THURSDAY HOMILY: Day of Thanksgiving, 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR A

THURSDAY HOMILY: Day of Thanksgiving, 33RD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A

THEME: Giving Thanks

By: Deacon Bill Frere

Gospel – Luke: 17:11-19
Garden at Capernaum

An atheist was walking through the woods one day admiring all that evolution had created. “What majestic trees! What a powerful river! What beautiful animals!” he said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him.

Turning to look, he saw an 8 ft. grizzly bear beginning to charge toward him. He ran as fast as he could down the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw the bear was rapidly closing on him. Somehow he ran even faster, so scared that tears came to his eyes. He looked again and the bear was even closer. Heart pounding in his chest, he tried to run faster yet. But alas, he tripped and fell to the ground. As he rolled over to pick himself up the bear was right over him, planting its left paw on his chest and raising its right paw to strike him. And the atheist cries out: “OH MY GOD!”

Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving.
As a brilliant light shone upon the man a thunderous voice came from all around. “You Deny My Existence For All These Years! You Teach Others That I Don”t Exist; And You Even Credit Creation To Some Cosmic Accident. Do You Really Expect Me To Help You Out Of This Predicament? Am I To Suddenly Count You As A Believer?”

As difficult as it was, the atheist looked directly into the light and said “You are right! It would be hypocritical to ask to be a Christian after all these years, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian?”

“Very Well”, said The Voice. The light went out. The river ran. The sounds of the forest resumed and the bear dropped down on his knees, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke: “Lord, for this food which I am about to receive. I give You THANKS”

Yes, I know! I have told this story many times before! And NO! I am not getting senile! There is a point! The very first time I told this story was over 8 years ago when I ‘deaconed’ my very first Mass and preached as a deacon at my parish! I used it to reflect on giving thanks. And I wanted to express my gratitude to my parishoners and friends for all their prayers and support during the 4 years of formation that led to that moment.

So it seems appropriate to share it one more time on this Day of Giving Thanks!

I love Thanksgiving! It’s one of my hands-down favorite holidays! Not just because of all our family gathering for dinner and football games! But especially for all the Thanksgivings I spent in the seminary, celebrating with my classmates! There would be this massive pep rally the night before and then on Thanksgiving Day a huge ‘touch’ football game between the students and the priests and brothers. And when the game was over, when we were all tired and sore and covered in mud and dirt, we trudged to the dining room together for our feast of turkey and all the trimmings!

I love Thanksgiving! But, you know what, I also hate it. I hate that we have to be reminded to give thanks! And I hate that we have to set aside just a single day to give thanks for all our blessings! Too often I think we take so much for granted! And it’s only when we lose it that we realize how important it was! Fresh produce and groceries from the store! Water when we turn on the faucet! A roof over our heads! Instant contact with our friends and family with our cell phones! A good night’s sleep! Our health! The simple ability to walk (until we fall off a ladder and find we can’t even stand)! We take so much for granted! And we seem to only truly appreciate it when it suddenly disappears! Certainly that was one of the life lessons we learned from the Covid years.

So maybe we do need this one day to remind us to be thankful for all God’s blessings! But maybe what we need more is another reminder – to be grateful every day, every morning, every moment!

The Wampanoag, the native tribe on that first Thanksgiving, didn’t have a special day to offer thanks for their harvest and good fortune. They offered thanks as part of their daily lives. For them, every day is a day of thanks to the Creator! And so in their words, we pray:

We give thanks for the earth which sustains us.
We give thanks for the rivers and streams, which supply us with water.
We give thanks for all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We give thanks for the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.
We give thanks for the sun that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
We give thanks for our parents who brought us into this world and taught us about life.
We give thanks for our brothers and sisters who shared our childhood.
We give thanks for our friends who have journeyed with us along life’s path.
We give thanks for the laughter of children and the love in our hearts.
We give thanks to the Creator who has graced us with so many blessings and gifts.
We give thanks to the Great Spirit, our Father in Heaven, in Whom is embodied all goodness, and Who directs all things for the good of all life.

For all these things, we give thanks! Let this be our prayer not just here but everywhere! Not just TODAY but every day! Amen!! Miigwetch!! (Ojibwe word for ‘Thank you’)

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