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Rector's
Messages
Thanksgiving
2003
For
Food in a world where many walk in hunger,
For
Fellowship in a world where many walk alone,
For
Faith in a world where many walk in fear,
We
Give you Thanks, O Lord.
The
prayer above is a grace before meals. I encountered this grace many years
ago as part of The Primate’s World Development and Relief Fund annual
campaign. The last line of the grace calls us to be thankful in Christ for
all the blessings of this life. The first three lines of the grace call us
to be thankful for food, fellowship, and faith. These things are blessings
when they are present in life. When they are wanting they are unfulfilled
needs. When absent from life these blessings are often replaced by their
opposites --hunger, loneliness, and fear. This form of grace before meals
is connected to The Primate’s Fund because it is a powerful prayer that
joins faith to action. As we say it, may we be empowered to help transform
need into blessings.
Words,
of course, have the ability to inspire us to do great things. Great
leaders speak in order to harness the hearts and minds of people in
building up the common good. Their ability to speak, so as to motivate, is
grounded in values such as courage, compassion and justice. Consider, for
instance, these words from the prophet Amos: “ ..Let justice roll
down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream”
(NRSV). Amos lived over seven centuries before Christ. As a Hebrew prophet
he spoke passionately for justice in a time of affluence, prosperity, and
religious hypocrisy. The theme of his message, and that of the other
prophets, is taken up in Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
Thousands of years later the same words would inspire the great Christian
and social reformer Martin Luther King. The words from Amos were in King’s
heart as he called for justice and equality. Those same words from Amos
5:24 now are inscribed on the monument which memorializes both Martin
Luther King and his cause. They are powerful words of faith made all the
more powerful by their embodiment in community.
Visionary
words, whether in scripture or in prayer, can lead to some very concrete
actions in our life--actions which can be characterized as just and
righteous. At Thanksgiving we will hear scripture challenge us to be
thankful: We will pray with thanksgiving in the midst of world full of
need. Let’s remember that the words of prayer and the words of scripture
can be matched to so many opportunities to share in justice and
righteousness. Some examples are: the food bank, soup kitchen, Primate’s
Fund, Anglican Appeal, refugee sponsorship, volunteerism. Streams of
righteousness and rolling waters of justice may sound like a tall order;
but its amazing how real they become when needs are transformed into even
small blessings. This Thanksgiving as the blessings of our life are called
to mind, so too should be a stirring within us for justice and
righteousness. In this way, Harvest Thanksgiving will deepen our
connection to both God and our neighbor.
The
Rev. Rod Gillis Harvest Thanksgiving, 2003 |
