Today millions of Americans will be sitting around tables filled with turkeys, stuffing, candied yams and other culinary delights. Many Bahamians too will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day with their own helpings of stuffed bird, ham, macaroni and the like. Others will be camped outside shopping malls, or surfing websites, eager to capitalize on bargain basement deals offered by stores this week. Thanksgiving has evolved into a commercialized North American holiday centered on obscene consumerism and gluttony. However, we should not forget what the holiday is traditionally known for, a time of reflecting on life's blessings, helping the less fortunate and just being thankful. Anglican Bishop Drexel Gomez said the principle of thanksgiving is rooted in Biblical teaching.
"If you look at Psalms, chapters 95 to 107, you will find the continuous theme of giving thanks to the Lord and praising the Lord - that is a standing principle [in the Bible]," he said in an interview. Psalm 100, from the King James Version of the Bible, instructs believers of Christ to be grateful for what has been bestowed upon them. "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands," the verse reads. "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Gomez said it is this Biblical foundation that should guide Christians in the spirit of the season. "Believers recognize that it all comes from God and the importance of giving thanks for what he provides," he said. "American Thanksgiving is rooted in that principle; it is rooted in the Biblical principle of giving thanks. "In the Anglican and Catholic tradition the theme of thanks is celebrated everyday. Every mass and Eucharist is a service of thanksgiving because we give thanks for all that God provides so that it is a living theme in the Christian religion," he said.
Focus Gomez added that while the day is known mostly as an American holiday centered on food and shopping, Christians in The Bahamas can celebrate as well if they focus on the true meaning of the day. "Society tends to commercialize everything just like Christmas and to a lesser extent Easter. The business community will try to make use of every opportunity to improve on its productivity," Gomez said. "But we should be celebrating thanks everyday. The Apostle Paul tells us in all things we should give thanks. [For Americans] it's their national decision to have a day to give thanks to God for the establishment of their nation."
Reverend William Strachan of Mount Moriah Baptist Church said the expression of giving thanks was predominant in the older books of the Bible. "In the Old Testament times people gave thanks to God. In the book of Deuteronomy, the children of Israel gave thanks for their deliverance. For the fact that while they were in the wilderness they went through quite a bit - no food to eat, no house to live in - but God provided food and shelter for them. "When they got in the Promise Land, a land that was rich and fruitful, they thought about their journey through the wilderness and took time to relive their [experience]," he said.
"For us in The Bahamas we know God brought us where we are, particularly those of us who came from the Family Islands, who depended upon God for everything. "The word of God all through tells us that we ought to give thanks to Him for His goodness to us." Strachan said it is important for persons to be mindful of these facts as they celebrate today. "You ought to be reflecting on the good things and remember those who are less fortunate - that's what we must always focus on. Christ always was concerned about the poor.
"He gave to us so we must also give," Strachan said. For Bishop Walter Hanchell of Great Commission Ministries, Thanksgiving is just another day his ministry can give back to the downtrodden, often the forgotten members of society. Last week his church organized a Thanksgiving luncheon, which fed more than 1,000 people from various senior citizens' homes across the capital. Organizers of the event said the attendees were filled not only with good food, but also the inspiration that God had good things in store for them.
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