Bing Crosby in the Thanksgiving Scene from the film Holiday Inn.
Bible Readings and Devotion for October 9, 2020
Here are the references for the readings. Please look these up in your print Bible, your smartphone app Bible, or your online Bible:
Devotion for October 9, 2020
By Pastor David Tinker
One of my favorite films is the Bing Crosby classic, “Holiday Inn.” Yes, the hotel chain took its name from this movie title. The premise of this movie is that the Bing Crosby character, Jim Hardy, wants to only work on holidays. As an entertainer, he often worked every day, and extra on holidays. So, to have more time off, Jim creates an inn which is only open for dinner and entertainment on major holidays, Christmas, New Years, Independence Day, etc. There are special songs for every noted holiday. In real life, the songs were written by Irving Berlin. Here is a link for more about this film.
For Thanksgiving Jim has a song called, “I’ve Got Plenty to be Thankful For.” Here is a video link which plays the original song as performed by Bing Crosby. Video: https://youtu.be/M0O1QhOMz9Y
I’ve Got Plenty To Be Thankful For
By Irving Berlin, from Holiday Inn (1942)
I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
I haven’t got
A great big yacht
To sail from shore to shore
Still I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
No private car
No caviar
No carpet on my floor
Still I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
I’ve got eyes to see with
Ears to hear with
Arms to hug with
Lips to kiss with
Someone to adore
How could anybody ask for more?
My needs are small
I buy them all
At the five and ten cent store
Oh, I’ve got plenty to be thankful for
I mention all this about giving thanks because our letter from Paul to the churches in Galatia does not give thanks. Typically, he would make a statement of thanksgiving to God, but here he does not. He is actually quite concerned about how they have abandoned the faith which was brought to them. Here is what Paul notes in Galatians 1:6-9, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!”
His concern is a deeply spiritual one. As one reads through the letter one will see that they pretty much abandoned the core, Christian teaching about God’s merciful grace, and replaced it with an obsession about following the law for God’s favor. Because of this gross rejection of the centerpiece of the Gospel (Good News), Paul has much reason to withhold thanksgiving to God. That they have put aside the great love of God is very sad indeed.
This ease of getting off track with the message of Jesus gives us good reason to regularly revisit the truth of God in Jesus Christ. The book of Galatians is a great starting point for this. Another resource would be the book of Romans, especially chapters 1-8. Ephesians 2:1-10 always gets me back in line with the truth of Jesus. John 3:16-17 is central to reminding us of the source and purpose of God’s great action for us. Daily revisiting of God’s Word is always of great benefit for keeping focused on knowing the truth brought to us by God through the Holy Spirit and the work of Jesus Christ.
For your reference, this devotion from a few weeks ago presents the standard format for letters by Paul. Click Link This will show the context of how this opening of Galatians is different.
Prayer
God of grace, you have given us minds to know you, hearts to love you, and voices to sing your praise. Fill us with your Spirit, that we may celebrate your glory and worship you in spirit and truth, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
Martin Luther Lutheran Church 