Giving Thanks

The Coffee Break by Pam O'Connell

Feast of Christ the King
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

There’s a cute story about a woman who was at the mall not too long ago. She was tired from all her shopping, so she decided to stop at the food court for a short break. She bought herself a little bag of cookies and put them in her shopping bag. Then she got in line for coffee and found a place to sit at one of the crowded tables. She took the lid off her coffee and took out a magazine. She began to sip her coffee and read. Across the table from her there was a man reading a newspaper.

After a little while, she reached out and took a cookie. As she did, the man sitting across from her took one too. This put her off, but she didn’t say anything.

A few moments later, she took another cookie. Once again, so did the man. Now she was getting a bit upset, but still she didn’t say a word.

After a few more sips of coffee, once again she took another cookie. So did the man. She was really upset by this, especially since now there was only one cookie left.

Apparently the man realized this, because before she could say anything, he took it, broke it in half, offered half to her and proceeded to eat the other half himself. Then he smiled at her, put his paper under his arm, got up and walked away.

Boy, was she ever steamed now! Her coffee break was ruined. She sat there thinking about how she was going to tell her family about this unbelievable offense. That’s when she closed her magazine, opened her shopping bag to put it away—which was when she discovered there her own unopened bag of cookies.

I like that story. It makes me think about how well God treats me even when I’m not treating him well or thinking all that kindly about him.

It also makes me think about how, sometimes, I don’t really appreciate what I have or act like I know where it has come from. It’s kind of a reminder—just like the reminder in our first reading today from the prophet Ezekiel.

God promises that he will always look after his sheep and tend to them. That’s us, of course.

I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal…

What an amazing reminder that everything we have is a gift from God. Yes, we may have to work hard for the things we’ve got, but it’s all a gift, nonetheless—because God also gave us the hands, the brains, the strength we need to achieve what we have achieved.

If we remembered this truth a little more often, how much easier and more joyful life would seem… how much more we would bless God for his goodness… and how much more appreciative we would be.

This has been a tough year for many people. Money has been tighter than ever. There have been deaths and divorces, illnesses and accidents, all kinds of problems and setbacks… Sometimes we might be tempted to say Jesus’ own words from the cross: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

But as we approach Thanksgiving Day this week, it is the perfect time to focus not on the bad stuff of life, but on the positive things. It is also an ideal time to ask the Lord for a faith that is thankful in everything—even the things that may not seem so great at the time. In fact, we might look to the example of the Pilgrims themselves.

Do you know the real story of Thanksgiving? I’m afraid many of us have a romantic image of this holiday that’s far from the truth.

The story of the first Thanksgiving begins in 1608, when a group of people called the Separatists left their homeland in England and settled in Holland. They had been persecuted for splitting off from the Church of England and starting their own church. In Holland, these Separatists had religious freedom, but their life was extremely poor and hard. They also discovered that the local culture was threatening the values they had so carefully instilled in their children.

So the community prayed for God’s guidance, and under the leadership of William Bradford, they sold everything they had and to pay for their journey, they indentured themselves to an English company for their first seven years in America. On the Mayflower, the Separatists joined others seeking the new land for other reasons. These two groups, a passenger list of 102, together were the Pilgrims.

Their journey lasted nine weeks. Along the way, the ship got lost. Instead of reaching Virginia, they landed at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, outside the jurisdiction of the King’s Charter. So the Pilgrims found themselves responsible for their own governance. Again, they prayed a lot, and then they wrote a set of laws called The Mayflower Compact. Only after everyone had signed it on November 11, 1620, did they leave the ship to begin their new life at the place they named Plymouth.

Half the Pilgrims died that first winter. But the survivors clung to their faith in God. The Mayflower returned to England the next spring, but not a single Pilgrim decided to return. They stayed right there, and with the help of an Indian named Squanto, the Pilgrims learned how to grow corn, use fertilizer, stalk deer and catch fish.

Their first harvest brought plenty. In October, Gov. Bradford set aside a day for everyone to thank God for meeting their needs through a very difficult year. Squanto and other members of his tribe were invited to celebrate with them. The Indians brought deer and turkeys, while the Pilgrim women cooked vegetables and fruit pies.

How many of us, so comfortable in these modern times, could imagine freezing and starving through a harsh winter, losing half of our community, then having such a joyous celebration to God? What an inspiring picture of Christian faith!

In our day, too, God wants us to celebrate his love. He wants us to give thanks in everything—not because he’s greedy for praise, but because he knows that this will bless us and bless the world he made. He wants us to remember what he has done, so we won’t be afraid when we need help, and so we won’t grow arrogant or rude when we’re prospering. He wants us to remember and give thanks to him and to those around us, so our lives will be full of light and hope, and our actions full of tenderness and love.

Yes, that is true thanksgiving—and truly thankful living. As our liturgical year draws to a close and we celebrate Thanksgiving, may we be sure to praise God and be grateful for his countless blessings.