November Thanksgiving St. Paul's

Church

Sun, Nov 20, 2016 St. Paul's

lectionary

  • make us good stewards
  • provide for us
  • a wandering Aramean was my ancestor
  • rejoice in the Lord always
  • whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
  • I am the bread of life

What we "ought" to do

At a young age I remember being taught that I ought to be grateful -- for any number of things. I ought to write thank you notes. I ought to appreciate all that my parents -- or teachers -- or ?? did for me.
For the most part I don't think it worked very well.
On the other hand, I am curious to figure out when did I learn actually become grateful? At what point did I exercise gratitude?

Being grateful

It had to be connected with receiving a gift and knowing that I didn't somehow deserve it. Had earned it or it belonged to me.
When I got good grades I figured I had worked for them. When I got them without working for them -- English honors in senior year -- I just figured it was something like good luck.
Being lucky isn't really related to gratitude.
Possibly it was when my first born was raised above our heads by the delivering physician and he asked me what his name was? I cried uncontrollably.
Perhaps it was a little earlier when I was rock climbing and fell. I was caught:
  • my friend held the rope
  • the piton held in the rock
  • the rope held
Perhaps it was the day I received a cash gift at seminary. Someone had known that our family was in need of money, perhaps because of the birth of our second child, I don't remember. But I can still vividly remember the moment I opened the unmarked envelope I had just picked up at the campus post office. In it was a bundle of cash. No note. No way to send a thank you note. The only thing to do was to be grateful.

It was quite a bit later in life that I learned about a teaching of the Rabbis -- the goal of offering 100 blessings / day

Question: I once heard that there is a certain amount of blessings we should attempt to say each day. How many is it, and what is the source of this idea?
Answer: There is indeed such a teaching. We are to recite 100 blessings each day. The Talmud1 extrapolates this from a verse in Deuteronomy:2 "Now, Israel, what does G‑d, your G‑d, ask of you? . . . to walk in His ways . . . and to serve Him."
The Hebrew word for "what," mah (מָה), is phonetically similar to the word me'ah (מֵאָה), which means 100. In other words, the verse can be understood as saying: "Now, Israel, a hundred does G‑d, your G‑d, ask of you"—one hundred blessings.
chabad.org

Guides

  • thanking someone who doesn't usually get thanks
  • Know the value of small things
  • learn the value of giving thanks for small things
  • Cultivate being grateful
  • make it a minimum goal to offer it 100 times in a day

There are countless articles out there touting the value of gratitude. But is that really what's going on here? Is it -- this is good for you -- ?

That's not the reason for doing it.
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." -- Oprah Winfrey

Habakkuk: giving thanks even when the fig tree withers

3:17 Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. 19 God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights. To the leader: with stringed instruments.
"Sing as if no one can hear; dance as if no one is watching; dream as if there are no impossibilities" (Annie)
"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." - Meister Eckhart

End of Church year -- begin of new

  • This Sunday is the last of the church year
  • gift of last 50 years, that we get to hear from each of the gospels over a 3 year cycle -- this next year gospel of Matthew
  • Like other "new years", it gives us a chance to look back and take stock and to gird our loins for the upcoming year. or
  • For all that has been, Thank you. For all that is to come, Yes! Dag Hammarskjold

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

advent-1-2017

Homily Advent 1: St. Paul’s Opening I have used the prayer Song of Zechariah for a very long time as a part of my daily prayer. I had it memorized by the time I was 30. Maybe I was drawn to it because it was a song by a father. I recognize I have a special place in my heart for fathers. It was sung by John the Baptist’s father, a priest, at the time his parents took John to be circumcised. He had been struck dumb, you may remember, when he scoffed at the notion that they would have a child at their advanced age. When next he opened his mouth to speak, he named the child “John” and praised God in song. Towards the end of the song we hear: Benedictus Dominus ( Song of Zechariah ) You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way , To give his people knowledge of salvation * by the forgiveness of their sins. In the tender compassion of our God * the dawn from on high shall break upon us, To shine on those who dwel...
Read more

proper-19-st-christophers.md

Homily: September 16, 2018. Proper 19 St. Christopher’s, Spartanburg, SC Opening Thank you for the invitation to celebrate the Eucharist with you this morning. The weather’s a little bit dicey – but on the whole … Spartanburg has been for us generally a place we pass through on our way to somewhere else, Asheville, Atlanta, even Ohio. But now I’ve been here twice to supply. It’s good to get to know the people who call Spartanburg home . I learned just this past week that one of the clergy I meet regularly with spent some formative time here back in the 1980’s, Sally Franklin. Scripture I’m preparing a talk to be given in October where I’m supposed to say something about what is distinctive about the Anglican communion – particularly with regard to Scripture, Tradition, and Sacraments. In my ministry it has been common place to hear from teachers of various kinds that the Episcopal Church takes Scripture very seriously. Our liturgy comes with a very heavy dose of Scripture re...
Read more

proper12-july-29.md

Homily: St. Paul’s July 29 Welcome & Thank you It’s certainly been a while since I was last here and it’s good to be back. Thank you to your rector for inviting me to be with you during her vacation time this summer. Mary Pat is unable to be here today because of surgery she had on her foot at the beginning of the summer. The surgery was relatively straightforward but the recovery is a slow-going process. Telling the story (Narrative) Have you been following the magnificent story we’ve been hearing in the first reading this summer? It’s the Great David, introduced by the steady hand of – well sometimes the not so stay or accurate hand of – Samuel . And, of course, God who provides the winning hand. I’m so grateful to the adjusted readings we get because of the Common Lectionary . We get to listen to continuous readings from the Old Testament in a way we weren’t before the last 15 years or so. We’re in the midst of the narrative about David. It turns out David is really imp...
Read more