Links for today’s readings:
Nov 26 Read: 1 Chronicles 22 Listen: (3:25) Read: Psalms 97-98 Listen: (2:19)
Links for tomorrow’s readings:
Nov 27 Read: 1 Chronicles 23 Listen: (4:20) Read: Psalms 99-101 Listen: (2:42)
Scripture Focus: Psalm 100:4
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
Reflection: A Psalm for Thanksgiving
By Erin Newton
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Gather around the dinner table, smile and laugh. Curl up in chairs and on the floor with blankets by the fire’s warm glow. Breathe in the crisp autumn air and let your creaturely body run wild and free. Everywhere nature sings to God: the orange and yellow leaves; the crisp brown crunch of acorns; the rustling winds through the bare grass; the birds fluffing their feathers, capturing the warmth; the mild days and the quiet, longer nights. The days slow down, giving our souls the chance to join creation in a shout of joy.
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.
Quiet your mind and let go of your grip. He holds our breath. He holds our life. He holds our future. Like children tucked in warm blankets drifting carefree, we are his. This green planet is our pasture. We graze and frolic and rest under his care. He has created us to enjoy the blue skies, the sunsets and the sunrises, the full moons and the shooting stars. We give thanks, and he keeps guard.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
The whole of creation, the shelter of our homes, the tabernacle of our bodies invite him in with thanksgiving. Enter the gates of life with unending thanksgiving to him. Enter into community with family and friends, knowing he has created this world for you to thank him.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
He is good. He is “the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God.” Knowing the Lord is the joy that can never be taken away. It endures. It endures hardship. It endures time. It endures the dark nights of the soul. You are loved. You are known. And you are never forgotten from generation to generation. For as our Lord is good and loving, he bestows that on you.
May your Thanksgiving and holiday season be a gateway to hope that exceeds expectation, that exceeds present circumstances, that surprises even yourself. And may we enter his gates with thanksgiving this season.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him! — Psalm 34.8
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: We Gather Together – Hymns for Giving Thanks
This God who leads us through the challenges of life is worthy of our humble adoration. “Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!”
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