“Oh God, teach us to treasure your gifts, to share them with others, and to use them for your glory.”
That prayer – taken in part, from the prayer over the gifts, from the Thanksgiving Mass that will be celebrated on Monday – sums up the essence of a true Thanksgiving: Treasure, Share, and Use Gods gifts.
As Jesus was telling his listeners today’s parable, he knew that this scenario would be played out in his own life. He realized that the Pharisees were plotting against him and most likely, they were planning on killing him. This parable was a foreshadowing of what was to come. Were the Pharisees taken aback by Jesus’ questions? Were they surprised that Jesus confronted them as he did?
If we were in Jesus’ shoes, would we have the same courage and trust to continue on his journey? This gospel makes it clear that Jesus knew that he would be killed, yet he stayed true to his call. He continued to preach and teach. Today, may we draw the strength from Jesus to be true to our call – whatever that might be! Jesus will walk with us, guide us and strengthen us! May we walk with Jesus today and every day!
This parable and the confrontation that this parable provokes are like a mirror held before us so that we might see and recognize, in ourselves, what Jesus sees and recognizes. This is not to condemn us but to recover us from the places of our self-exclusion, to call us back to life, and to lead us home.
Jesus doesn’t exclude us or anyone else from the kingdom of God. He doesn’t have to. We do it to ourselves and we’re pretty good at it. That’s what the Pharisees have done. The Pharisees have excluded themselves.
It also makes me think about how, sometimes, I do not really appreciate what I have, or act like I know where it has come from. It serves as a kind of reminder to me.
It speaks so well of what we all know somewhere in our hearts, but often seem to forget in our actions and our attitudes. It speaks of how everything we have is a gift from God, a gift worked upon by our hands, most certainly; a gift perhaps even enhanced by our own strength, but a gift none-the-less, for God gives us the hands we need, and God gives us the strength we have.
I think that Jesus looks at all of us with love, and asks all of us to treasure our gifts, to share our gifts, and to use God’s gifts to help others. It’s a sad situation that so many in affluent societies choose the love of money over the love of the Lord. There are also many examples available to us of people embracing volunteer poverty, people like Dorothy Day, Mohandas Gandhi, Mother Teresa and so on. Each of us is called to the best of our ability to serve one another, share our resources with one another, and follow Him.
My hope and prayer is simply that we can all do what Jesus would do. That no matter what, we will never walk away from Jesus; we will never reject Jesus; we will always follow Jesus into the world of poverty, to the cross, to non violent confrontation with our society and government over murderous practices such as abortion and injustices in the prison system; that we too, will love our enemies and stand with the poorest and weakest around us, proclaiming the coming of God’s reign of peace and justice.
Then we will discover that we are greatly blessed in the eyes of God – the richest people in the world. Let me share some simple things to be thankful for:
Be thankful for the mess to clean up after Thanksgiving dinner, because it means you have been surrounded by friends.
Be thankful for the taxes you pay because it means you have an income.
Be thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means you have had enough to eat.
Be thankful for the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and furniture that needs dusting, because it means you have a home.
Be thankful for all the complaining you do about the government, because it means you have freedom of speech.
Be thankful for the parking spot you found at the far end of the parking lot, because it means you are capable of walking.
Be thankful for the big heating bill because it means you are warm.
Be thankful for piles of laundry and ironing because it means loved ones are nearby.
Be thankful for the alarm that goes off early in the morning because it means you are alive.
We have to notice all these things and many more. Take notice and enjoy all the treasures and gifts God has blessed us with and give thanks to God by sharing with the poorest and weakest people around us so that we may truly deserve to be called a Eucharistic people.
–Deacon Terry Murphy