Years ago, I wrote of a Jewish blessing which I want to reflect on again. It is improvised, spontaneous, and goes something like this. The family sits at table, with the smallest child to begin; “Lord, we give you thanks for…our family.” The next child continues, as perhaps, “Lord, you blessed us with our family and that would have been enough, but then you gave us this… home.” Now, perhaps a guest, “And, Lord, thank you for this family and home, and that would have been enough, but then you gave us this food.” Mother, now, “And, Lord, thank you for our family, our home, our food, that would have been enough, but then you gave us friendships and community.” Father, “And Lord, we thank you for our family, our home, our food, our community, our friends, and that would have been enough, but then you gave us our livelihood.”
And so, this blessing grows around the table, allowing for time and memory. Counting blessings, remembering them, starting with one and seeing how they connect and multiply, is the healing exercise we know as thanksgiving. We discover ourselves at our best when acknowledging the simple gifts of a loving God.
"We discover ourselves at our best when acknowledging the simple gifts of a loving God."
Even when facing grief and fear, in the prayerful presence of God, we may be surprised that it isn’t the “Why me?” thoughts that endure. It is gratitude. Gratitude for our heartbeat, our bodily movements, our families, hopes and much more. Gratitude which overflows into the tiniest details and surprises, like waking to see little birds chirping through the sunlit snow in the branches of the trees at dawn.
It is easy to be ungrateful. Even with a balanced, moral life, knowing God has a plan, our gratitude may not yet have deep roots. The richness of our relationship with the gifts we are given involves developing an attitude of gratitude which raises us into the place where God dwells. We begin to see that all gifts given are meant to be shared, and in sharing, multiplied. What is given out of gratitude is returned a hundredfold. God will not be outdone in generosity and wants to give us more.
"Even with a balanced, moral life, knowing God has a plan, our gratitude may not yet have deep roots."
The celebration of Thanksgiving is here. Let’s return to some basic training. Take some time to listen, watch and pray. Start small in thanksgiving and let it grow, be alert for the tiniest details and signs, the simplest blessings that point to why we are here. God loves you and wants to give you more. And remember, it is to be shared: our gratitude, our gifts, and ourselves.
May you and your family know of my prayers for you always. May our communities be blessed in their generosity and grow in God’s grace. May we all have the blessings of a Happy Thanksgiving.
+Most Reverend Stephen J. Berg
Bishop of Pueblo
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Thank you Bishop Berg, and may you be Blessed with a day full of shared Thanksgivings.
And we are so shamefully negligent in expressing our thankfulness for being members of Christ's Church, and for the wonderful Shepherds we are given.