Harvest Thanksgiving 
Mary Holmen

Joel 2:21-27   Matthew 6:25-33

From the second chapter of Joel: “Do not fear, O soil; be glad and rejoice...Do not fear, you animals of the field…O children of Zion, be glad.” On this Harvest Thanksgiving festival, we hear once more these words proclaiming a vision of plenty, of timely rain and abundant harvests. But wait, what? “I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter.” What is happening here? Joel is writing in the aftermath of a severe drought and a plague of locusts. The first chapter of Joel’s book sets out the devastation: ruined crops devoured by the locusts, vines and fig trees laid waste, empty storehouses, flocks and herds with no pastures or watering places, forests destroyed by fire. “Even the wild animals cry to you because the watercourses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness” (Joel 1:20). Does that not sound like Manitoba in the summer of 2021?

Joel saw this disaster as God’s judgement on Israel and used it to call the people to repentance. The catastrophe they endured was a warning that they needed to change their ways. The time of blessing and plenty is a reversal of the suffering brought on by the drought. Because God is faithful, God will restore the land and the people.

Joel’s message has two sides: God will reverse what has happened if the people repent. I’m not sure how that message would resonate with people today, that God would withhold rain to bring about human repentance. Yet, there is a reality behind those words that we are increasingly recognizing as true. We have done it to ourselves; climate change is upon us, and it is a sobering thought that the soil, the animals, and the vegetation should be afraid of human activity. Why else would the prophet tell them not to fear? We are endangering the very future of the envelope of life that sustains us. The prophet’s call to repent, to change our ways, is just as relevant now as it was then.

We’ve been through a very tough year and more, and maybe it feels like a bit of a stretch to be thinking about Thanksgiving now. The ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, poor harvests, the effects of climate change, and struggles with racial and economic injustice weigh heavily on us, and they don’t give any sign of letting up anytime soon. Which is precisely why we need a practice of gratitude more than ever as an antidote to the physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion so many of us are feeling. But gratitude can be hard to practice when we feel so much stress.

In a reflection that I received by email this week, the writer suggests that our difficulty may stem from a mistaken understanding of gratitude. The writer suggests that gratitude is made of both emotions and ethics or moral principles. When we receive a gift from someone, we feel gratitude. That’s an emotion. When we write a thank-you note, we are acting on our moral principle that expressing our gratitude is a good thing to do. It is an ethical choice that comes from our belief that thank you notes matter. Much of the time, we tend to think of gratitude as simply good feelings that come and go according to what is happening around us or to us. When we get stressed or anxious or depressed, we are less likely to feel gratitude as an emotion. It is this confusion that makes it difficult to practice gratitude as a way of life. And yet, I believe that gratitude is not simply a way to help ourselves feel better. It is an essential spiritual practice. Like any practice, it takes intention, consistency, and persistence. It needs to become a habit.

How, then, may we cultivate a practice of gratitude? There are three things we can do first to set straight any potential confusion between emotions and principles.

1. Acknowledge that we are indeed blessed and gifted beyond measure. Beyond creating “gratitude lists”, which may simply turn into another chore, recognizing our blessedness will provide balance to our fears and worries. As the old hymn advises, “Count your blessings, name them one by one.”
2. Acknowledge the source of our blessings. We are not blessed by our own efforts or by some fortuitous accident. We cannot add a single hour to our span of life by worrying, by toiling and spinning, by sowing or reaping or gathering. It is God who knows what we need. If God cares for the birds and flowers, surely God cares much more for us. That old hymn continues, “Count your many blessings, see what God has done.”
3. Trust that God, who is good and knows our needs, will provide for them. To be of “little faith” is to lack that trust. Without that trust, there is much about which to be anxious.

Gratitude is way of thinking and behaving that reshapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. We can choose to be grateful people. We can follow a practice that will develop gratitude into a lifelong habit. Not only will we grow spiritually, but in the process, we will also become healthier, happier, and more at peace – more whole, as God intends us to be. So then, here are some ideas for establishing a practice of gratitude:

• Choose a time of day that works for you and keep it the same time every day. Consistency is essential in developing a habit.
• Find a place where you can be quiet and relaxed. A comfortable chair that lets you sit with good posture takes away tension from the body. Perhaps a cup of tea will help you relax physically and mentally. Enjoy whatever sounds and sights you experience.
• Keep it simple. It may help to create a short reflective prayer or thought, like “Thank you, God, for the gift of life. Thank you for this day and this time.”
• Take a few deep breaths in and out and recite your short prayer.
• Sit quietly, breathing slowly, and allow the wonder of God’s gifts to sink into you. If particular gifts come to your awareness, give thanks for them. If not, just enjoy resting in God’s presence.
• When you sense your time of quiet is done, thank God for being God.
• Don’t get discouraged if you start feeling as though nothing is changing over time. Stick with your practice and eventually it will bear fruit.

It seems it is much easier for us to focus on the negative aspects of life than the positive. When we practice gratitude, we shift the balance, come closer to God, and learn to see God’s care for us even in the challenges that occur throughout our day and our lives. Perhaps this is the time for you to develop a practice of gratitude. Amen.