Thanksgiving Day

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112411-thanksgiving-day.cfm

A line of trees along the beach

Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.

Stephen Foster begins his song Hard Times:

Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,
While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
There's a song that will linger forever in our ears;
Oh hard times come again no more.

Deep into this Great Recession, America realizes the Hard Times are upon us. While we have the resources to pull our nation out of debt, to educate our youth, care for our sick and protect the elderly we lack the political will. Instead we have gridlock in the nation’s capital and many state capitals. Frozen and immovable, we watch opportunities pass by us.

The Hebrew prophets understood our predicament; they saw the same helplessness in ancient Israel and Judah. The wealthy enjoyed their luxury and counted themselves blessed; the poor seethed with envy and resentment but could not improve their lot. The prophets warned of God’s punishment and were helpless to forestall it. Inevitably the two kingdoms collapsed before the advance of history. 

But there were some, the anawim, who thanked God for what little they had and waited on God’s mercy.  We meet them especially in Saint Luke’s Gospel: Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna, the widow who gave her last pennies to the temple, and Jesus, the poorest of all men. The anawim have none to turn to in this world. They have no powerful patrons, no aristocratic claims, no natural resources; their only hope is God.

But they find great consolation in their prayers, especially in their thanksgiving. No matter how little they have, they share it in the confidence that God will provide for them somehow. I have met many such people in my ministry, especially in Louisiana and the Veterans Affairs Hospital.

Gratitude is a privilege the wealthy cannot imagine. News reporters describe how anxiously Wall Street bankers feel about their money. Though they make millions – some of them, billions – each year they worry over every penny. They shudder over every market fluctuation; they agonize over the threat of higher taxes; they cannot spare a dime for charity if it’s not deductible. They might be worthy of our pity but we tremble as the Judgment approaches:

We can read his righteous sentence in the dim and flaring lamps…

The American feast of Thanksgiving was born of the Civil War, a tragedy of staggering proportions. Survivors of the War thanked God it was over and hoped for his mercy. Their prayers were answered as the nation addressed its endemic racism, nativism and religious arrogance; and it enjoyed unparalleled prosperity for a time.

Today, as we sup sorrow with the poor, we thank God not for a promising future or a glorious past, but for his abiding presence. With his anawim, we thank God for the gift of Thanksgiving.