By Ben Disney
We wish you and yours a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. Thursday is a day to not only count our blessings but also to be reminded again of what truly counts in this life. The story we know of the Pilgrim’s landing is wrapped up in a story that is as old as the Bible. The narrative that brought the pilgrims to this country was the Exodus story. They saw their struggle for freedom in the context of the original story of the Hebrew slaves. For them, Europe was Egypt, the journey across the Atlantic Ocean was paramount to crossing the Red Sea, and the promised land was the new world.
Generations later, the African American slaves in early America also saw their struggles through the lens of an ancient story. They were in bondage and estranged from their homeland in a place that felt very much like Egypt. The oppressive slave owners were the taskmasters in their version of Pharaoh’s reign. Freedom was the cry and prayer they offered in hopes that they would one day be delivered and set free.
All of that is is a long way to say that this Thursday is much more than a shared meal and an afternoon of football. It’s about breaking bread with those you love and remembering the stories that define and transform us. It’s about reinterpreting the Exodus story for our time and for our lives. It is a much needed reminder of God’s deliverance from all that threatens life, hope, and freedom, and a moment to give thanks for our safe arrival in a place we call home. God bless and Happy Thanksgiving!
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