Even those who have nothing can give us the gift of thanks.

 

 

 

THANKSGIVING 2020

 

Mother Teresa of Calcutta tells the story her encounter with a very sick woman on the street in disparate straits.  As typical for Mother Teresa, she stopped and helped this woman in every way that she could.  She did everything that love could do.  Mother Teresa cleaned the person and put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face.  She took hold of Mother Teresa’s hands and said two words in her native language, Bengali:  “Thank You.” Then she died.

Mother Teresa then reflected and said:  I could not help but examine my conscience and ask: “What would I say if I were in her place?”  Perhaps I would have liked to draw a little attention to myself.  I would have said:  “I am hungry…I am dying…I am in pain.”  But the woman gave me much more; she gave me grateful loving, dying with a grateful smile on her face.  It means that even those with nothing can give us the gift of thanks.

We are celebrating Thanksgiving in the midst of this horrible pandemic.  We are not able to celebrate Thanksgiving with the number of people that we would like.  We perhaps rightly can feel sorry for ourselves.  We are getting pretty anxious to get back to a new normal.

Before we feel too sorry for ourselves, I call your attention to the dying person on the streets of Calcutta whom Mother Teresa cared for.  Instead of feeling sorry for herself, she said thank you with a smile on her face.

May we too celebrate this day with grateful hearts giving thanks for the blessings of our lives.  We gather to give thanks to the Lord our God in this mystery of the Eucharist.  May we focus not on what we don’t have; rather, may we focus on the blessings we enjoy.

May we live this day and every day with an attitude of gratitude.  Gratitude is our greatest defense against the cloud of fear, uncertainty and loss that Covid-19 has brought to our lives.

We express our gratitude in the context of the Eucharist in which we give thanks to the Lord our God.  This day expresses our spiritual roots not only as a nation but also as a Church, as the disciples of Jesus.  This day is not a holy day of obligation; rather this day is a holy day of opportunity.  It’s an opportunity to think back on what we have been given…and to give something in return:  thanks and gratitude.  We are here to honor, with grateful hearts, what God has done for us.

In the Gospels, Jesus is the great teacher of gratitude.

May we be mindful that Jesus is the great teacher of gratitude – grateful for the love of His heavenly father, and he showed that gratitude in his living and dying witnessing to the Father’s love.

In the stories that Jesus told and, in the story, that Jesus lived, gratitude to His heavenly Father was at the center of the Lord’s life.  Jesus was always grateful for his disciples.  We are among the disciples Jesus is grateful for.

Jesus’ message in today’s Gospel passage is that gratitude is the way to find and experience true joy of heart.  The grace of gratitude, the life posture of gratitude creates an open and truly receptive heart.

In the Gospel in the healing of the ten lepers when only one came back to give thanks, implicit in this episode is the idea that something is missing.  Giving thanks is a vital and necessary part of our relationship with God.  For thankfulness is a measure of faith, a measure of our dependence on God and of our own humility.

Physical healing of leprosy is a great blessing no doubt.  An even greater blessing is the healing of relationships and experiencing the friendship and the salvific love of Jesus that is offered to us.  The Samaritan received a healing far greater that a physical healing when he came back to Jesus to give thanks.

Yes, we desire physical health but may our greater desire be for spiritual health that comes from encountering the Lord with grateful hearts.

 As St. Paul writes in the second Scripture reading, “I give thanks to God always for you and for how you have touched my life.”  The Scriptures reveal the story of God’s unending love for us.

On this Thanksgiving morning, may we as a faith community ask for the grace that our community life will always be marked by a radical gratitude to our loving God.   May we be mindful that Jesus is the great teacher of gratitude – grateful for the love of His heavenly father, and he showed that gratitude in his living and dying witnessing to the Father’s love.

 

God give you peace and have a Blessed Day of Thanksgiving.