That's What Made it a Holiday

John Wesley above the front entrance of Duke Chapel

On November 26, 1753 when he was so ill that he believed he was dying, John Wesley wrote out his own epitaph:  "Here lieth the body of John Wesley, a brand plucked out of the burning, who died of a consumption in the fifty-first year of his age ... praying God be merciful to me, an unprofitable servant..."(Journal, November 26, 1753).  Forbidden by his doctor to preach or ride a horse, he began to think of making his own translation of the New Testament and writing a New Testament commentary, and on January 6 embarked on the project, which was described by him as "a work which I should scarce ever have attempted had I not been so ill as not to be able to travel or preach, and yet so well as to be able to read and write" (Journal, January 6, 1754).

In typical John Wesley fashion, he did not want to be "useless" while he was recovering, so he worked to "redeem the time" by cranking out a rough draft in around four months.  One of the most beautiful passages written by him in his commentary on 1 Thessalonians comes to mind whenever anyone mentions gratitude or thanksgiving --

16 Rejoice always, 
     17 pray without ceasing, 
18 give thanks in all circumstances; 
     for this is the will of God 
in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18)

Rejoice evermore - In uninterrupted happiness in God. 
Pray without ceasing - Which is the fruit of always rejoicing in the Lord. In everything give thanks - Which is the fruit of both the former. This is Christian perfection. Farther than this we cannot go; and we need not stop short of it. Our Lord has purchased joy, as well as righteousness, for us. It is the very design of the gospel that, being saved from guilt, we should be happy in the love of Christ. Prayer may be said to be the breath of our spiritual life. [One] that lives cannot possibly cease breathing. So much as we really enjoy of the presence of God, so much prayer and praise do we offer up without ceasing; else our rejoicing is but delusion. 
Thanksgiving is inseparable from true prayer: it is almost essentially connected with it. [One] that always prays is ever giving praise, whether in ease or pain, both for prosperity and for the greatest adversity. [S/He] blesses God for all things, looks on them as coming from him, and receives them only for his sake; not choosing nor refusing, liking nor disliking, anything, but only as it is agreeable or disagreeable to [God's] perfect will.

Thanksgiving Day in the US is a weird holiday with a tangled history, but it always makes me think of my mama saying that every day ought to be Thanksgiving because we could never thank God enough for all the blessings of life.  Perhaps not surprisingly, she grew up Methodist, but I'm pretty sure she never read Wesley's Notes! 

That's beside the point, really.  Having a grateful heart, possessing a disposition of thankfulness, and praying with our every breath -- that is what makes a day a holiday -- which of course is taken from "holy day."  Being filled with praise for God, even in the most difficult of circumstances as well as in the fun times is surely a mark of holiness, and for Wesley, happiness and holiness went hand in hand.

Daddy and I celebrated Thanksgiving together this year, just the two of us.  Scott had to work, and my kids were elsewhere.  I told him we'd have "Thanksgiving surprise" because neither of us is a cook, yet we managed to cobble together a veritable feast for the eyes and the stomach!  And in our time together, we gave thanks.