Thanksgiving Blessings Provide A Time For Healing

Posted in: News By House Divided on November 29, 2021

Thanksgiving marks the day set aside for Americans to reflect upon — and give thanks for — their blessings. This year marks the 400th anniversary of America’s first Thanksgiving.

On Sept. 6, 1620, the ship known as the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England with 102 men, women, and children aboard. These Pilgrims were bound for New England, in search of religious freedom. They intended to land in what is now Virginia, but violent storms blew them off course.

On Nov. 11, after 66 days at sea, the ship arrived at what is now Cape Cod. A few weeks later, they sailed up the coast to what is now Plymouth, Mass. There, they anchored and hoped to build a tiny settlement in the wilderness. Before they disembarked the ship, however, they signed what is known as the Mayflower Compact which stated, in part:

“IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We whose names are underwritten…Having undertaken for the Glory of God and the advancement of the Christian Faith…do…solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together in a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid…and to enact…such just and equal laws… for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.”

President Calvin Coolidge described the Mayflower Compact as “…the foundation of liberty based on law and order,” calling it “the first real constitution of modern times. It was democratic, an acknowledgment of liberty under law and order giving to each person the right to participate in the government, while they promised to be obedient to the laws.” The Mayflower Compact laid the foundation for American democracy.

The first winter in Plymouth was harsh and more than half died of malnutrition, disease, and exposure. The women were particularly hard-hit; of the 19 women who boarded the ship, only five survived. The remaining Pilgrims may not have survived another year had it not been for the aid they received from the Patuxet, indigenous people from that area. The Patuxet taught the Pilgrims farming methods and effective ways to harvest wild game and seafood.

This year also marks the 400th anniversary of what’s been called “The Treaty that Saved Plymouth Colony,” a mutually beneficial peace treaty between the Patuxet and the Pilgrims lasting over 50 years. It’s the only treaty between immigrants and Native Americans that remained unbroken throughout the lives of the signatories.

In 1621, after a bountiful harvest, the Pilgrims thought it fitting to thank God for his merciful blessings. Joined by their Patuxet friends, they feasted for days. Historians generally regard this celebration as America’s first Thanksgiving. It was not until Oct. 3, 1863, however, that Thanksgiving became officially recognized under President Abraham Lincoln, who proclaimed the 4th Thursday in November as a day to be set aside for national “Thanksgiving and Praise.”

Lincoln urged Americans, “as with one heart and one voice” to thank God for his blessings and, “…do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience…implore…the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation.”

Today, the nation again stands in need of healing. This country is deeply divided. Many believe the cause of our division is essentially political in nature. But as Richard John Neuhaus observed, “culture is the root of politics, and religion is the root of culture.” If Neuhaus is correct, then the political tensions we observe are a symptom, not the cause, of our national disunity. If Neuhaus is correct, Americans will search in vain for political solutions to heal this nation’s deeper spiritual wounds: there are no political solutions to a spiritual problem.

The Bible offers a prescription for healing: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Any takers?