“All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.”
I have always loved this verse, which we say every Sunday at our 8:00 service from the Book of Common Prayer. It is part of our prayer after the altar has been prepared for Eucharist, as we offer our gifts of bread, wine, and money to God in thanksgiving for all we have received, and as we prepare to celebrate the Great Thanksgiving of the Holy Eucharist.
This is a verse that comes from the Old Testament. King David has just led the people in making an offering of their gold, silver, and other building materials for Solomon’s Temple. It is quite an impressive collection! Yet when he presents the offering, David realizes that, significant as it is, everything we have already belongs to God in the first place. “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this free-will offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” (1 Chronicles 29:14)
At Thanksgiving, we pause and take the opportunity to concentrate on the abundant blessings of our lives. We give thanks for the food we eat, for the people who fill our lives with love and happiness, and so much more. It is tempting, in our culture, to believe we are self-made—that our prosperity in things material or relational are because of our skill, our hard work, or our character. Yet at Thanksgiving, we let those notions go, at least for a little while. We sit around a table, and we dwell in a sense of gratitude for the simple things. We give thanks not only for a special feast, but for our daily bread; we give thanks not only for the people who sit at table with us, but for all those people whose presence and love enriches our lives. Thanksgiving is a day when, like David, we are both overwhelmed by the plenty we see before us, and also deeply aware that these gifts are from God, and not of our own making.
This Sunday, as we celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving in our worship, I invite us to take David’s proclamation to heart. At worship we offer the best of ourselves— our hearts, our voices, and in many cases a financial contribution to the mission and ministry of the church. As we do, let’s recall that everything we have—our skills, our talents, our personalities, our worldly goods, and even our very lives— belongs to God. We have been so richly blessed!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Mother Terry+