The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-12-01
THANKSGIVING SERMON
PREACHED BY REV. w. r. REBER
IN THE M. L. CHURCH
On Thursday, November a5th, 1897, to
Large Congregation.

Large Congregation.
NJ" p; nJ m S,i fyc . ,e"sEs for hS Is hS
! Thes. y: ~.
There Is said to be floating tradition
which fingers in some parts Of New
England, that undertakes, in n general
way. to account for the origin Of
our Thanksgiving observance. The
story goes that in the early days Of the
colony, the people somewhere had AS
sembled for the purpose of considering
the propricty Of setting apart a day of
humiliation and fasting In view Of the
many sorrows and calamities through
which they had recently been called to
pass. This. however. was not the opin-
ion OF one person in the audience who
looked at things from different view
point After the discussion had gone on
for sometime. he arose and ventured In
suggest the propriety Of counting mp the
many mercies and blessings that God
had so abundantly showcrcd down upon
their pathway. So deeply did he sue
ceed in impressing his thought upon
TIE minds OF those present, that they
concluded to change things about aud
they appointed day Of Thanksgiving
instead of day Of mourning. From
this local circumstance. the tradition
would have us believe, our November
Thanksgiving arose This, however. is
not historically correct. As is well
known, the first service Of this kind
took place in the autumn Of 1921. about
ten months after the Pilgrim Fathers
landed at Plymouth Rock.
We are much more prone to dwell on
our calamitlcs rather than our blessings
and to cherish spirit OF mourning and
repining rather than one Of gratitude
and thanksgiving. Yet, such spirit
is foreign to the genius Of the Christian
religion. A spirit of gladness should
seize every man and woman on Thanks
giving Day. The Church, as on Easter
morning, should drop its Lenton seri-
BUSINESS and burst forth In jubilant
songs Of hearty praise. II has been "a
year in coming, let it bc ushered in
with symphonic music. II is not day
to enlarge on the spots Of our civilian
tion, o. to comment on the sins and
fOllies OF the nation. 1t is a joyous day.
Let us turn to the bright side of life.
and with eyes and ears attuned attempt
TO catch the strains and glimpscs OF the
better day. The whole Bible throbs
and beats and surges with the intensest
ccstacics Of joy from first to last.
Whenever you meet with morosc,
gloomy Christian, you may rest assured
that there is something wrong. His
health is bad or his religion is out of
order. Heir to all the sunshine in this
world, heir TO every promise in this
dear old Book, heir TO foresight that
notes the sparrow when it falls. and 10
the Providence which counts the very
hairs Of his head. He Is heir also to the
glories that are yet to be revealed. With
all this within him, beneath him, about
him, above him, how can child of God
repine? As one has said, Every day
should be note OF joy, every week n
bar of music, every month a line of
melody, every year complete stanza,
and life itself one sweet, long, beautiful
Psalm, a prelude to the anthem sung
above. And when we turn to the
prophsey of Isaiah what charming
song greets our ears and what perfect
picture meets our vision. a gifted
writer has phrased it most beautifully:
''The princely son Of Amoz, with the
laurel on his brow, the Immortality OF
genius in his bosom, sings in a melo-
dious way Of the royal reign OF heaven
in the soul. His vibrant voice gives
utterance to words electric with the
majesty of great ideas. Visions ecstat-
ic unroll before him. In imagery the
most beautiful and forcible, he paints the
new Time-the redemption Of society
upon this earth. He gives his voice
TO the hills, his melody to the
groves and streams, his incense to
the flowers. Inanimate nature is repre-
sented as trembling with joy and glad
ness. Instead Of thorns to cut and
lacerate, the old prophet saw fir trees,
symbols Of beauty, majesty and good
ness. Instead OF the brier, he saw the
myrtle with its glossy leaves, its snowy
blossoms and pleasant odors. Instead
Of mountains Of misery rearing their
heads, there were mountains clad in
verdure, dripping with wine and how-
Ing with milk. Instead of fireless,
breadless homes, there were homes of
plenty. Lips unaccustomed to song
were uttering the heavenly hallelujahs.
The prophet evidently had in mind the
glory and the ripeness Of Messiah's
kingdom. Let us be thankful to-day
for the centuries that are gone and for
what they have SO generously contrib