“Enter his gates with thanksgiving.”
Psalm 100:4
Our planning of Thanksgiving dinner started at the grocery store. I was picking up items from a shopping list when I saw bone-in hams on sale. I put a big one in the shopping cart, thinking of our family gathering on Thanksgiving Monday.
That started a process of imagining what dishes the meal would consist of. Over the next few days we came up with a menu of seasoned roast potatoes, ambrosia (a favourite), Brussels sprouts, garden fresh carrots, and pumpkin pie. Eventually we bought a turkey to add to the menu.
Psalm 100 is a wonderful call and invitation to give thanks. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” (Psalm 100:4-5)
Psalm 100 reminds me of friends and family gathering for a barbecue. The noise level of the gathering can be quite high, as people greet each other, kids play, and the telling of stories brings out loud laughter. “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Many times I have led a congregation in singing a lively opening chorus inspired by Psalm 100 and expressing a somewhat noisy exuberant praise, “I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart, I will enter his courts with praise. I will say this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice for he has made me glad.”
A friend of over 60 years and a gal that went to high school with our daughter joined us for Thanksgiving dinner. Family and friends around the same table—that’s something to be thankful for. Reconnecting with friends you haven’t seen for a long time—that’s a great gift full of stories, sometimes tears, and laughter at all the memories.
Thanksgiving Sunday was a special service for us. Our daughter led an intergenerational service through Psalm 136. The Psalm opens and closes with the call to “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1, 26) We are grateful for the leadership our daughter gives to the church family.
Our house was full of family and friends. We shared a meal together. And we told stories and “solved the problems of the world.” A pleasant Thanksgiving Dinner.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. (Psalm 118:1)
