In 2013, the iconic Norman Rockwell painting “Saying Grace” sold for $46 million dollars. “Saying Grace” originally appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post’s 1951 Thanksgiving issue, and soon became one of Rockwell’s most beloved works.
The painting is strikingly 1951. A grandmother, with flowers in her crumpled hat, and her young grandson are sitting, heads bowed and hands folded in prayer, at a small diner table where two young men are also seated. As if never having witnessed such a sight, the two young men, one with a cigarette almost falling from his lips, stare over the condiments at the sight before them. Another man, umbrella in hand, apparently leaving the diner, has stopped his exit and is also watching the woman and boy say grace. A man in the foreground, having his after-meal coffee, has paused reading his newspaper and also looks on the rare scene.
The Post offered this introduction to the painting when it was first printed: “The world is not too happy a place these days. There are wars and threats of wars. Anxiety and frustration are abroad, and in many quarters, we see the bankruptcy of morals. So, suddenly comes the day to give thanks for the goodness of life. And perhaps this can be done most understandingly by someone like this little old lady who, wherever she may be, bows her head to say grace.”
I so hope that thi s Thanksgiving, whether you are with family, or with your spouse, or if, by chance or circumstance you are alone, that you will begin your meal with a prayer of thanksgiving. And believe me, all of us have more for which to be thankful than we realize.
The following story was once printed in Home Life Magazine (a man writes): “Some years ago in Nashville, my wife wanted to buy some additional items for our Thanksgiving dinner. The cart was almost full, and we were about ready to go when my wife was addressed by a man wanting to know how big a turkey he ought to buy. Then he wanted to know how to cook it.
“ My w i fe told him patiently as much as she could. ‘But could you tell me what I ought to cook it with?’ At that point my wife more fully understood the man’s need for assistance and went up and down the aisles selecting the things he needed for a good dinner. She told him how each should be cooked.
“As we turned to go the man, with a great deal of emotion, sought to express his gratitude for my wife’s courtesy. I think I shall never forget that man’s final remarks: ‘We have just come from the cemetery where I buried my wife. The children have just lost their mother, but I don’t want them to lose their Thanksgiving dinner— we still have much for which we are thankful.’” Jesus feeding the five thousand is so intrinsic to the gospel of Christ that it is recorded in all four Gospels. In John’s narrative, the vast crowd is noted and the immense cost to feed so many. Andrew brings a lad to Jesus who, I like to think, had just offered to share his sack lunch with anyone who was hungry. John writes: “Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them.” Had you ever noticed—Jesus gave thanks for five rolls and two fish!
All of this—Rockwell’s moving art, the widower who still had much for which to be thankful, a lad who showed no fear of scarcity, and Jesus who gave thanks for a sack lunch, makes me think of the words of the psalmist: “Thou preparest a table before me…”
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