Ernest remarks, “I’m not familiar with any passage that reads, “Take offense at those who insult your sense of entitlement.” Ouch!

A couple of years ago we moved our Thanksgiving Dinner to a Sunday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Rather than burden those who would volunteer to bake a ham or cook a turkey for the meal the same week they would do so for their family’s made sense. Those who cooked appreciated the consideration. It is not that these folks serve without sacrifice and so we must coddle them at every turn. We simply thought it healthy to allow them to enjoy what the rest of us benefit from – less stress.

What to name the meal? We shared the fellowship after Thanksgiving so it did not fit to call it our Annual Thanksgiving Meal. We enjoyed the meal before Christmas so it did not quite fit to call it our Annual Christmas Dinner. We opted for Holiday Meal. Yes, there were some who thought this was a capitulation to retailers who sought to be inoffensive by wishing everyone “Happy Holidays.” Others understood that a day between two major holidays could well be described as an Annual Holiday Meal. You know what happens when you try to please everyone.

Well this year we opted for Christ-giving Dinner. One of our men thought of the description. He rescued us from the charges that we succumbed to cultural pressure. He gave us an occasion to express our understanding that thankfulness is the nature of Christ’s gift. That is, our response to the loving grace of God is a thankfulness beyond words. It is a way of life that some describe with the term worship. We give ourselves to the loving grace of God in Jesus the Christ in the way we order and structure our lives. This is repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ.

Ernest’s post reminded me of this, one of our very own Thanksgiving, Christmas, Holiday conundrums at Snow Hill. Not really that big of a deal when you see things as Ernest does.

Merry Christmas Ernest! Now if I could just get you to return my email and phone calls . . .