In Home Worship – Sunday, November 23, 2025 – Season of Thanksgiving: Christ the King Sunday

Frank James is the one on the right. This link (https://www.uaine.org/suppressed_speech.htm) leads to his thanksgiving speech written (but not delivered) for the 350th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock. Pr. Olaf will reference Frank James and his speech in this Sunday’s sermon.

Image credit: https://loveandragemedia.org/2020/11/24/the-suppressed-speech-of-wamsutta-frank-b-james-wampanoag/

Christ the King—Thanksgiving: Luke 23:33-43

Thanksgiving is upon us, the arguably most American of all holidays. It is an acknowledgement of a nation of otherwise fiercely independent people who make their own destiny, that despite all the individual independence, there is a greater power in the universe to which all people relate. For us, this power is God in Christ. But the compelling power of the holiday is that not just Christians remember to be thankful for what life has bestowed on them, but also non-Christians join in the celebration. They might call on God by a different name, they may be humanists or anti-spiritual materialists, but most recognize that a moment of grateful self-reflection is healthy and beneficial.

Let me tell you a Thanksgiving story. It is a sad story, about people who can’t bear the discomfort of a hurtful past, and because they can’t bring themselves to acknowledge past sins, they can’t build a common future.

– Pr. Olaf