John 15:5-8
“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
Each year I taught kindergarten, my class celebrated Thanksgiving by creating our own “feast” in the classroom. Every child was assigned something to bring…canned or fresh vegetables for the stew, marshmallows or pudding mix for the “cold salad,” cranberries, and ingredients to make a dessert. We created hats and headdresses, placemats, and decorations. We invited a few parents and special guests (like the principal – and one year, a local television news celebrity, Chuck Dovish) to come and eat with us.
Everyone had a part to play. If all the ingredients were not supplied, the meal wouldn’t come together. Yes, I had “backup” plans, but the point was for each student to do his/her part to bring about this delicious and momentous meal. And I will say, most years the feast came together well (although there was that one time when the potatoes in the stew did not want to cook for some reason, but we persevered!).
Unlike today, when students are out of school the entire week of Thanksgiving, we held classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. For several years, I scheduled my classroom feast on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I always let the cafeteria ladies know that my students and I would not be coming for lunch that day, and we ate in our room. If memory serves me correctly, these ladies graciously even baked our pumpkin pies for us.
But one year, the cafeteria manager approached me and said, “You are being disrespectful!” I was perplexed, and she continued… “Your class always skips our special Thanksgiving meal. We work really hard on that, and you just dismiss it.” In my defense, I did not believe 5-year-olds were especially fond of turkey and dressing. But I saw that I had clearly hurt the feelings of these lovely cafeteria ladies by stepping away and doing things differently. I promptly rescheduled my classroom feast to a different day – and it remained so for the rest of the years I taught.
My point is this…sometimes even when we think we are doing things right and working together, we get it at least a little bit wrong. When we strike out on our own and fail to consider the much bigger picture, we often cause unnecessary hurt and heartache toward others – and in the Kingdom of Heaven.
You may think that everyone in your church interprets scripture as you do, so it’s okay to embrace certain rituals or tenets and trust they are “God-ordained.” Meanwhile, you may be excluding others and making it abundantly clear to them that “their kind” is not welcome or included. This is NOT God-ordained…it does not represent the teachings of Jesus. Not only is such behavior unproductive – it can do great damage to the missions and ministries of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, this can even sully the name we claim as “Christians” – or members of a certain religious belief or denomination.
Thanksgiving Day is a time to be thankful…but it is also a time to celebrate unity. Sadly, a lot of folks have separated from the Vine these days and decided to have things their own way in some manner. This will surely affect the “harvest.” Jesus reminds us in this passage to stay attached to the Vine…to make ourselves at home in Him and listen for His voice. When we keep the words of Jesus in our heart…and demonstrate His commands in every utterance and action, there is plentiful bounty and more than enough for all.
Ask Jesus to show you where you have started to “prune your branches” a bit too closely – and where you need to draw closer to Him and pay attention to serving all others in His name. Do the necessary work to let this be the year that your Thanksgiving Feast is a celebration of Christ’s blessings and abundance for all of us. And let your words and actions bring glory and honor to His Kingdom, forever and ever. Alleluia!
©2022 Debbie Robus
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