The Rev. Frank Logue has a few thoughts on the unusual coincidence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah this year. He writes:
This once in a lifetime combination holds something unique. Thanksgiving began as our nation’s way to turn in thankfulness to God for faithfulness even in the midst of “national perverseness and disobedience.” The Talmud points to Hanukkah celebrating not military might, but God’s faithfulness to those who wish to dedicate themselves anew to worship, praise and thanksgiving.
The unique mash up of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving offer the opportunity to look beyond Pilgrims dining with Native Americans to see the ubiquity of the human struggle against oppression. We routinely find ourselves fighting one another for freedom. But both Thanksgiving and Hanukkah place the emphasis in the struggle for freedom over oppression not on human might or military power, but on God’s mercy and faithfulness. That is something for which all of us can join hands in gratefulness this Thanksgivukkah.