Thanksgiving

Saint Meinrad's Monastery
Chapel

To be fully human, to be anything remotely like what God intended when he created human beings -- in his own image and likeness, male and female, he created them – we must be grateful. We must say thank you a thousand times in a hundred different ways every day of our life. Every religious tradition knows this. The Buddhist monk goes down to the stream with his ladle, raises a bowl of water to the sky, pours some of it back in the stream to show his appreciation, and then drinks. If his tradition does not name the deity he worships he must express his gratitude nonetheless. Catholics, Christians of all denominations, Jews, Muslims, Native Americans, even Wiccans (I suppose) have their distinctive ways of saying thanks.

The story is told of the old farmer who went to the big city for his occasional shopping. He went into a diner and ordered a plate of food. When the food arrived he paused for a moment of prayerful gratitude. A young fellow happened to see this and, to entertain his buddies, said, “Hey old man, does everybody in your hick town pray like that before they eat?” The old man thought a moment and replied, “No, son. The pigs don’t.”

A companion once asked me a similar question, but more politely. “Why do you pray before you eat?” I told him I don’t know how not to. Gratitude is what we do.

And yet the world picks away at our human nature. They’d rather demean the occasion by calling it “turkey day” and crowd it with football games. 

Or they’ll bypass the feast altogether. Tim Burton’s “Nightmare before Christmas,” segues from Halloween to Christmas without mention of All Saints, All Souls, Veterans Day, Christ the King or Thanksgiving. They have places to go, people to see, things to buy, and money to make. They have no time to give thanks.

Nor do they know what to thank God for. They haven’t the time to think about it, much less time to appreciate it. They’re concern is all about the future – “How much money will we make?”

Thanksgiving is today; it is now. Gratitude sees eternity in a drop of water. Its satisfaction is a crust of bread. Its roots are the love of God. Its spirit is a breath of wholesome, clean air. It’s delight is to share with family, friends and neighbors the blessings of security and sufficient prosperity.