Norwich bulletin., 1910-11-25

1 or ;rellg1OuS, frugal and industrious peo- l pie as an expression of gratitude to \ God for. his mercy in bringing them l safe out. of the perils of starvation and crowning their toll for bodily suste-
 nance with harvest sufficient for their
 modest needs.
 Contrast of Conditions.
 1 I have gone into this well known l history because I wish to contrast the | humble. deeply religious tiny, local l beginning of the custom of setting apart day of thanksgiving with the | conditions under which we keep the l feast today. Now we are great, rich, | prosperous nation the wealthiest in i the world and the most luxurious, with resources seemingly almost unlimited l! Our harvests are of a magnitude which staggers the imagination. There is no | fear before our eyes of starvation, we are surrounded by creature comforts which the Pilgrims never dreamed of, we dwell in safety In material things we have as a nation been blessed be- yond all other peoples. Certainly there l is much to be thankful for in view of our prosperity, plenty and peace. And yet, with this abundance, with this vast stream of poured out comforts, ehere has come to be a danger which those simple Pilgrims as they thanked God for their little harvests and their well filled barns knew nothing of, and which ought to cause our thanksgiving
 
 For whether this material prosperity shall prove 8 blessing or curse to our national life depends upon the way we receive and use it, the sort of grat- itude we feel as we contemplate it. Can Be Made Day of Peril.
 If our gratitude is merely the com placent thanks of him who exu1ts in the comfort which these gifts bring into his life, welcomes the luxury which material wealth can offer a na 1 ton. thanks God for selfish ease. and in his rejoicing over the abundance of the things of earth forgets the hunger of the soul, the call of the spirit to 1 temperance and self-control, the sol
 emn warning that man does not live by bread alone, Thanksgiving day is a day of peril rather than time of strength and blessing. A nation whose most insistent question is what shall we eat. what shall we drink, and which has ceased to remember that all these things are secondary and fall into the background beside that first great rubric, Seek ye first the king dom of God and his righteousness, is l nation which is giving thanks to it's own condemnation.
 Give Humble Thanks for Gods Good ness.
 To gain the deepest significance of tHiS OdS We MuSI give UuInDl9 anu hearty thanks not only for Gods good ness and loving kindness in our crea- tion, preservation and all the blessings of this life but above all for his in estjmable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ the means of grace, the hope of glory. Let us thank God for his bounty in those abundant material gifts which he has sfIoWered upon us, but let us lay the stronger emphasis upon our thanks for every token of a quickened social conscience. of honor in our business
 of zeal @r justice for every man, for the caraS and welfare of women and little children, which tells us of the power of the holy spirit inspiring and directing the hearts of men. And then, too, our thanksgiving must have in it the spirit of sacrifice and service. True gratitude is shot through and through with missionary impulse, with the desire to give another the benefits which we have received, to pass on | tha blessings we enjoy to others.
 l For What Are We to Give Thanks. read recently few paragraphs which bring into vivid relief this spirit l of unself1sh desire to serve as the ground of genuine thankfulness Let me quote the words: For what" the
 writer asks. are you going to give i thanks on the last Thursday of No-
  herited? Then you will be a Shintoist, l not Worshipper of God. but of your ancestors. For your winnings in stock gambling? Then you have not ad- vanced for from the days when the 1 smoke of heather altars rose above the carnage of heather battlefelds. from 1 the days when conquering Christians sang Te Deum among the dead of i their dying Christian enemies. For the l success you have achieved by your own | brain or your own hand? Then you will be but the prototype of CaIigula, l who erected a temple to his own '.hon- ] or" officiated as his own priest and i burned sacrifices to his own soul No, Captain of Industry, you have no right I to thank God for your freedom while 1 the lash of necessity whips your child worker and your underpaid workers to l labor as Persian generals once whip 1 ped their slaves to war. No. Mr 1 Voter, you have no right to thank God i for your franchise while electors are 1 bought and the elected are sold No, Doctor; no. Lawyer, you have no right | to thank God for your growing prac- | tlce while legislators leave comfortable | diseases free to steal into the houses 1 of the rich or to stalk into the tene- 1 ments Of the poor; while the man with l money may appeal his case and the l man without can scarcely have his one 1 day in court. No Professor VOL have no right to thank God for your edu- l catlon until education is everywhere made compulsory. No my dear Mad anne. my protected Miss you have no right to thank God for your safety while your sisters are creatures of l barter. Get down on your knees; but get down and pray God that he may drive into your hearts the spur of dis content. of anger against wrong. of strength to advance. And then get up and go out of your church and into | the streets and there do your best. however little that may be- toward end- ing the worlds abominations Words are well enough, a sense of gratitude 1 is commendabfe. but the only real 1 tfankfulness sends you among those | who need help to ha1p themselves tow ards the things that you have been 1 thanking God for giving you"
 Genuine Gratitude 1 These are strong words. too strong perhaps, to be judicial. and yet they 1 have in them just that touch of emo i tional exaggeratfon which is so often necessary before our dull ears will hear. For it is true that there is no f such thing IS genuine gratitude which ] does not feel a willingness to share the benefits with others, even at the cost of trouble work and resolute pur- 1 pose Gratitude involves sacrifice. The psalnist of old well knew this and his words with which we began today are filled with this spirit of service. of sharing with others the benefits ma terial and spiritual which God has lrxixr 1r c1 1,s