Perhaps we will even ask ourselves how we would respond if, God forbid, we were to endure the same trial. When we hear of the PilgrimsвЂ™ resolve in the face of persecution in England, we may nod our heads admiringly and meditate on the courage of their convictions.

This makes the Pilgrim story so much more relevant to us. To their credit, they were determined not to let the cares of this world weaken their faith or undermine their church. As the Pilgrims saw it, the principal threat that they faced in Holland was not the scorching sun, but strangling thorns. In emphasizing the PilgrimsвЂ™ supposed search for religious freedom, we make the primary menace in their story the heat of persecution. The latter stands for those who allow the word to be choked by вЂњthe cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other thingsвЂќ ( Mark 4:19). The former, Jesus explained to His disciples, represents those who receive the word gladly, but stumble вЂњwhen tribulation or persecution arises for the wordвЂ™s sakeвЂќ ( Mark 4:17). The seed cast among thorns springs up and then is choked by the surrounding weeds. The seed that lands on stony ground sprouts immediately but the plant withers under the heat of the noonday sun. You remember how the sower casts his seed (the word of God), and it falls on multiple kinds of ground, not all of which prove fruitful. The PilgrimsвЂ™ justification for relocating to America reminds me of JesusвЂ™ parable of the sower. The majority labored as textile workers, carding, spinning, or weaving in their own homes from dawn to dusk, six days a week, merely to keep body and soul together. Pilgrim William Bradford commented on вЂњthe great licentiousness of youthвЂќ in Holland and lamented the вЂњevil examplesвЂќ and вЂњmanifold temptations of the place.вЂќ Compounding these challenges was what Bradford called вЂњthe hardness of the place.вЂќ Most Pilgrim families lived in houses with no more than a couple hundred square feet of floor space. By their own account, Holland was a place where God had blessed them with вЂњmuch peace and liberty.вЂќ They cited factors other than religious persecution in explaining their decision to seek a new home across the ocean.Д«oiled down, the Pilgrims had two major complaints about their experience in Holland and why they decided to come to America: (1) They found it a hard place to raise their children and (2) an even harder place to make a living.Дutch culture was too permissive, they believed. Religious persecution had prompted the Pilgrims to move from England to Holland in 1608, but none of the Pilgrim writers so much as hinted that a desire for greater religious freedom led them to leave Holland for America in 1620. The belief that the Pilgrims came to America in search of religious freedom is inspiring, but itвЂ™s just not so. Many people being to wonder around Thanksgiving time why the pilgrims came to America. ThatвЂ™s not the case with how we remember the PilgrimsвЂ™ reasons for coming to America.

It would be more accurate to imagine them adorned in bright colors, seated on the ground, and enjoying turnips and eel, but these are superficial differences that donвЂ™t change the meaning of the story very much. In our mindвЂ™s eye, weвЂ™ll remember the Pilgrims decked out in black suits and enormous silver buckles, seated at a long table loaded with turkey and pumpkin pie. Most of the inaccuracies will be trivial.

And in keeping with tradition, weвЂ™ll get much of the story wrong. Thanksgiving is approaching, and before we turn on the football game or rush off to the mall, the more traditional among us will honor the day by reminding our families of the story of the Pilgrims.

When did the pilgrims come to america