MAGNIFY
“I will praise the name of God with a song; I
will magnify Him with thanksgiving” Psalm 69:30
Upon my return to
Canada from Chile, I was introduced to the Thanksgiving holiday as my parents
are originally from here and it was part of our cultural heritage. A day off is
always welcome when you are a student but for me it was always a three day
Bible conference. When you are a child and early teen, this meant long
meetings! The reality was that I usually did not enjoy a turkey dinner in my
home. As I have moved on from that group of churches, I have returned to a more
traditional celebration of this holiday which I enjoy. For some the
Thanksgiving holiday means a vacation possibly a shopping trip or maybe a
family dinner as we watch football, the beginning of hockey or the baseball
playoffs. Whatever you do, I hope
its enjoyable. My desire in writing though is to help us consider what true
gratitude is; but first I want to give you some historical anecdotes about how
this holiday originated here in Canada.
Background of Thanksgiving in Canada
Thanksgiving Day
in Canada has been a holiday on the second Monday of October since 1957. It is
a chance for people to give thanks for a good harvest and other good things in
the past year.
The native peoples
of the Americas held ceremonies and festivals to celebrate the completion and
bounty of the harvest long before European explorers and settlers arrived in
what is now Canada. Early European thanksgivings were held to give thanks for
some special fortune. An early example is the ceremony the explorer Martin
Frobisher held in 1578 after he had survived the long journey in his quest to
find a northern passage from Europe to Asia.
Many thanksgivings
were held following noteworthy events during the 18th century. Refugees fleeing
the civil war in the United States brought the custom of an annual thanksgiving
festival to Canada. From 1879, Thanksgiving Day was held every year but the
date varied and there was a special theme each year. The theme was the "Blessings
of an abundant harvest" for many years. However, Queen Victoria's golden
and diamond jubilees and King Edward VII's coronation formed the theme in later
years.
From the end of
the First World War until 1930, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving Day were
celebrated on the Monday closest to November 11, the anniversary of the
official end of hostilities in World War I. In 1931, Armistice Day was renamed
Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving Day was moved to a Monday in October. Since
1957, Thanksgiving Day has always been held on the second Monday in October.
As you can see the
purpose of Thanksgiving was to pause and take as a community to be grateful. In
the U.S.A. the early pilgrims were very grateful towards God as the harvest
often yielded an abundance of provisions. Today the true understanding of it
has been lost in the busyness and distractions of our lives.
In Psalm 69:30 the
writer shares how even though there is struggle in life the best response one
can have is to set aside time to worship and to offer thanksgiving to God. The
original idea behind Thanksgiving was to be appreciative of the bountiful
harvest of fruit and vegetables.
Arriving at that
day a farmer would have worked long hard days, he would have had worries
regarding weather harming the crops or plagues like locusts or lack of water to
properly nourish their labour. The hardships and concerns were many but the joy
they would have felt upon achieving these goals before a long winter would have
at times overwhelmed them with happiness. The Psalmist here says in verse 30 “I
will praise Him with a song”. One of the ways we express ourselves is through
music, how many times has a song touched you whether in a joyous occasion or in
a sad moment. A spiritually based Christian song will often bring joy through a
sad circumstance. That is a paradoxical statement isn’t it? It is so very true
though. One song that means a lot to me is a song written and performed by
Chris Rice titled “Come to Jesus”.
The second part of
the verse states, “I will magnify Him with thanksgiving”(ESV). Most renditions
of this verse use the word “magnify”
which I really
like. The whole idea of magnification is to make something bigger or greater so
the true image or value can be clearly seen. You and I can truly show the
goodness and greatness of God through our thankful attitude regardless of the
circumstances. It will be a blessing to other Christians as well as a clear
testimony to non-believers. Whether its in joy or sorrow our life in God
through our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ can bring this truth to
life. So this thanksgiving whether there is joy or sadness in your life, choose
to be grateful to God and magnify Him.....the results will always be a blessing
to you and to others and ultimately to God! (see verse 31)
By: Pastor David
Jones