The Thanksgiving Break begins this afternoon. You are probably already in Thanksgiving mode, having spent the last couple of days working out travel plans and getting assignments turned in. Now, you are heading home for a few days and the chance to reconnect with family.
(Let me add a note that I realize not everyone will be doing so. While we have the image of the holidays as times of family cheer that is not the reality for far too many within our midst.)
This brings me back to my prayers from this morning. In this explanation to the 4th petition of the Lord’s Prayer, Martin Luther writes, “Daily bread includes everything needed for this life, such as food and clothing, home and property, work and income, a devoted family, an orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors.” That is an impressive list. It is an honest list.
We believe and teach that all things come from God’s hand. We believe and teach that God (as also stated in Luther’s Small Catechism,) “gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all people, though sinful, but we ask in this prayer that he will help us to realize this and to receive our daily bread with thanks.”
May we realize all that God has given us, and receive it with thanks.
Here is a thought. When Luther wrote his small catechism he intended it to be posted in the home so parents could teach their children its wisdom. Why not make a slight reversal, print this devotion (or open your copy of the Small Catechism) and on Thanksgiving Day invite the family to recite together that 4th petition and its explanation. Your dinner table conversation could recount the ways in which these many and varied expressions of daily bread have come into your life.
Have a wonderful break. Be safe. See you next week.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment