November 26, 2020
As preached by Sister CeceliaHoly Wisdom Church
Dt 8:7-16, Phil 4:4-9, Mt 6:25-34
How might not indulging in worrying be connected to giving thanks?
In Jesus’ time, and for us now, Jesus commands us to NOT WORRY. “… do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more than clothing? What is Jesus calling us to? Ponder on how we unpack this in our lives. He was not advising an attitude of being care-free, shiftless, reckless, thoughtless, failure to take seriously our responsibilities, the concerns of everyday life or to provide for the future.
By worry he was talking about being unreasonably preoccupied, being worried, fearful and anxious of that which prevents us from the joy of life. Anxious worry wears out the mind as well as the body. This worry affects our judgment, lessens our powers of decision and renders us progressively incapable of dealing with life in a healthy and life-giving way.
How can we give thanks when we are beset with anxieties and fears, especially during these times of the pandemic when we are even more prone to worry, to fret over the incredible unpredictable life-threatening issues coming our way?
The antidote to worrying, being anxious Jesus says, is to consider the birds of the air, the flowers in the fields, are we not of more value than they? Strive first to give the best we can for God’s Kingdom and all the rest will be given to us.
Jesus is showing us the path to trust… when we trust, we surrender our sense of being able to work out life’s problems by our own means alone. A line of thought from Teresa of Avila: “Trust as though everything depends on God; act though like everything depends on you.” If we give our best to every situation -we cannot give more than that- then in thankful trust we leave the rest to God.
Giving thanks to God is good to keep our thoughts full of energy. It is not true, psychologists tell us, that we think the way we feel. On the contrary, we feel the way we think, and thoughts can be changed. Joy too is an attitude of mind, an awareness that my life is basically good. Giving thanks to God is a thought process and can change the way we feel.
In a line for a food handout a man was asked what he would be grateful for this Thanksgiving: “I will sit and think about all my past Thanksgivings and how wonderful they were. I realize that only one out of my 67 years being not so desirable was not such bad odds”. He was most grateful.
Engaging in ordinary prudent foresight is giving our best to all our decisions. Being free to make these decisions is something to be grateful for. Knowing we can take everything to God in prayer is one of the greatest things to be grateful for. We can take our own past, present and future into the presence of God. We can pray for others, for those near and far who are in our memories and our hearts.
Let us keep in mind all the people who have decided to travel this year in order to celebrate Thanksgiving with their families. For us here now, take a few minutes to remember the gifts of God to us personally… to experience within the depth of our hearts the many events of God’s loving care and for life itself.
Christ is in our midst
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