Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

We’re at that bit of craziness that comes when family is in town. There’s the slightly cramped house, the odd schedule, the various linens and things to find, and trying to figure out what to feed and how to entertain visiting kids. There’s also the inevitable stress of trying to get the meal prep done. There are pies to remember, turkeys to brine, rolls to prep, sweet potatoes to cook, and the like.

I will say one thing that is different this year. I’m finding that the need for the perfect table, immaculate house cleaning, and spotless silver and china has faded. I enjoy trying to get things set just right. 

What I’m finding this year though is that I’m finding the “just right” in having people here. I’m finding that though the perfect table setting might be a joy, it is taking a back seat to enjoying family. After the last eighteen months of social distance and long distance meals and the like, it feels good to be back together again just as we should be.

It’s hard to give thanks when the stress about making things perfect piles up. It’s so much easier when you find the perfect in the imperfections we each bring to the table. When we can see the gathering as its own act of thanksgiving it makes the whole time together a way of being grateful. When we welcome folks into our hearts, lives, and homes it is its own way of saying thank you for the many ways we are shaped and nurtured. God sees us make space for love in imperfect lives and times and perhaps reminds us that this is what Christ did for us - coming amidst our imperfect lives and times to be love with us. For that God who did not wait for the perfect table, the perfect times, and for us to be perfect people we can only give thanks!

I have to imagine that God delights when he sees us together. He sees those acts of hospitality and generosity as small prayers, acts of thanksgiving, for the many hearts and souls he knits together in love with his own. There are folks I wish were here or were still here — and I give thanks to God for them too. I give thanks for the meals I’ve shared that stay with me through today. 

May God grant you the gift of thanksgiving today — for those with you and for those who have gone on before us. May we gather in love, transformed by the graces we’ve known, ready to share that love not only with our lips but in our lives.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert