Sing a Te Deum!

Some parishes observe the National Day of Thanksgiving with a full Divine Service with Holy Communion. (I admit, I can't deny the logic of the Eucharist on Thanksgiving.) Matins as we have it in our English Lutheran hymnals also gives us a marvelous focal point for Thanksgiving Day: the Te Deum.

Sure, the Reformed have their "Common Doxology," which has become common among us also; Lutherans in former days made "Now Thank We All Our God" a staple; but the old saying, "Sing a Te Deum!" could stand to be revived among us also. The Te Deum is an amazing hymn—practically a creed—and it's also the Hymn pro gratiarum actione: the hymn of thanksgiving.

We could take the great risk of counting our blessings (i.e. our potential idols) and looking to call out God's hand (with its hidden motivations) at work in the world as it corresponds to our current ideas of what would be "good;" or we could take a cue from the Te Deum to get right down too acknowledging, confessing, and rejoicing in the Giver of all things, who has promised in Christ to work it all for our good. The Te Deum raises our awareness according to the 4th petition far above the secular (and even stoic) wisdom of "gratitude." We lay down our petitions (including the final versicles that quickly were adopted into the Te Deum) on the foundation of the Holy Trinity's salvation, centered in Christ, our Lamb and sacrifice.

You may not be accustomed to thinking of the Te Deum when you think of Thanksgiving, but I highly recommend it. Here's one of my favorite settings in English.