Dear Friends,
In the sweeping song of
praise that Christians call the
Magnificat, Mary proclaims for all the
world to hear that “God has done great things for me.(Luke 1.49)” As Thanksgiving approaches, I hope that each
of us has awareness enough to say the same thing, with the same conviction.
It’s true, God has done great things for us. But what? What great things?
Listing them is a laudable thing to do, alone or with others on Thanksgiving
Day. Here are some ideas to prime the
pump:
Surely we thank God for personal gifts: health and energy to meet the day,
new ideas, meaningful memories, the blessings of family and friends. We thank
God for whatever good people did for us in a year that might have been hard,
and if we have had a good year, we thank God for that, too.
But there is more to Thanksgiving
than acknowledging what we have received as gift personally and directly, for God’s action and gifts to the world are
very much gifts to me as well.
As Mary is aware that God turns
people’s expectations upside down, breaks the bonds that enslave them, free
them to use their talents to better the life of all, so too do we need to be
aware of the breadth of God’s gifts in this fragile world as touching us
directly.
Helping hands in the turmoil of
Paris last week, blood donated so that another person might live, ethical public
servants ready to act, consensus-builders and peace negotiators, all who help
us understand this rollercoaster ride called life, people who practice the art
of healing are God’s gift to you and me.
Forgiveness given, justice insured, compassion offered and violence rejected
across the world are God’s gift to you and me. Harvest of crops, harvests of
unity and courage are God’s gifts to us.
But giving thanks for worldwide or
personal gifts given to us is not enough. Consider focusing our attention instead
on the giver of all the gifts we acknowledge. Theologian Karl Rahner,SJ, told an
interviewer shortly before he died in 1984: “If God is interesting to me as a
stopgap and the guarantor of my needs, then I am not speaking of the true God.
The true God is the God who must be worshipped and loved for the sake of God.”
This week is a perfect opportunity
to turn to our generous, loving God to
say: Thank you for being you. Thank you for loving the world and all its
people despite the awful things some of us perpetrate. Thank you for being a
God who holds us firmly but lightly and for encouraging us to act on our freedom.
Thank you for loving us when we are grumpy and foul-mouthed, insecure or
discouraged as well as when we are happy and satisfied with life. Thank you for
letting us recognize you in the love of
another.
Soon, it will be on to family
gatherings, meals, football, card games, long walks and talks together. May we
carry into all of these traditional celebrations the whispered prayer: Thank you, God, for being you.
~Sister Joan Sobala
No comments:
Post a Comment