Our Gospel tells us that 10 lepers were cleansed
of their affliction after they pleaded and begged Jesus to heal them. Yet, only one of them returns to give thanks
and to glorify God. In our crazy, hectic lives, it is often easy to
take things for granted, to forget to give thanks and to hurry on our way. God calls us to be thankful wherever we are in
our lives, even in difficult circumstances.
The leper who returned to give thanks was even more of an outcast when
compared to the other lepers, for he was a Samaritan, a group that was shunned
by the Jews of Ancient Israel. Yet, in
his heart, he truly was thankful to God. One of my favorite quotes from a saint is from
Meister Eckhart, a Dominican priest from the 13th century: “If the
only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” What a wonderful quote. And what a wonderful way approach our journey
through life. Nevertheless, we live in an era when giving
thanks and showing gratitude is perhaps a lost art.
Today, we Americans celebrate Thanksgiving to be
thankful for our country, our families and our friends, and for the blessings
we have in our lives, even thought there a lot of Americans who will not say a prayer
today nor will they enter a house of worship today. We are all gathered here today at St James
Catholic Church here in Tupelo, Mississippi to give thanks in a very Catholic
way, for our commemoration of Christ’s last supper and the Eucharist. In fact, the word “Eucharist” comes for a
Greek that means “to give thanks.” Every time we come to mass, we celebrate around
the Lord’s table, giving thanks and praises to God, so all of those days should
be a days of thanksgiving for us.
When the lepers ask Jesus to cleanse them, he
tells them to go to show themselves to the priests. Jesus calls them to action.
And when the one leper comes back to give thanks, Jesus sends him back out into
the world as well. In our thanksgiving, we are called to action, not
to remain complacent or inactive. As we get ready to enter the holy season of
Advent and the Year of Mercy, perhaps God is calling us in a special way to go
beyond ourselves and to reach out to someone in an action of mercy or charity
or kindness.
Today, as we celebrate Thanksgiving is a national
holiday, let us see it as much more than that. As we celebrate with food and fellowship with our
families and friends, let us acknowledge that we are not thanking ourselves and
not thanking any of the false gods or idols we have made in our lives. We give thanks to God today. We give many thanks to him.
“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”
ReplyDeleteThis spoke to me so deeply. Thank you.