the one who receives.”
There are biblical stories, which serve as examples of how people expressed their gratitude to God after he -God- listened and answered a prayer. Let us begin with a story from The Old Testament. A very well-known story. The story of Hanna, Samuel’s mother. 1 Samuel 1:6-14 says, “Because the Lord had closed Hannah’s womb, her rival kept provoking her in order to irritate her. 7 This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the Lord, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat.
9 Once when they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh, Hannah stood up. Now Eli the priest was sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the Lord’s house. 10 In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. 11 And she made a vow, saying, “Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.” The writer of Samuel continues saying that Eli thought Hanna was drunk and Hanna replied, “I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” 17 Eli answered, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.” Eli told Hannah that her prayers would be answered. Hannah believed it, we know it because she got up, ate, and was happy. Her gratitude began immediately. She didn’t wait for her prayer to be answered; she was grateful that God heard her request. This assurance made her anguish and grief ended; she trusted in the promise of a son. Verse twenty says, “And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel.”
The way Hanna showed her thanksgiving, her gratitude to God was first by not doubting and then by keeping her promise, the vow she made of giving her son to God’s service. She kept her son until he was weaned (probably until he was three years old), then turned him over to Eli the priest for Samuel to serve. God’s gift, God’s blessing did not make Hanna greedy, she did not try to hold Samuel for herself, even though it must have been difficult for her.
Like Hannah, we can also show gratitude to God for His promises and His provision by remembering all the promises we made when we were in anguish and grief or those promises we made when we were happy for all the blessings we received from God. Do you remember the promises you made to God? Let us be grateful and let us keep them.
The Gospel of Luke chapter 19:1-9 tells us another story of gratitude. Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short, he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now, I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Zacchaeus, who was a tax collector and a sinner, received Jesus in his house. Zacchaeus, grateful for the favor shown to him by this man of God, in gratitude promises to give to the poor half of his possessions and to pay back four times to anyone, he may have defrauded. (Luke 19:8). With his gratitude Zacchaeus was expressing the new life he received when Jesus came to his house; he was aware that everything he had was a gift, a blessing and he was ready to bless others.
Henri Nouwen, in his book, “The Way of Gratitude” speaks about gratitude as a discipline rather than a spontaneous response to a gift. Sometimes -he says- we must work hard to understand the value of the gift. Sometimes it requires discipline to see grace at work. Sometimes it takes explicit effort to acknowledge that all we have is a gift. Hanna prayed asking God for a son. By her gratitude we can conclude that she also meditated for many years in how she was going to express her gratitude to God if she would become a mother.
Before receiving the gift, she decided to give her gift back to the giver. By doing so, she was blessed twice, one when she became a mother and two with the opportunity to give Israel a prophet, a judge, and a priest. Her blessing was also a blessing to others. Likewise, Zacchaeus blessed others with the blessings of Jesus in his life.
Reflecting on the things for which we are grateful helps us to realize that all we are and all we have is a gift. Our God is a loving, generous and merciful giver of gifts. Gratitude must always be the response of our hearts to God’s bountiful love. In this season let us not only focus on thanking God for being the recipients of God’s blessings that we forget the giving aspect of Thanksgiving. God has blessed us in such a way that we may multiply God’s blessings by our giving of blessings to others as Zacchaeus and Hanna did.
Thanksgiving is the beginning of what is called “the most wonderful time of the year.” And it is also a good moment to ask ourselves, how can I say thanks for the things you have done for me? Let us not miss the opportunity to show with our actions how grateful we are for what we have received. Let us express our thanksgiving by blessing others.
In a 2015 article for Psychology Today, Amy Morin presented what she called seven “scientifically proven benefits” of giving thanks. Morin said that when we “choose to exchange self-pity for gratitude” we “can transform our life.” We become a “Mentally strong people,” and thereby open ourselves to more relationships. To give thanks for what we have also improved our physical health, enhanced empathy, reduced aggression, and gives us better sleep, among other things. Morin recommends the use of a daily gratitude journal to move toward greater thankfulness. So, the Bible is right when in Psalm 103 verse 2 says “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” The Bible is right when in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 prescribes gratitude, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”