Thursday of Thanks

On a weekday morning program, they have a segment called “Thank You Thursdays.” What a nice idea. They highlight a human interest story where someone had a matter leaving them feeling extremely grateful. The spot this week featured a couple that both had coronary events requiring surgery within the same week. Their local hospital medical team treated them so well, and their outcome was so positive they were on the show to express their gratitude. I got to thinking that a day of the week on which we did some focused and specific giving of thanks is very therapeutic. Thanksgiving Day is on a Thursday; why not let every Thursday be a little thanksgiving day? We do it with Easter. Some Christians consider every Sunday a little Easter: a day of resurrection. Following the direction of an early Church document called the Didache (Teaching), every Friday was to be a little Good Friday with a focus on Christ’s sacrifice and our own disciplines of abstinence. We could count Thursday to be a day of thanks.

I have an extra reason for suggesting this. I feel the challenges of the past twelve months have been exhausting. Do any of you feel worn out with the specialized hardships we’re in? For most of my life, I have been fairly protected from monumental burdens. This has made me a candidate for taking comfort for granted. But recently we have all been challenged, and no one has room to take things for granted.  We know intellectually as human beings, we are vulnerable, because so many things in life are bigger than we are. The arctic storm of this week and the general conditions of the pandemic have us knowing, through and through, we are vulnerable. Against the backdrop of precautions of the pandemic:  hunting a vaccine, hand washing,  distancing, avoiding crowds, we then went into the deep freeze. People have legitimate worries about burst water pipes, cold houses, food, gasoline, and safe water. Life is generally demanding even without the layering of this spotlighted personal risk.

I sometimes forget the vulnerability of humans is the constant of human life. When we read through the Bible, we are seeing people who live in high-risk situations. In the readings for this Sunday, Noah is just coming through the flood and wondering how he ever survived. In the Gospel for Sunday, Jesus is about to begin his ministry of proclaiming the kingdom of God and healing people. He lives in a territory overseen by Roman officials and by the Herodian Tetrarchy of this Roman vassal state: pretty dicy.  He is also contending with some Jewish authorities who are trying to hang on to what power they have. His temptation in the wilderness is told by two of the Gospels around the topic of earthly power. In our Epistle, Peter is writing to Christians caught in persecution that is costing believers their lives. He refers to their baptism as having been prefigured by the life-threatening flood that endangered Noah.  Peter assures him that they are in the hands of a savior who endured suffering, himself: the one who died and was made alive in the spirit, This Jesus is reliable to bring them all to God, intact. 

We who face dangers in our own lives, draw inspiration and build faith by absorbing the Word of God, a record of faith of those who came through terrifying ordeals. The first order for us in our terrible ordeals is to take care of matters at hand the best we can and to ask for help when we need help. In these challenges, we look to God for strength and guidance. As these things are tackled, we do well to make a discipline of taking note of the multiple things for which we are thankful.  I have my personal list, and I bet you can build a good list too. This is an important inventory to do. In addition to these things, I submit language from the prayer book. On page 836 of the Book of Common Prayer, notice the General Thanksgiving:

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.

We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.

We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.

We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.

Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.

Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

Let’s put that alongside our personal notes of gratitude. Hardships notwithstanding, let’s make this a Thursday of Thanks.