Pastor’s Corner: We Know Who…

November 25, 2020

Thanksgiving isn’t necessarily an easy holiday (see my Thanksgiving letter on the first page of The Messenger). Quite aside from the strains of this particular year, which are many, an ordinary Thanksgiving brings a lot of heartbreak. Over the years, tables will accumulate empty chairs. Even if the physical chairs are not empty, occupied by new additions to the family, we all know who is missing. They moved away. They ran away. They passed away.

We know who is missing.

We also know who is there. We know who tells the offensive jokes. We know who insults Auntie every year by scoffing at her cooking. We know who voted for… well, that person we didn’t vote for.

We know who is there.

One of the wonders of Thanksgiving is that we are grateful that everyone is there, and we are grateful for the lives of those who are there no longer.

Fortunately for all of us, God is there. God is there, not because it is Thanksgiving, but because we are there. God is there because God committed to love us at our creation. God is there because God walked the Earth in Jesus. God is there because the Holy Spirit always sings through creation.

Have a joyful Thanksgiving, friends, in the present (if not physical) love of family and the ever-present love of God.

With aloha,

Pastor Eric

Anderson family Thanksgiving observances have for some years included a croquet tournament. As with many things, it is suspended for 2020. Photo by Eric Anderson.