Today is Thanksgiving.
As we awake this morning to the early morning turkey preparations, or an empty home, we hold the reality that this holiday can encompass so many emotions for us—the joy of our children excited about the Macy’s Day Parade, the tension of family relationships, the stress of preparation, the grief of who isn’t present at the table, and so much more.
Today, I invite us to stay in the the tension of what we desire to see and what our reality unfolds to be.
Kids may miss naps and eat too much pie.
You may be spending the day alone.
You may be missing dinner because of work.
The turkey may burn.
The laughter may be so deep it’s uncontainable.
The Divine is present.
Where are you invited to see His presence today?
Where are you being invited to a deeper experience of His love?
A Liturgy for Feasting With Friends
(A portion of this full liturgy is shared below from Every Moment Holy)
To gather joyfully
is indeed a serious affair,
for feasting and all enjoyments
gratefully taken are,
at their heart, acts of war.
///
In celebrating this feast
we declare that
evil and death,
suffering and loss,
sorrow and tears,
will not have the final word.
///
But the joy of fellowship, and the welcome
and comfort of friends new and old,
and the celebration of these blessings of
food and drink and conversation and laughter
are the true evidences of things eternal,
and are the first fruits of that great glad joy
that is to come and that will be unending.
///
So let our feast this day be joined
to those sure victories secured by Christ,
Let it be to us now a delight, and a glad
foretaste of his eternal kingdom.
Bless us, O Lord, in this feast.
///
Bless us, O Lord, as we linger over our cups,
and over this table laden with good things,
as we relish the delights of varied texture
and flavor, of aromas and savory spices,
of dishes prepared as acts of love and blessing,
of sweet delights made sweeter by
the communion of saints.
///
Where two or more of us are gathered,
O Lord, there you have promised to be.
And here we are.
And so, here are you.
Take joy, O King, in this our feast.
///
Now you who are loved by the Father,
prepare your hearts and give yourselves wholly
to this celebration of joy, to the glad company
of saints, to the comforting fellowship of the
Spirit, and to the abiding presence of Christ
who is seated among us both as our host
and as our honored guest, and still yet
as our conquering king.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit, take seat, take feast, take delight!
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