The Village ILWIDIot

By Walt Wiltschek

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” –Eph. 2:8, NKJV

Canada, our friendly neighbor to the north, beats us to the celebration of Thanksgiving each year. The Canadian Thanksgiving is the second Monday of October, about six weeks before we sit around our tables full of turkey and cranberries and turn on the TV to watch football.

Canada’s version also embraces the harvest, but it tends to be a more low-key occasion—often with time spent outdoors enjoying nature before the winter cold sets in. And I learned recently that in the French-speaking part of the country, in Quebec, the day has a rather charming name: “L’Action de Grâce.”

If you’ll forgive a bit of etymological exploration, that French phrase loosely translates to “giving thanks,” but more literally it’s exactly what it looks like: “An action of grace,” much as we might say grace to express our prayerful thanks before a meal. Due to the complexities of the English language, both “grace” and “gratitude” spring from the same Latin word, the same reason that “gracias” means “thank you” in Spanish.

In Christianity, of course, “grace” also refers to the undeserved mercy and love of God’s gifts to us, especially the gift of life through Jesus. That stems from an additional definition off that Latin root, one that means something is pleasing and freely given—where we also get the word “gratis,” for something we’re given without charge.

We are thankful for many things when we gather around those tables in late November—and hopefully at many other times of the year, too: for food, for family, for friends, and more. But as followers of Christ, it seems rather appropriate that our greatest “action of grace”—our thanksgiving—is for God’s action of grace toward us.

When we gathered at district conference recently, in person for the first time in three years, it certainly felt like an action of God’s grace. We had survived the pandemic, a bit battered and weary perhaps, but we were there, together, still feeling the movement of God’s Spirit among us. And for that I am quite thankful.

Theologian David Lose, in his blog, contemplated all the things that can suck joy from our faith: political polarization, challenging economics, injustice, environmental issues, and so on, and then concludes “perhaps our response … might be to sing words of joy, thanksgiving, and praise. For God is still at work—both in us and through us for the health of this world God loves so much. And that is cause for singing.”

That seems like rather good counsel. So as you approach Thanksgiving this year, let your “action of grace” sing out in praise for all God’s actions of grace in our lives, on the second Monday of October, the fourth Thursday in November, and every day.

District executive schedule: In addition to regular meetings, Walt will be preaching and visiting at Lanark Nov. 13, helping to facilitate meetings at York Center Nov. 20, preaching at Dixon Nov. 27, worshiping and meeting with Chicago First Dec. 11, and attending a retreat at Camp Emmaus Dec. 16-17 and preaching at Dixon Dec. 18. Walt will be away for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays Dec. 22-Jan. 2 and attending/traveling to the Council of District Executives winter meetings in Florida Jan. 6-12.