The Pilgrims’ Example

It has been six weeks since I saw Plymouth Rock for the first time. The local guide for our Baptist Pilgrimage to New England said the stone was only about one-third the size it was when the first Pilgrim placed a foot on it Dec. 21, 1620. About one-third of the stone has been carried away by souvenir-seeking tourists. Another third has been buried by sand carried up by the churning waters of the North Atlantic.

Today a large granite structure protects the rock from future destruction while allowing tourists an unobstructed view of the famous rock and the sandy inlet where the Pilgrims landed.

Immediately in front of the rock, a hill rises sharply. To the south a small stream flows through a grassy meadow. It was here the Pilgrims built their first homes and planted their first seeds. Today the area is a park complete with historical reminders and statues. Still it is possible to imagine the scurrying of settlers trying to carve out a place to live along the seemingly hostile shores of Cape Cod.

But before the Pilgrims could think about planting seeds, they had to survive the New England winter. The wind and snow and gales from the sea drove some of them back to the Mayflower for shelter. Others lived in a common house the group constructed. Sadly, that structure caught fire and burned to the ground, but no lives were lost.

Almost half the Pilgrims never saw the first spring in their new world. Of the 103 who landed at Plymouth, 51 died that winter. Secretly, the survivors buried their companions on the hillside in front of Plymouth Rock. The graves were disguised to keep the Indians from fully knowing their plight. Today a large rectangular monument atop that hill lists the names of all 51 who died that winter.

But the Indians were not as much enemies as friends. Imagine the shock the Pilgrims experienced when the first Indian to approach them spoke in broken English. Samoset, an Algonquin sub-chief, was visiting in the area when he saw the Pilgrims. He approached and spoke in the stumbling words he had learned from English fishermen who came to the Monhegan Island off the coast of southeast Maine where he lived.

Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoag tribe, was the Pilgrims’ primary benefactor. It was he and his tribe Samoset visited that eventful day. And it was he and his tribe that befriended the fragile band of settlers. In March 1621 the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe signed a peace treaty that was never broken. The two groups enjoyed a peaceful coexistence as long as Massasoit lived. He died in 1661. His importance is remembered in a larger-than-life statue of the chief that stands near the memorial to the Pilgrims who died that first winter.

Fifty-one died but 52 lived. They broke ground and watched their crops grow to harvesttime. They hunted and fished to provide food for the coming winter. They built houses, raised animals and moved toward permanence.
That is when Gov. William Bradford declared a feast. Massasoit and his braves joined their new friends to celebrate the successful harvest. It was a time of plenty, much unlike those early days of want. Wild turkey, venison, fish, pumpkin, corn and assorted vegetables sat before the revelers. Undoubtedly the Pilgrims could not look on their bounty without remembering that only months before their daily ration was five grains of corn.

An old American custom largely passed from use recalled that irony. People used to put five grains of corn next to every Thanksgiving plate to remind of want in the face of plenty.

Americans usually point to this occasion as the first Thanksgiving.  But the pious Pilgrims never observed another Thanksgiving feast. Instead, when Gov. Bradford declared the first official Day of Thanksgiving on Nov. 29, 1623, the Pilgrims celebrated with thanksgiving, prayer and fasting. It was a religious celebration.

Some might ask what the Pilgrims had to be thankful for. Practically every family had lost a loved one to the perils of that first winter. Their shelters were sticks and mud, not at all like the homes they enjoyed in Holland and England. They were alone in the new world. Their destination had been what we know as Virginia where other settlers lived. But now they eked out an existence hundreds of miles away surrounded only by Indians.

That is one way of looking at the Pilgrims’ situation, but the Pilgrims chose another view.

The Pilgrims gave thanks because they had survived. Half of them lived despite the dangers of the sea and the new world. That alone was miraculous.

The Pilgrims also gave thanks because they had friends. Unlike many other early settlers, the Pilgrims were blessed with Indians who helped them. The Wampanoags were the Pilgrims’ tutors when it came to living in the new world. Without Massasoit and his tribe, the Pilgrims may not have survived at all.

The Pilgrims gave thanks for the freedom to worship as they chose. Religious persecution had forced the tiny band from their native land. But on the shores of Cape Cod they could govern themselves as they desired and worship as they felt appropriate.

Most of all, the Pilgrims gave thanks for the presence of God. It is always God to whom thanks is due. He is the Creator of all that is. He is the author and finisher of our faith. He is our Redeemer and our hope.

Psalm 146 must have had special meaning to the Pilgrims as they gave thanks. From personal experience they understood trusting in “princes” (v. 3), as if political power were their source of hope. As they worshiped, the Pilgrims understood that God “upholds the cause of the oppressed,” and they saw how He “gives food to the hungry” (v. 7).

Once they had been imprisoned for their faith. Now they had been set free (v. 7).  They trusted God to watch over them as “aliens” in a strange land. They trusted God to watch over the fatherless and the widow (v. 9).  Above all, they understood that the Lord reigns forever. How could they help but offer Him thanks and praise (v. 10)?

This Thanksgiving, some of us will be tempted to ask why we should be thankful when life has been mean and hard. What we don’t have or what we have lost may be uppermost in our minds.

Perhaps the Pilgrims’ example is a lesson for us. When we look at what God has done for us, how can we not voice words of praise and thanksgiving? God has granted us the gift of life, physical life and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. He has placed encouragers in our path to help us along the way. He has given us Himself as a constant companion through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

When we acknowledge that God has given us life, given us help and given us Himself, we echo the words of the psalmist when he declared, “Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live” (v. 2).