They met in Philadelphia to produce a "Miracle at Philadelphia". They wanted to renew God's covenant with his people, and they inserted moral values into a constitution that has lasted unto today. These men built a system of government based on the state constitutions which were based on the covenants of the Old Testament.

They had the experience of the Articles of Confederation and they were convinced that, with the help of Almighty God, they would make a more perfect union for themselves and their posterity.

President Lincoln in the midst of a devastating Civil War asked for a day of Thanksgiving. Lincoln's idea of thanking God continued. Thanksgiving was a truly American idea conceived by moral men who devoutly believed in a divine creator. It was under this divine creator of the Bible that the American dream came into being and survived incredible obstacles, including a great Civil War.

We think of Thanksgiving as a day to gather with family and to overeat. The date has been moved for commercial reasons but the idea of a National day of Thanksgiving is there. It is now celebrated in November and its timing is to give retailers enough time to sell their Christmas wares.

We as a nation have also wrapped the earlier ideas of the harvest into Thanksgiving. Yes, the idea of celebrating the bounty of the land is important, as it is the Lord God that makes bread come out of the ground. On Thanksgiving the Morning Prayer service drops the Venite and substitutes Psalm 147 to be read or sung.((bcp 264) (see also page 522)) What is stressed in there is thanks to God.

Job shook his fist but yet he stayed loyal to God. St. Paul awaiting execution told people "be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto your God".

Lincoln knew what Paul knew. In the midst of the worst that life can offer we must give thanks to God. Thanksgiving is a day to acknowledge the special blessings which belong to us as members of the family of God.

The secular humanists, like the Sadducees they so closely resemble, are nominally religious and nominally patriotic. Sadly they are neither.

Secular humanists are embarrassed that we landed in America. They are embarrassed that we planted crops after cutting down trees. They are embarrassed about being American and they simply do not want to hear anything about God. So Thanksgiving is reduced to compulsory family gatherings with too much food and drink and we gear up to spend money for another holiday that embarrasses secular humanists.

Our forefathers gave thanks in New England in the 1600's. Their descendants gave thanks at Bunker Hill and Valley Forge. Their descendants gave thanks during a great Civil War. Today things are not going well in the culture wars. The press is shooting our troops in the back just like they did in Vietnam. Governmental servants are more interested in turf than public service. Lobbyists have more to say than the ordinary citizen. Christians are not allowed to speak or pray in public and their church services are being monitored. There are curbs on religious freedom. All of these curbs are in the name of the established religion of the United States, secular humanism.

There is a lot to be angry about. There is a lot to despair about, but like St. Paul, facing death in shipwreck or in prison, told us giving thanks to God is what we are supposed to do.

We should remember the example of Jesus at the last supper. He knew that the agony of the cross awaited him. What did he do? He took bread and wine and with both bread and wine he gave thanks and then he blessed them and gave them to his disciples.

As we observe this Thanksgiving we should give thanks to God. It is from God that all blessings flow.

AMEN

--- The Rev. Paul Taylor, LL.M. is a retired worker priest living in Washington, DC. He may be reached at : Washington Area Ministry Http://www.1928bcp.com OR Starputz@comcast.net