Thanksgiving doesn't have a lot to do with being a Lutheran but the music of that church does. Some 45 years ago or so it was my first semester of college and I was at Valparaiso University and it was going to be my first Thanksgiving away from home.
The University had a fair number of foreign students who couldn't travel and held a special Thanksgiving service at the chapel for them followed by dinners at faculty homes - each taking a few here and there. I was a trumpet player and was asked to play during the service. It was a big deal to be asked and I felt a moral obligation to perform and join in the fellowship. My parents traveled to school to join me and go to dinner at Judy Hall's apartment - an English Lit and Writing teacher there.
Looking back, with both my parents gone, I can very much remember them in the chapel filled with faculty and the few hundred students who stayed on campus, the morning light through the stained glass and figuring out that this was important - not sure why - but this was a good thing.
I have 4 grand daughters. They all look like they just got off some boat from Scandinavia. The picture above is two of them, Abby and Maya. The other two are just like them but smaller versions. What I learned 45 years ago and what I think about this morning is what is important. It has something to do with values and what is valued. My parents came down to see me on Thanksgiving because they valued what I was doing. I valued what I was doing because it brought spiritual joy to some kids who would have a lonely time of it with out the chapel and the fellowship. My granddaughters will all be under roof this afternoon because we want them to have a special feeling of family and continuity with a tradition that goes back for all of us for a lot of years.
It has been a tough year for many of us. Today is a day when we put that aside and give instead of take. Wish instead of hope.
Happy Thanksgiving.
The University had a fair number of foreign students who couldn't travel and held a special Thanksgiving service at the chapel for them followed by dinners at faculty homes - each taking a few here and there. I was a trumpet player and was asked to play during the service. It was a big deal to be asked and I felt a moral obligation to perform and join in the fellowship. My parents traveled to school to join me and go to dinner at Judy Hall's apartment - an English Lit and Writing teacher there.
I have 4 grand daughters. They all look like they just got off some boat from Scandinavia. The picture above is two of them, Abby and Maya. The other two are just like them but smaller versions. What I learned 45 years ago and what I think about this morning is what is important. It has something to do with values and what is valued. My parents came down to see me on Thanksgiving because they valued what I was doing. I valued what I was doing because it brought spiritual joy to some kids who would have a lonely time of it with out the chapel and the fellowship. My granddaughters will all be under roof this afternoon because we want them to have a special feeling of family and continuity with a tradition that goes back for all of us for a lot of years.
It has been a tough year for many of us. Today is a day when we put that aside and give instead of take. Wish instead of hope.
Happy Thanksgiving.