In the beginning, there was a garden, a home inhabited by the first human beings and all they would need. They lived harmoniously with their environment – friends to the plants and animals that surrounded them. Friends to the Creator, the One who made it all. In the beginning, there was a garden, and there was peace, comfort, and love.
But then those first humans made it about themselves. They prioritised what they wanted, over the intimate relationships they had with all living things and the Creator. They chose power and wisdom over care and reciprocity. They chose a piece of fruit over their existing relationships, the friendships, the family that existed in that garden.
Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’
The choice became a pattern that has been repeated throughout the generations. Millennia later, the Israelites were warned about this as they entered the promised land following years of wandering in the desert. They should have learned during that wandering how important their relationship to creation and the Creator is to sustain life. They should have learned to value those connections, those generous gifts.
They should have learned and yet, they had to be warned not to turn inward. They had to be warned not to focus on their own needs and perspectives on the world. They had to be warned not to allow their comfort to become self-centric to the point where they forget God’s gifts surrounding them.
Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’
The concept is all too familiar today. The Protestant work ethic is founded on this notion of hard work leading to success. Yet, the ominous warning remains in effect. When we fail to acknowledge the generous, God-given gifts around us, we lose sight of wisdom, and grace. When we think, even for a moment, that it is our own hands that have led to our circumstances, we miss the systemic injustices we allow that prevent others from lifting themselves by their bootstraps. When we defend the extent to which hard work justifies the benefits we receive, we miss all the ways God, through creation and other people, continues to sustain us. When we claim that the power and might of our own hands have gained us our wealth, we miss the opportunity to be truly grateful.
When we claim that the power and might of our own hands have gained us our wealth, we miss the opportunity to be truly grateful. Gratitude is what we are celebrating this weekend. What does gratitude look like? To what extent can we acknowledge that what we have isn’t simply the product of our hard work? What happens when we begin to peel back the layers of our lives and see God’s hand at work? Might we then choose to give thanks for worms? They are invaluable contributors to the health of the soil.
Can we say thanks for bugs? No matter how annoying they may seem to us, they each have their purpose in supporting the ecosystems around us. They are pollinators that contribute to our food. They are food for other insects, birds, and animals. They work to keep the soil balanced and able to produce.
Can we say thanks for beavers? They are a keystone species which help to produce wetlands, support many other species, and protect against flooding and fire! They are a truly noble creature whose hard work makes a difference sustaining entire ecosystems!
Can we say thanks for God’s gifts in Creation? Not only for what appears on our tables, but for the wisdom and resilience God has planted throughout creation that makes what comes to our tables possible? We owe our existence to so much more than we can do on our own. We rely on farmers, transport personnel, staff at stores, and more people than we know. We rely on the web of life that sustains what we need. What does it look like to truly, humbly, give thanks to God for all God has given this world?
In the beginning, there was a garden, a home inhabited by the first human beings and all they would need. We still live in a world where we have all that we need thanks to God’s good gifts. May we set aside the idea that we are the architects of the advantages we receive and truly acknowledge the giver of all good gifts this Thanksgiving. This we pray as we sing: (VT) 551 Beautiful Things
