The Pilgrims of Leyden

Scripture records in Hebrews 11:4 that Able offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By faith he had respect unto the recompense of the reward of grace. The closing words, “…and by it he being dead yet speaketh,” serve to remind us that we are inheritors of the sacrifices of others.

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The year was 1620. Winter. Dutch Pilgrims sailed from Delfshaven across the turbulent, unpredictable Atlantic seeking a new home. Hope and fear were their companions. Clues of what lay ahead were scarce. They only knew what lay behind. In faith they replaced what was for the greater hope of what might be.

William Bradford of Plymouth Colony recorded in sparse, but profound detail the essence of this journey. The fair land so hoped for was in fact a desolate wasteland, teeming with wild men and beasts. Reality must have been a shock.

What would their anxious eyes have said to their expectant hearts as they gazed upon miles of rocky coastal escarpments? Certainly nothing like their mental pictures of a land flowing with milk and honey.

Perhaps they pictured the lands as a palm-tree paradise. Imagine their shock in the frosty chill while standing upon the deck of that schooner. Surely backward glances were made.

From the courage, perseverance and survival instincts of these and other hearty strangers, America was carved from this wilderness. Their voices still speak and define the tradition of Thanksgiving.

Some wonder if the tradition of Thanksgiving is losing its meaning. Is it becoming a mundane ‘must-do’ annual pilgrimage, a holiday for entertainment and shopping extravaganzas? Has the ease of life replaced the risks and perils that crafted the occasion? There’s more to Thanksgiving than this.

The mystical and eternal spirit of connectedness is at the core of Thanksgiving. It nurtures a short respite from the harsh realities and vicissitudes of life. We reconnect as we revisit homeplaces, mingle with family and friends and remember the Source of all blessings.

John is a friend. He’s recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. He has embarked from his own bleak land of darkness into a world of hope and the promise of a better life. John is, in a sense, a pilgrim. He’s committed to the cost of obtaining and maintaining a new life.

Recently he decided to plant an organic garden. We surveyed the barren backyard and chose a sunny spot. It was a 10 foot square of hardpan soil, strewn with weeds. It had grown fallow from non-use. Not big, but big enough to begin a new life. It lit a spark in John’s eyes.

He worked the ground faithfully. He tilled, raked, ashed, composted, fertilized and watered that small plot of sorry soil. He built raised rows and planted kale, celery, cabbage and winter lettuce. About ten days later he sent me a picture. Emerging from that once worthless plot of dirt were abundant green shoots of new life.

We consecrated that patch of ground, John’s Garden. It reminds me that the richness of America is not born totally from our country’s bountiful resources, but in the men and women who have taken the abundance from it through hard work, struggle and sacrifice.

We join with the pilgrims of Leyden, standing on the edge of tomorrow and nurturing our hopes and dreams. Though huge risks have been quantified, often eliminated, the world remains a violent and unforgiving frontier. As it is with all pilgrims, so must we be resolute in our goals for a better life…for a mightier hope abolishes despair.

Life always comes calling. It lays things in our lap to see what we’ll do with them. Sooner or later it returns to check on our progress. Will it find us faithfully tending the gardens we have been given?

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On October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday:

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the Source from which they come….”

What sacrifices are we making that future generations could say, “…and by them they being dead yet speak?”

May God continue to bless America on this Thanksgiving, 2013.

Bud Hearn
November 26, 2013

Illustration courtesy of Leslie Hearn