Thankful (Midweek)

 

Thankful

Fr. Tony’s Midweek Message

November 25, 2015

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day.  Thankfulness and gratitude are powerful emotions.  They drive away fear, resentment, and anger.   They can be directed specifically to the giver of the gifts for which one is thankful.  Or, if you do not know where the good came from, or if you doubt, for instance, the existence of the giver, these emotions can be general and undirected.  But they are powerful nevertheless. 

Ephesians says we should give thanks to God at all times and in all places (5:20).  Sometimes, if things have not been going well, we might feel that we cannot work up gratitude to a God who did not give us what we prayed for.  But such a sentiment misunderstands how the Creator intervenes with creation.  If we think of God as merely out there, ready to help those who please him and pray, we miss one of the great occasions for continuing and never-ending thanks.    God is not some kind of wacky great uncle out there who simply needs to be convinced to give us our deepest desires.   God is the ground and source of all, and is ever present.   God’s will is always to work for the good; but creation by definition is not God, is not the ever-present tending toward good that God is.  Creation has gaps in its goodness.  And so suffering and ill is part of creation as we experience it. 

But here’s the thing: God is always there, behind things and beneath things, urging them and driving them toward God’s ultimate good will.  Sometimes the gap between things as they are and how they ought to be disappears; we call such moments miracles.  They are mysterious to us, because we do not understand exactly why they happen here but not there.  But in all situations, God is always there.  We need to get out of the way sometimes to let God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

One of the things to be grateful for at all times is this:  God can help us in all situations.  There is no situation, no matter how bad, that God cannot help turn to better, where God cannot comfort us and help us.  

The surest sign of the presence of God is joy.  A close second is thankfulness, and thankfulness is possible even when joy is not. 

I am so grateful for all the good things in my life.  I am grateful for the people I am close to, and for the wonderful opportunities and experiences I have had and am still enjoying. I am also grateful for God’s support and nurturing in the hard moments and experiences as well. 

Peace and Grace,  Fr. Tony+